Bag Lubing Switch Springs with Krytox 105 Oil

Here you are! You’ve bought your dry, unmodified mechanical switches for your mechanical keyboard. You open the bag. You hold a switch in your hand, excited to find out what these awesome switches feel and sound like. You press on the stem with your finger a few times, and…cronch! Ping! What?!

Fear not! Whether you have fallen down the rabbit hole of mechanical keyboards, you love collecting mechanical switches or you are only going to do this once—may the force be with you—there is a way to have well, evenly lubricated mechanical switch springs without having to manually paint lubricant on each spring, one by one.

Modifying mechanical switches is one of the most wonderful things to do for an enhanced mechanical keyboard experience. But if anything, it is a massive time investment and a tedious and precise task. Aside from the possibility of having unevenly coated springs, hand-lubing switch springs will only add more time, tediousness, and need for precision to your task.

Take it from someone often commissioned to modify switches for people—batch-lubing switch springs is the way!

What is Bag Lubing?

Batch-lubing is the opposite of hand-lubing and is often referred to as “bag-lubing”. Once you have cracked open all of your switches, you reserve all your springs and lube them all at the same time. How? Put all your switch springs in a small baggy or container with some lubricant, and shake energetically.

What You Will Need:

• A 2-in-1 switch opener.
• A zip bag—sandwich size or a plastic container, like Kinetic Labs switch container.
• Krytox 205G0 or GPL Krytox 105 oil.
• 2 pairs of tweezers.
• A lube station—only if you are going to lube your own mechanical switches every time you get new ones.
• A lubing brush—only if you are using Krytox 205G0

You can find all these things at Kinetic Labs in our Keyboard Lube and Switches online store sections. Krytox 105 oil is the most common lubricant for bag lubing.

How to Bag Lube

First, you will want to use your switch opener to open your switches. Make sure you grab a Cherry/Khalil 2-in-1 switch opener so you don’t have any issues opening your switches. I always suggest separating the top housing, stem, springs, and bottom housings in different containers—I like to use old candle jars, but you can also use Kinetic Labs switch containers.

Once you have reserved your switch springs, put them all in your lubing plastic bag or your lubing plastic container. I strongly recommend using a plastic container if you are going to be modifying mechanical switches more than once as you can safely reuse it for other batches.

Then you will want to add your lubricant. Overall, GPL Krytox 105 oil is best for lubing switch springs. It will help you get a more even but thin layer of lubricant on your springs, requires less shaking, and a smaller quantity of lube than you would need by using Krytox 205G0. Just squeeze 6 to 12 drops of GPL Krytox 105 oil according to how many switches you have in your batch.

If you only have Krytox 205G0, that will work too, but you will need to use your brush and add two green pea size dollops of lube on both sides of your plastic sandwich bag or your plastic container and smear the lube across.

After that, close your plastic container. Or if you are using a sandwich zip bag, close it almost entirely, blow some air in it, then close it all the way without letting the air escape.

Shake, baby, shake!

For at least 2 minutes if you are using GPL Krytox 105 oil, and a good 5 minutes if you are using Krytox 205G0 as it will take more friction to spread evenly on all your springs. Your switch springs should not have any blobs of lube on them or have a visible white texture. You should only see a thin sheen of lube that makes your springs glossy.

Once you’ve shaken your switch springs to the wanted result, they will be all tangled together. That’s where the two pairs of tweezers come in. There is no need to pour your springs on some paper towel, that would only wipe off your excellent lube job, but you might want to use some in case you drop a spring—nobody wants lube on their pretty desk mat.

Use your tweezers to disentangle your springs one at a time and place them one by one in your prepped switch bottom housings. This is where a lube station comes in handy, but you can do this one switch at a time using your switch opener as a prop for your switches’ bottom housings.

Clicky switches are designed to make noise. Be careful when lubing, so the switch does not lose its click.

Things to Avoid When Bag Lubing

Do not put Krytox 205G0 or GPL Krytox 105 oil in your mouth. That is why you do not want to reuse your sandwich plastic bag to “bag lube” your switch springs. It is not to say that Krytox in either form is toxic, as it is rated food-grade for safety, but you will not have a good time if you ingest Krytox 205G0 or GPL 105 oil. I have done it before—it doesn’t taste good, coats and lingers in the mouth, can trigger your gag reflex, and give you tummy unpleasantness.

Do not put Krytox 205G0 or GPL Krytox 105 oil on your hands. Again these lubricants aren’t toxic, but you don’t want any of that stuff in your eyes and they won’t hydrate your skin. So wash your hands if you get Krytox anywhere on you, and use your tweezers to disentangle your switch springs.

Do not use a glass container to shake your springs with lube. There won’t be enough friction to spread the lube and coat your springs. They would only end-up stuck to the lube on the glass.

Do not spread your freshly lubed springs on paper towels or grab them with your fingers, that would only remove the lube you have applied.

And there you have it! Everything you need to know about batch lubing your mechanical switch springs. There’s really no reason to not use this method as it is a considerable time gain and, at least in my opinion, it does a better job of lubing springs for a better all typing feel and experience with your mechanical keyboard.

FAQs

What type of lube is Krytox 105?

Krytox 105 oil is a general purpose lubricant oil with a fluid consistency. It is most widely used to bag lube switch springs.

Can you use krytox 105 for switches?

Yes, you can use Krytox 105 oil for lubing switches, although it will not have the same dampening and smoothening effect of a grease lubricant. For a grease lubricant with a more fluid consistency we recommend Carbon GS2 lubricant.

What is Krytox 105?

Krytox 105 oil is a general purpose lubricant oil with a fluid consistency. It is most widely used to bag lube switch springs.

How do you lubricate a switch on a bag?

While bag lubing is most commonly used to bag lube switch springs, bag lubing can also be used to bag lube keyboard switches and switch parts. To do so, simply place the components (the stem and spring) in a bag with lubricant, close the bag, and shake thoroughly.

Are Lubing spring bags effective?

Yes, bag lubing is an effective way of lubing switch springs consistently to prevent unwanted noise and eliminate switch spring ping noises.

What can I use to lubricate springs with a bag?

The most commonly used lubricant for bag lubing is Krytox 105 oil, although various different types of oils and lubricants can be used, such as Krytox 205g0 and Carbon GS2.