Editing Alps SKCL/SKCM series (section)

==Maintenance==

Keyboard with Alps SKCL/SKCM switches were manufactured en masse for nearly two decades so they are quite common. The switches are maintenance-free if used in a clean environment.

Unfortunately, the relatively open design of these switches (particularly the "pine" variant with slits) and the relatively large area of tight tolerance between the switch sliders and the switch top housing, makes the Alps SKCL/SKCM series switches particularly prone to dirt incursion.

Dirty Alps switches will feel scratchy, sluggish, and uneven. By comparison, new or well maintained switches should feel light, crisp, and precise.

After some experimentation, Deskthority user XMIT has found that '''with a good thorough cleaning of the sliders and switch tops, and a shot of compressed air in the bottoms and the switch plates, even the dirtiest of switches can feel like new,''' so long as the springs or switch plates are not rusted. An ultrasonic cleaner is recommended for cleaning the switch tops and the switch sliders. Ultrasonic cleaning is not recommended or generally necessary for the switch housing bottoms, switch plates, springs, or leaves.

Lubrication does not improve the feel of a thoroughly cleaned switch by much. Both XMIT and Hypersphere on Deskthority have had good experience with an extremely light coating of Super Lube Oil with PTFE, a synthetic oil with Teflon particles in suspension, on the switch sliders and the slider guides on the switch top housings.

*[https://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23878 Here] is an article claiming to have found a similar lubricant to the one used on the earliest versions of SKCL/SKCM switches.