Thinkpads Forum

Hi everyone,

Long time thinkpad user here. My recent TP's: X60s, T41, T410, X220. I'm looking to step up my experience in terms of aesthetics and security(?). There's something I really like about blank keyboards. I own a Filco Majestouch 2 with a blank key set. I have always been in love with the Thinkpad keyboards (until the X1 came out possibly?). I want a blank keyboard because to me it would epitomize the customization that I look for in terms of minimalism and aesthetics.

Purchasing:
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At any rate I'm looking to purchase a blank key set to go with my X220. I've talked with Lenovo sales, they refer me to the Parts department, who require a warranty and the FRU part number (I don't have my X220 just yet, it's shipping) to even get to talk to someone successfully. If it requires that I buy a full X220 keyboard to get that set of blanks, I really don't mind, I will do that. So being tossed around at Lenovo support has not been very fun.

Another option I have looked into is purchasing a keyboard directly from the manufacturer. The problem is I have been having difficulty finding which manufacturer builds these keyboards. I would have to get these in a special order I believe, where they would skip the adhering of the labels and the quality check for the same. Here is one contact I found that looks like they do produce these keyboards at quantities of a minimum of 10: http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/54401 ... N2036.html

My main problem with pursuing this Alibaba solution is that I need to have my own company or be part of a company to purchase the laptops from the manufacturer like this. I have since reached out to the supplier: http://www.loptech.com/index.html and I am waiting on a reply.

DIY:
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If all fails at attempts to purchase, I concede that I may have to either use a solvent or an alternative removal method to get the labels off the keys individually after the fact. There are a few resources online that assist in this endeavor.

http://superuser.com/questions/168050/h ... y-keyboard
http://www.gregschier.com/2011/04/remov ... -keyboard/

TL;DR:
Questions:
1. Have you ever seen a Thinkpad with a blank keyboard?
2. Where might I acquire one?
3. Have you removed key labels before?

Willing to purchase:
1. Blank keys for X220
2. Blank keyboard for X220
3. 10 blank X220 keyboards from manufacturer

Willing to mod:
1. Using mild solvents
2. Using a blade

Thanks a million guys, will update with pics when I'm done.

Other References:
http://forum.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-Thi ... d-p/747741 (I posted this similar thread on Lenovo forums.)
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/product ... D=PD013449 (Here's the page listing the FRU part numbers for the X220.)

I suspect that you'd have good luck removing the labels with sugar. Worth a try at least, although the keys will by shiny, not matte at that point which would be a turn-off for me, personally.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to- ... phone-wit/

You can get keyboard skins for the X220, why not try and find an opaque one, it would kill two birds with one stone!
Plus it would be a heck of a lot cheaper and easier.

When all else fails, I'm pretty sure you can 3D-print a set of blank keys yourself.

Black electrical tape over the keys, maybe?

I realize it's not quite the same.

EasyMac308 wrote:I suspect that you'd have good luck removing the labels with sugar. Worth a try at least, although the keys will by shiny, not matte at that point which would be a turn-off for me, personally.

Interesting tip about the sugar, I'll give it a fair shot.

RealBlackStuff wrote:You can get keyboard skins for the X220, why not try and find an opaque one, it would kill two birds with one stone!
Plus it would be a heck of a lot cheaper and easier.

Actually where can you find a nice one? I'm not aware of these keyboard skins. You mean the gel sheet thing that you can get? I really think those are kind of gross and weird. Or are there other skins like an adhered vinyl type of material? I'd be interested in the latter rather than a gel sheet thing.

j-dawg wrote:Black electrical tape over the keys, maybe?

I realize it's not quite the same.

No, dawg. I would be willing to use a high quality paint though, or vinyl stickers. I'd prefer to remove the labels though.

One of many skins: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Keyboard-Silico ... 2316f9e690
Spray it 'opaque' on the inside.

Why not see if you can get the keycaps made from a custom plastics shop? They probably wouldn't be cheap for a one-off, but it's probably an option.

Or you could call Chicony directly and try to get them to sell you the blanks themselves...

DataCal can sell you blank overlays for keys, maybe $15/set. They're lexan with a rubber-cement type adhesive and hold up pretty well for a year or two then have to be peeled and replaced.

But the Lenono keys are just standard cheapass keys with decals stuck on them. Not lables, just decals with a little overcoat to make them more durable. The original IBM PC keyboards were dye-sublimated or cast (embedded) and never wore out, they defined quality. Decals always wear off, I can make your keys blank by typing on them for just a year, finger oils and acids will do that to decals.

I'd suggest taking off a few keytops and seeing what solvents (ammonia, floor wax remover, alcohol, hot water, citrus solvent, waterless hand cleaner ? will take the decals off without the need for anything fancier.

While these decals are pretty much universal these days, they were the always considered the sign of a cheap keyboard. The difference between $19.95 and $195.95.

