Reconditioning trackpoint caps (with photos)

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ambientscape · #1 Post by **ambientscape** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 2:36 am

Hi! guys...I've found out a way to recondition the trackpoint caps and it really bring back the life of the old and worn out trackpoint caps. However, it just my opinion and condition of trackpoint caps vary in condition. Anyway, it works for me and would like to share it. The ways are below:

1. All you need is a used toothbrush and with a lil' paste at the tip of it.

2. After that, use your 2 fingertips to hold the caps......and brush it with the pasted toothbrush!!

3. Let it dry under normal temperature, and the caps will be as new as ever and minty fresh too!!

Here's the link for the photos:

http://community.webshots.com/album/548658955KIlLKo

Hope it helps......

Regards,

Alvin

christopher_wolf · #2 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 12:47 pm

Very interesting, I should try that today sometime.

Thanks for the information

tecneeq · #3 Post by **tecneeq** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:32 am

I switched to that one on all my thinkpads, they don't get dirty and are far more precise for my big fingers:

http://worldpostal.de/stevens/softrim6pg.jpg

chubes · #4 Post by **chubes** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:05 pm

How dirty do the caps have to be before they are "beyond help"?

I come into contact with quite a few thinkpads. Friends, family, etc. I usually just chuck caps that are black from heavy use into the trash, it's so gross. They must eat all kinds of food while using their computers, how careless.

My caps don't ever get that bad. Thanks for sharing your technique, I'll give it a try sometime as the caps are a bit expensive.

ambientscape · #5 Post by **ambientscape** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:07 pm

chubes wrote:How dirty do the caps have to be before they are "beyond help"?

I come into contact with quite a few thinkpads. Friends, family, etc. I usually just chuck caps that are black from heavy use into the trash, it's so gross. They must eat all kinds of food while using their computers, how careless.

My caps don't ever get that bad. Thanks for sharing your technique, I'll give it a try sometime as the caps are a bit expensive.

As you can see from the caps.....they have that lil "fur like brush" around it. When the fur had completely worn off on the top of it then its time for a new ones.

However, those caps are meant to be worn off after few years of heavy usage. I've changed my caps a couple of times cause I travel a lot and often use the trackpoint. My caps usually worn off in about 4 months....and then came with me this ingenius idea of conditioning it!!. It did save me.....couple of bucks....and extend its lifetime. However, it will worn off.......after sometime thou.

#6 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:26 pm

The toothbrush trick I first tried about a year or two ago on some red IBM caps and it worked perfectly, borught them to almost mint condition. However, I'm currently using Dell caps since I have a source for getting them free and these things I guess just don't have the fuzz glued on as well as the toothbrush will just knock the fuzz off in many instances. The only thing I can do with these is make sure my hands are clean before using my ThinkPad.

#7 Post by **schen** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:51 am

Pretty much what I'd expect from Dells. I wished I'd have know, I'd have put a couple of real red IBM caps in your box for you!

#8 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:12 pm

I'll keep that in mind, maybe we could make more deals in the future and those can be a part.

These Dell caps don't last long unless you wash your hands every time you use your computer (after a while, this becomes habbit) but when new, the light blue Dell caps look better on the comptuer than the red IBM ones. Still, a month down the line when the fuzz is gone, the red looks much nicer. I used to think the Dell caps wore down faster because they stretch more around the TrackPoint than the IBM ones do because they are slightly smaller but I see them wear down just as fast on the Dells they were meant for.

I just put a new grey cap on my 560X when I recieved the computer yesterday, I'm going to see how long I can make it last under normal use.

#9 Post by **schen** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:38 pm

When I worked at Texas Tech Univ., we had Dells all over the place, but the caps were alway in good shape since most folks took the lazy route and used the ((^%*^$&^%$) touchpad instead of learning how to use the trackpoint, but hey, at least I didn't have to order a bunch of replacements!

Anyway, I have some of the newer "wide" and "soft" caps if you need them. I think I have a few of the blue Dell ones around, I'll have to put one on and see how it looks.

sco1984 · #10 Post by **sco1984** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 1:24 pm

AlphaKilo470 wrote:The toothbrush trick I first tried about a year or two ago on some red IBM caps and it worked perfectly, borught them to almost mint condition. However, I'm currently using Dell caps since I have a source for getting them free and these things I guess just don't have the fuzz glued on as well as the toothbrush will just knock the fuzz off in many instances. The only thing I can do with these is make sure my hands are clean before using my ThinkPad.

