Modding Mini-mod: Logitech wireless keyboard

Discussion in 'Modding' started by LuitvD, 30 Sep 2006.

  1. LuitvD

    LuitvD What's a Dremel?

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    I took this baby:
    [​IMG]
    Ripped it apart (as in the picture above) and started cleaning the keys and the top-board, which were just absurdly dirty.

    When I had all the keys out I had an idea. You can see a can of spraypaint laying next to the keyboard, and I decided to use it, and ended up with this:

    [​IMG]
    I'm very happy with the color, the keys look really nice and white now :)
    Also thinking of making my current mod this color


    One question for you guys (and girls, ofcourse):
    What to do with the currently greyish-blue part? Make it the same color? White? Yellow? Red?
     
  2. GuardianStorm

    GuardianStorm Minimodder

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    i think it had good contrast :)
     
  3. mattthegamer463

    mattthegamer463 What's a Dremel?

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    Hmm, I've got a hideously yellowed and stained keyboard here, this would make a nice mini- project for the weekend...
     
  4. LuitvD

    LuitvD What's a Dremel?

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    actually, you could do more then one in a weekend... This job was like 10 minutes to take this thing apart and clean the to-be-painted part for spraying (under warm water with dish-washing soap), half an hour of spraying (pauses of 5-10 minutes between layers, had like 5 layers), another hour for cleaning all the keys (just with a general cleaning spray thing and a cloth), 10 hours of waiting for the paint to get tough (so you can do the previous steps for another 6 keyboards in this amount of time)

    I was busy less than 1,5 hours :) painting the whole keyboard would take about 2 hours, and 10-15 hours of waiting (depends on the type of paint)

    think I'll do my mouse tomorrow :) really looking forward to doing this to my computer :D

    (just bought 2 cans of high-quality spraypaint (that colour) for 8 euros :D )
     
  5. mattthegamer463

    mattthegamer463 What's a Dremel?

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    Well on mine I want to swap the LEDs, paint the keys, and mod it a bit so it will take a bit longer.
     
  6. LuitvD

    LuitvD What's a Dremel?

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    do post pictures of before and after :)

    why not make this the keyboard-mod thread? :p
     
  7. mattthegamer463

    mattthegamer463 What's a Dremel?

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    Heres a before shot of the victim.

    [​IMG]

    A 10 year old IBM PS/2 keyboard, heavily stained and yellowed, and in dire need of a paintjob. Has a really nice smooth typing action though, I can type faster on it than any other keyboard I've ever used.

    Plan is, black blank keys, red body, black cord, red connector on cord.
     
  8. Upriverpaddler

    Upriverpaddler What's a Dremel?

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    You can put 2 very light coats of a very light color on the keys and the letters will still show thru. I did this with yellow on the keys once.
     
  9. mattthegamer463

    mattthegamer463 What's a Dremel?

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    Yeah but I want to paint them black, and I don't need the labels, I know where the keys are fine.
     
  10. LuitvD

    LuitvD What's a Dremel?

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    wohoo, the good old IBM keyboard :) Those really are inbreakable. I once had one... Have no idea where it is right now :(

    Going to paint my mouse soon... maybe tomorrow :) the now-blue keyboard types very well, might consider painting everything before the lan next weekend, to get there all-blue :)
     
  11. LuitvD

    LuitvD What's a Dremel?

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    painted my mouse now, turned out even nicer then I could hope for :D
    [​IMG]

    Actually, in real life it looks even better then on this picture, because of the light... IT'S AWESOME

    I'm glad I got the thumb-pad back on that nicely :D this mini-mod almost went too perfectly :p
     
  12. mattthegamer463

    mattthegamer463 What's a Dremel?

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    Some pics of my keyboard during the painting:

    [​IMG]
    ^ Stuff laid out in the garage.

    [​IMG]
    ^ The red WASD keys, just to be cool.

    Once those WASD keys have dried ill post some pics of the finished thing, but some of the keys need touchup as I missed some spots on the 500+ surfaces I needed to paint. About 6 keys are too ugly to be let off the hook.
     
  13. Duste

    Duste Sierra my delta, bravo!

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    Lmao, I might do that to one of my old keyboards. That is, paint it black/dark grey and paint the main gaming keys red. AWESOME idea! :D
     
  14. itsjustacompaq

    itsjustacompaq Minimodder

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    you could use candy paint to color the keys and still see the letters/symbols. it would look especially cool if it was a black keyboard with white lettering, then only the lettering would be colored. i might have to try this...

    edit: also, luitvd, you might want to wet-sand your paint with fairly high-grit sandpaper to get rid of the "orange peel" that it looks like you have on your keyboard. it woud make it very glossy
     
  15. LuitvD

    LuitvD What's a Dremel?

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    yeah, I know, but you have to wait for like a month to do that for the best result right? I was going to do that :) hate the orange-peeling look :p
     
  16. itsjustacompaq

    itsjustacompaq Minimodder

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    what paint did you use? if it is automotive paint, just lay it out in the sun for a day, then you're good. this cures it faster.
     
  17. LuitvD

    LuitvD What's a Dremel?

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    it's some standard spray-paint... I'll just wait 2 more weeks, and then I'll wetsand it straight
     
  18. mattthegamer463

    mattthegamer463 What's a Dremel?

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    I typically just sand my crap in 24 hours. Haven't had a problem yet.

    My keyboard is finished (except for some keys that need touchup.)

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  19. LuitvD

    LuitvD What's a Dremel?

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    I think you sprayed too close to the keys... Or you didn't clean them enaugh... :p
    I just painted my remote too :D check it out:

    [​IMG]

    And a shot of all three devices together :)
    [​IMG]
     
  20. mattthegamer463

    mattthegamer463 What's a Dremel?

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    So its a painting war now, is it?

    How could I miss spots by painting too close to the keys? Also, I scrubbed each one individually with warm soapy water and a brush. They were clean enough to do surgery on.
     

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