This will require about 2 hours time once you have collected the proper cleaning materials.
- Cleaning materials:
- Cotton swabs
- Cosmetic foam rubber cleaning pads ( use only with naptha (lighter fluid), NOT alcohol)
- Paper towels
- Rubbing alcohol
- Water
- Lighter fluid (naptha)
- Fine tipped tweezers
- Scissors
- Kitchen strainer
- Household cleaner, Windex or equivalent
- Super Lube Dry Film spray (critical - DO NOT SUBSTUTUTE !) K-Mart automotive.
- This is a PTFE (teflon) based lubricant which dries perfectly DRY and is ideally suited for this application.
Proceed as follows:
DISASSEMBLE
IMPORTANT: Make a keyboard map so you know where each key goes.
Carefully pry each key loose with a small screwdriver and place in a
container. They pop off. DO NOT use excessive force. There may be a
small rubber piece for each key. Remove all of these and place in a
separate container. CAREFUL, these are small and like to jump away.
CLEAN KEYBOARD
Clean the keyboard with cotton swabs SLIGHTLY DAMPENED with water.
Replace these often and BE SURE they are only slightly damp. If they are
too wet the excess water will contaminate the keyboard through
capillary action. This will clean all water soluble contaminants like
Coca-Cola, coffee, and sugar residue. For the very small places, cut the
foam rubber into small pieces and use the tweezers, again SLIGHTLY
DAMPENED, for cleaning. You must clean each and every key space, inside
and out, this is critical since this is where the key touches and moves.
Repeat this procedure again using rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs but
NOT the foam rubber as it disintegrates when used with alcohol.
Finally repeat this procedure using naptha (lighter fluid) and foam
rubber. You can clean even the smallest key guides with small pieces of
foam rubber and tweezers. This action will remove any petroleum based
contaminants as well as the grease that is sometimes used on the wider
keys which may have guide wires, for example, the SCACE BAR.
CLEAN KEYS
Some keys may have wires attached and some grease on them, clean
these first with cotton swabs and naptha (lighter fluid). Remove all
traces of the grease.
Place all keys in a kitchen strainer. Spray with household cleaner
and let stand for 5 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with hot water and place
keys on paper towels to dry. Let dry completely.
CLEAN RUBBER COMPONENTS
Place all rubber components in a kitchen strainer. Spray with
household cleaner and let stand for 5 minutes. Use stopper in the sink
so that you don?t lose these if they jump out of the strainer. Rinse
these thoroughly with hot water and place on paper towels. Fold the
towels over and press to squeeze most of the water out of the pieces.
Let dry completely.
LUBRICATE KEYS
Place all keys bottom-up on a paper bag. Lightly coat the keys, at a
45 degree angle with Super Lube Dry Film lubricant. Do this from all 4
sides to assure penetration and coverage into the small and critical
guide spaces inside each key. Let dry ( this happens nearly instantly).
DO NOT overdue this step as the carrier solvent may affect the plastic.
LUBRICATE KEYBOARD
Mask off the laptop with paper and scotch tape. Apply lubricant (as above in LUBRICATE KEYS) to the keyboard and let dry.
All right, you now have perfectly cleaned and lubricated keys, keyboard, and rubber components.
REASSEMBLE
Place all rubber components into the keyboard.
Install keys with wires. Make sure wire is secured in the key,
usually snapped into place. Place ends of wire in the guide slots
adjacent to the key location as you align the key. Firmly press down to
snap the key into place.
Install the rest of the keys by aligning and firmly pressing down.
