Dyeing PBT keycaps
So I've picked up an interest in mechanical keyboards, and one fun thing that I've thought of doing is dyeing some keycaps. There are many procedures
for dyeing keycaps, and PBT is extremely easy to dye, but since a set of white keycaps can be had for less than US$10 on eBay, incorporating a bit of
dye experimentation would be up my alley.
The keycaps I plan to get are doubleshot PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) and clear POM (polyoxymethylene) as legends. As the keyboard I have is
backlit, it's essential that the dyes do not penetrate the POM. ABS keycaps are also available (and generally cheaper) but the dyeing procedure is far
more difficult, as they melt in boiling water and are nowhere near as solvent resistant as PBT.
I'm primarily interested in using fluorescent dyes, as I haven't really seen fluorescent keycaps. I'm wondering if highlighter fluid may be sufficient
to dye them, but I also feel like that's probably too simple to work properly. However I'd also like to find out what kinds of dyes should work well -
I'll try just about anything that will dye the PBT but not the POM legends.
At the end of the day, simulating atoms doesn't beat working with the real things...
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