Keyboard Modding - Anyone with experience of painting a keyboard? (updated 18/11/2023)

malccy

malccy

malccy

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Hi

have just bought this old keyboard on fleabay as I thought it was a cool bit of history that I could possibly modernise with a funky paint job.



It will only be used with an occasionally used laptop so no need to rewire it as some have done, and it comes with usb'ps2 connector. I have seen a Youtube video of someone repainting a modern keyboard but am wondering if anyone on here has any personal experience of painting a similar keyboard who can offer some tips and advice.

I presume using wet/dry then primer and a few good coats of car spray paint should do trick?
 
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malccy said:
Hi

have just bought this old keyboard on fleabay as I thought it was a cool bit of history that I could possibly modernise with a funky paint job.



It will only be used with an occasionally used laptop so no need to rewire it as some have done, and it comes with usb'ps2 connector. I have seen a Youtube video of someone repainting a modern keyboard but am wondering if anyone on here has any personal experience of painting a similar keyboard who can offer some tips and advice.

I presume using wet/dry then primer and a few good coats of car spray paint should do trick?
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Gonna be brutally honest, this will be worth way more if you just keep it as it is. a lot of collectors out there that will pay a pretty penny for these.
 
Thanks Jay85 for replying; part of me wants to mod it, but I can also appreciate its original look. I paid a total of £51 inc p&p for the keyboard. Think I shall live and use it for a couple of weeks and see how I feel.
 
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malccy said:
Can I ask what particular paint you found to be best for the job? Did you use a clear coat varnish or similar as a final coat? Any tips or other recommendations?
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I haven't done enough to say what paint is best. The first one I did, I used car paint of the sort you'd find at Halfords. I used that keyboard for years and it looked quite nice. The second one I used Plasti-kote, and learnt that you need to leave sufficient time between coats, or it will wrinkle. That one held up well to years of use by a teenager.

No clear coat or any other finish. No real advice beyond what's true for painting generally: preparation is more important than anything else.
 
Update 18/11/2023

Have cleaned the keyboard up a bit and replaced the keycaps with some shiny new ones. I managed to get correct keycap replacement but found the right-shift keycap for some reason now the same (?)

Here are some before and after pics; have to now have a think about whether to do the paint job or keep the keyboard original as suggested.


Before (1)


After (1)


Before (2)


After (2)

Would be keen to hear peoples opinions.
 
Being very honest I don't think I am digging the new keycaps. Colours look off with the case and they don't look like 1 to 1 copies of the originals, if that is at all important to you, plus that mis-matched shift key in the new set would be an absolute deal breaker for me, and surely must be have been mis-bagged at the factory.
 
Thank Bubo for your post. The right-hand 'Shift' keycap is a difficult one to get hold off due to Compaq being awkward but feel lucky that the general Keycap set I bought fitted 99% successfully. I wanted to replace the dirty-grey keycaps with white intentionally, and did this first before deciding whether to paint the keyboard itself. I have replaced the left-hand side 'Shift' keycap with the original grey keycap to even out the look of the keyboard. I have still not yet decided about whether to paint the keyboard, but if I do, I think either gunmetal grey or very dark grey would fit in with best with the laptop that I am currently using the keyboard in conjunction with.
 
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