HowTo: Simple Keyboard Painting

This is another thing that I have done a long time ago, but now I’ve decided to release it as a HowTo. I had an old keyboard lying around and I was thinking how it would be to have one black keyboard (even though it’s quite easy to just go and buy one.) I didn’t take pictures of all of the segments, but I’ll try to explain them:

Material and Equipment:

  • Frost Spray (The color you want)
  • Plier
  • Tape

This is the keyboard:

    DSC00446

The first step is to get rid of all the keys. Set them aside or if you’d like to paint the keys too then go ahead and leave them in, it’s your keyboard anyway! But I’ll describe the way I did.

First, take off all the keys. I advise using pliers because keys don’t come out so easily. But be careful to not damage the keys.

 

Here are some pictures of it:

    DSC00448DSC00450DSC00451DSC00453

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What you could do is leave your keys in a bowl with water and detergent and it will clean them a bit.

 

After taking all the keys off, it’s time to choose what you want to paint and what you don’t.
You can simply use tape to cover what you don’t want painted.

    DSC00458DSC00455

 

Now it’s time to rock!!!
Tape your keyboard with paper in areas you don’t want paint and go ahead and start painting! You should spray with a distance of about 15 cm and fast, don’t leave the spray on the same point for too long. The first coat probably won’t cover all of the keyboard, so you should wait about 15 minutes and then spray it with another coat. Keep going it until it’s fully covered.
Some pictures of the process:

    DSC00465DSC00461

 

Now you should wait 24 hours until it is fully dry.
Now it’s time to put the keys back. One piece advice, before you start this project, you should take a picture of your keyboard so you know where to put the keys again.

    DSC00480DSC00482

 

And then it’s ready.

 

Hope you liked this HowTo.
If you liked this, have any correction or advice, please leave a comment!

 

Comments

  1. Sup ya’ll, nice blogs, very detailed tutorials (especially loved the winamp control :P, making one now). anyway IMO it’s easier to paint the keyboard if you totally dismantle it , that way you wont have to worry about masking off areas such as the keyholes? (sry my english isn’t exactly exemplary). i got tired of my old & boring keyboard, so i ripped it apart, painted the frame black last night, and gonna paint the keys with Red & Black (some sort of pattern i guess), also the 3 tiny green LED-s are really boring so i swapped them with 5500mcd red LED-s :P, it lights up the room pretty good at nights, im thinking about integrating the music-coordinated blinking leds between the number keys row and the F-number keys row, if you have any tips on how to do it, any help/advice would be greatly helpful.

    Keep up the good work 🙂

  2. Oh and i 4got to ask if the blinking LED project is possible with a cold cathode lamp, and if so would everything be as simple as with LED-s or would there be sth more to do. Even pointing in the right direction is warmly welcome

  3. Great tutorial!
    imho taking it apart is easier than masking, also if you use a primer paint first the adhesion of the Color paint is much better. If you wash the parts or give a good wipe with alcohal it helps. To keep it from scratching you can clear coat it with matte or gloss clear coat to give it a tough finish.

  4. Would a keyboard require sanding? I remember my first craptastic attempt at it when I was 12 after seeing ‘hackers’ (I even did the camo style) I wasnt bothered by taking out the keys which didnt really help but it turned out that the keys were sticky as the paint had built up etc…

    IMO I’d sand the coat down with high-density plastic sanding paper, it should give it a better look and feel, not to mention last longer… then again the camo keyboard was my first, and last attempt at computer modding

  5. After you paint the keys, go to a craft store and find rub on letters (they’re like decals). Pick a size and a font you like. It takes a while to do every key, but the results are worth it. Clear coat it when you’re done to keep them from coming off.

    N.B.: Krylon Fusion paint works well with plastic.

  6. hey guys, i knw am a bit late.. a year 🙂
    does the color after a while ll come off and the original color appear ?? and wat is the clearcoat ?? and does the tempreture affect the color ??
    tell me coz ill turn ma entire pc to another color

  7. Ramii, a clear coat is the top coat you apply to surfaces in order to provide a clear shield for the surface. You can buy a can at Walmart, HomeDepot, or Lowes for about 3 dollars and some change. Clear coats come in two forms, gloss and matte. The gloss is shiny while the matte is more of a flat finish where as it prevents reflection and glare. I picked up a can of Krylon matte clear coat to give my computer tower the stock look. Temperature shouldn’t affect the color but it might affect the quality of the coat. Don’t apply paint to a hot surface otherwise it will turn out kind of crappy. Use many light coats instead of a few heavy coats. Good luck and have fun with your project.

  8. I smart thing to do if you wish to paint over the keys is get some blue painter tape, and tape over just the letters( not the entire key, just the letter) and presto! new keys with the same letters. unless you know someone who can supplu with stencils for custom lettering, making WASD keys with a arrow for games, and maybe a a stickman running away for the escape key.

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