ThinkRob wrote:Why not see if you can get the keycaps made from a custom plastics shop? They probably wouldn't be cheap for a one-off, but it's probably an option.

Or you could call Chicony directly and try to get them to sell you the blanks themselves...

Hi Rob, I actually called Chicony as recommended in this post: http://forum.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-Thi ... d-p/747741 by the user Lead_org. They are actually located in my home state.

Unfortunately they said that they: "stopped manufacturing laptop keyboards". I think my next option is to find out who the hell is manufacturing the keys, or to do a one-off run of keys from a plastics shop like you said. Do you happen to know of a custom plastics shop that may be able to do such a thing? I was asking on geekhack and they were saying a custom run for a one off would be several thousands of dollars :/ I'm willing to spend maybe two hundred max.

hellosailor wrote:I'd suggest taking off a few keytops and seeing what solvents (ammonia, floor wax remover, alcohol, hot water, citrus solvent, waterless hand cleaner ? will take the decals off without the need for anything fancier.

I'll try the solvent method. I wish I knew more about the destructiveness of solvents on plastics. I don't want to alter the color of the plastic or damage the keys themselves.

Thanks for the help guys

$15 should buy you a can of Duplicolor plastic primer and a can of paint, from any auto chain. Obviously remove the caps and paint them elsewhere.

A little sandpaper (400 grit of finer) or a dremel tool with a polishing wheel should also get the decals off.

Any hobby shop that deals in plastic models probably has someone with some expertise on this.

Chicony no longer makes mobile keyboards?

Really?! That's odd, since their site not only shows mobile keyboards as one of their products but also has a picture of a 2010 ThinkPad keyboard.

Guess it's just out of date...

dannyp wrote:I was asking on geekhack and they were saying a custom run for a one off would be several thousands of dollars :/ I'm willing to spend maybe two hundred max.

Ask a college student to CAD the keys for you for free. Then take the 3d models to a 3d printing service, like Shapeways.

twistero wrote: Ask a college student to CAD the keys for you for free. Then take the 3d models to a 3d printing service, like Shapeways.

I thought about that, actually. The CAD part is easy enough, but I don't think that 3D printinig is accurate enough for that. The tolerance for most keys is pretty small, and the clips have to fit pretty precisely unless you want the keys popping off during typing...

Interesting experiment.

I just found this interesting read on lenovo blogs:
http://blog.lenovo.com/products/typing- ... k-keyboard

It seems that due to large number of different layouts in Europe, they already manufacture blank keyboards and print them locally "on demand".

I wonder how hard would it be to get hands on such a thing.

hellosailor wrote:I'd suggest taking off a few keytops and seeing what solvents (ammonia, floor wax remover, alcohol, hot water, citrus solvent, waterless hand cleaner ? will take the decals off without the need for anything fancier.

dannyp wrote:I'll try the solvent method. I wish I knew more about the destructiveness of solvents on plastics. I don't want to alter the color of the plastic or damage the keys themselves.

Thanks for the help guys

I'm hard pressed to think of anything that won't leave keyshine. Alcohol would be my first choice otherwise.

Acetone may be what hellosailor was thinking of. It's commonly sold as "Nail Polish Remover" and can be had at dollar stores. It WILL remove the text, but will also frost the surface as it erodes it below the coating. The effect may not be the same from key to key, though.

hellosailor wrote:I'd suggest taking off a few keytops and seeing what solvents (ammonia, floor wax remover, alcohol, hot water, citrus solvent, waterless hand cleaner ? will take the decals off without the need for anything fancier.

dannyp wrote:I'll try the solvent method. I wish I knew more about the destructiveness of solvents on plastics. I don't want to alter the color of the plastic or damage the keys themselves.

Thanks for the help guys

Radioguy wrote: I'm hard pressed to think of anything that won't leave keyshine. Alcohol would be my first choice otherwise.

Acetone may be what hellosailor was thinking of. It's commonly sold as "Nail Polish Remover" and can be had at dollar stores. It WILL remove the text, but will also frost the surface as it erodes it below the coating. The effect may not be the same from key to key, though.

Just curious if acetone can be diluted in strength like alcohol and its "key eroding" abilities reduced to only work on the "text"?

Perhaps. You could try one key as an experiment, and then order a replacement if it goes bad here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400074625208

Toothpaste works wonders on plastics. It acts as a very fine polishing compound to remove light scratches and scuffs on the surface. I've used it for vehicle head light and tail light assemblies as well as LCD screens. Works wonders. In your situation the mild abrasion will remove the print while at the same time keep the shine. The downside is that it would be a little labor intensive to hand rub multiple keys and it may buff off any key texture you wish to keep. A dremel tool with a buffing pad would speed up the operation, but you would have to watch that the speed of the tool didn't burn the key surface. A variable speed tool would be the best option.