Me too use to make my hands clean before using ThinkPad®.
Some peoples use oily,sticky hands or in position 1 hand holding 1
big burger and other hand typing.. Hahahaha ! Using laptop while
eating can be dangerous is your food spills over the keyboard specially if
your drinking hot drink's. Coffee of 1 US$ can cost you plenty US $ ..
LoL , I bought screen protector after 2 months when i bought
laptop. I realised some dirt is getting on the TFT. And i dont like to see
my laptop in dirt. I clean my laptop usually, after all my intension is to
get some good price when i buy newer 1. If ThinkPad® looks
like new, shop keeper gives good price. It is pretty obvious . I
don't no how to remove TrackPoint's soft dome cap. I downloaded
IBM®'s assembly manual for my R50e model, but i wondered they
did not included about assembly ( removal ) of soft dome cap of
ThinkPad® . I saw above pics, but those pics aint showing how to pull
that Dome cap.

Regards,
Amey Abhyankar.

#11 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:06 pm

Oh yeah, I know aboutpeople eating food and using the computer at the same time. My 380ED is on permanent loan to a classmate of mine and I cringe each time I see him type on it after eating lunch and getting grease all over the keyboard and making it smell like lunch. There's this other kid I know who at all costs refuses to keep up his hygeine and I once made the mistake of letting him use my ThinkPad and the blue TrackPoint cap which was just put on that day was yellow when he finished using it. I will tell you now, A.D.D. mixed in with minor O.C.D. and combined with some of my classmates is a recipe for insanity.

I'll eat snacks and food while using my computer often but I usually make it habbit to use one hand for computer, one for food to keep things separate and if I get anything on the laptop, I clean it off as soon as I can.

christopher_wolf · #12 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:18 pm

AlphaKilo470 wrote:Oh yeah, I know aboutpeople eating food and using the computer at the same time. My 380ED is on permanent loan to a classmate of mine and I cringe each time I see him type on it after eating lunch and getting grease all over the keyboard and making it smell like lunch. There's this other kid I know who at all costs refuses to keep up his hygeine and I once made the mistake of letting him use my ThinkPad and the blue TrackPoint cap which was just put on that day was yellow when he finished using it. I will tell you now, A.D.D. mixed in with minor O.C.D. and combined with some of my classmates is a recipe for insanity.

I'll eat snacks and food while using my computer often but I usually make it habbit to use one hand for computer, one for food to keep things separate and if I get anything on the laptop, I clean it off as soon as I can.

Indeed; whenever I eat near my Thinkpad, I usually have an alcohol cloth to wipe my hands with and even then I try to use only one hand for food.

ADD, OCD, Bad Hygeine, and Food is a *bad* combination to let near any computer system. I also spend way too much time cleaning my Thinkpads as well, somewhere around 45 minutes or an hour set aside to make sure everything is running perfectly and looks in tip top shape.

ambientscape · #13 Post by **ambientscape** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:18 pm

christopher_wolf wrote:
AlphaKilo470 wrote:Oh yeah, I know aboutpeople eating food and using the computer at the same time. My 380ED is on permanent loan to a classmate of mine and I cringe each time I see him type on it after eating lunch and getting grease all over the keyboard and making it smell like lunch. There's this other kid I know who at all costs refuses to keep up his hygeine and I once made the mistake of letting him use my ThinkPad and the blue TrackPoint cap which was just put on that day was yellow when he finished using it. I will tell you now, A.D.D. mixed in with minor O.C.D. and combined with some of my classmates is a recipe for insanity.

I'll eat snacks and food while using my computer often but I usually make it habbit to use one hand for computer, one for food to keep things separate and if I get anything on the laptop, I clean it off as soon as I can.
Indeed; whenever I eat near my Thinkpad, I usually have an alcohol cloth to wipe my hands with and even then I try to use only one hand for food.

ADD, OCD, Bad Hygeine, and Food is a *bad* combination to let near any computer system. I also spend way too much time cleaning my Thinkpads as well, somewhere around 45 minutes or an hour set aside to make sure everything is running perfectly and looks in tip top shape.

HEhehe! Sounds like me too here!! I constantly brushing off dust out of my keyboards and stuff with a soft brush used for painting. After that, I use a microfibre cloth to absorb off all the dust.

Reconditioning trackpoint caps (with photos)

Reconditioning trackpoint caps (with photos)

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