My custom T61 and keyboard mod (links to big pictures)

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Totoro-kun · #1 Post by **Totoro-kun** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 1:37 pm

Good day,
I think I have finished (more or less) building my ThinkPad. It's a 14'1" Wide screen T61 (specs in my signature). The story about this Thinkpad can be found in this older thread. So now we shall see the pictures! So here we go:

Slightly disassembled - note, that in this photo there is 6 cell battery, which is now replaced for 9 cell battery with panasonic cells.
Workplace - Dock and IBM Rapid Access II keyboard.
Assembled and working - You can see blank keyboard in action

I was inspired for the keyboard mod after reading some lenovo blog, which I believe was called "Can you type on a blank keyboard?" or something like that. So the answer is YES, it's very easy once you learn what home position is, and start to touchtype. Aslo, I find T6x keyboards one of the better ones I've seen on thinkpads (of course there were better, but these really do have some things to like). They have solid base, a good layout and are as pleasant as rubber dome keyboards can be. So, lenovo, if you are reading this, and planing on redisigning your "Stradivarius" keyboard some time in the future, please, do consider T4x or T6x as an exaples of a reasonably good keyboards. Thanks!

viktormadarasz · #2 Post by **viktormadarasz** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 2:12 pm

Looks great with the blank keys...im after a T61p...are they well built ,worthy laptops?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Totoro-kun · #3 Post by **Totoro-kun** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 2:53 pm

Thanks! This keyboard was very shiny before the modding so I considered to keep it for parts only. It is still possible to see the evidence on shift, backspace and space keys. But after this mod, it became rather nice, so I'm using this one instead of normal one, which is in good condition

As for T61p, yes, I think they are well engineered, durable and comfortable machines. Only two common problems: wobbly hinges and Nvidia defect, about which you should really search this forum before buying. To say it shortly, if you buy T61p, or any T61 with nvidia video chip, it can be prone to failure if T61 was made before 2008-08.

#4 Post by **600X** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 4:16 pm

Nice keyboard and T61! How did you get rid of the letters? Sandpaper?

Totoro-kun · #5 Post by **Totoro-kun** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 12:52 am

Yes, I have used 1500 and 2500 grit sandpaper with water, so letters came off nicelly. Tricky part was to find a solid base for the paper, which would fit the form of a key, but a standard ducktape roll was a nice fit. Also, buttons with home position marks were harder to work with, as I had to be carefull not to remove them. Right after sanding keys looked very nice and matte, but they become polished after some use. Maybe I should have used some paste or paint to have permanent matte look

dr_st · #6 Post by **dr_st** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 4:10 am

It's interesting, but IMO only half done. A blank keyboard should be truly blank. I would remove the writing from all keys, not just the letters.

Totoro-kun · #7 Post by **Totoro-kun** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 4:58 am

I guess you are right, dr_st, initially I have thought about blanking whole keyboard, sometimes still do, but my concern was ThinkPad special keys. Figured, that I would like to keep them and if I leave these keys as is, but blank all the other keys, then keyboard would look weird, or at least weirder than with all special keys. So I went with blank letters only. If I'll get one more keyboard like this, I could blank all the function keys and see how it goes then.

rumbero · #8 Post by **rumbero** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 6:11 am

Totoro-kun wrote:Right after sanding keys looked very nice and matte, but they become polished after some use. Maybe I should have used some paste or paint to have permanent matte look

Some truly die hard ThinkPad activists from the german neighbor forum have found a way to renovate worn keyboards by applying a spray over of a very small fraction of clear/transparent lacquer/enamel/paint (fishing for the correct expression), in order to get rid of the shine. Fotos, explanation (in German), and further discussion (obviously also in German) can be found at thinkpad-forum.de/threads/114513-Tastaturrenovierung.

Nonetheless, i assume this only temporarily helps, and the shine will come back sooner or later, depending on the paint quality. For this reason I haven't bothered trying myself, as i'd rather plug in a new or little used second hand keyboard.

Totoro-kun · #9 Post by **Totoro-kun** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 2:30 pm

Thank you very much for sharing info about this, rumbero. I'll try to find a suitable spray to test this on my keyboard. If it turned out right, it would be awesome!

#10 Post by **600X** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 1:31 am

rumbero wrote:Some truly die hard ThinkPad activists from the german neighbor forum have found a way to renovate worn keyboards by applying a spray over of a very small fraction of clear/transparent lacquer/enamel/paint (fishing for the correct expression), in order to get rid of the shine. Fotos, explanation (in German), and further discussion (obviously also in German) can be found at thinkpad-forum.de/threads/114513-Tastaturrenovierung.

Nonetheless, i assume this only temporarily helps, and the shine will come back sooner or later, depending on the paint quality. For this reason I haven't bothered trying myself, as i'd rather plug in a new or little used second hand keyboard.

I happened to have met that guy (t42), the new finish actually stays matte longer than Lenovo's coating. You need "Dupli-Color Rallye-Klarlack Matt". It's available at local DIY stores but I'm not sure whether it's available in the US.

#11 Post by **Ibthink** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 3:54 am

Aurora wrote:It's available at local DIY stores but I'm not sure whether it's available in the US.

Well, I didn´t know that "Kaunas, Lithuania" was in the USA.

I thought Lithuania was part of the European Union...