IBM Model-M paint

[tatm Mrk.RIVE]

Well Alot of people don't like old eggshell. I don't. But However I definitely love mechanical keyboards that are under 50$. So I managed to get My hands on an IBM Model-M with buckling springs. Sick of eggshell after 2 days I went and researched painting them and alot of paint's won't work. Understandable as excessive daily use wears off the letters even.
So I thought. Why don't I use the dye they use for the letters? Like in sublimation dyeas it seeps into the plastic.. couldn't find that. so I went and found some Vinyl dye and now my keyboard is black. I don't recomment using RIT dye as in alot of cases it starts to come off/get cloudy. fairly quickly
with a few red keys (WASD and Esc)
Waiting on finding some blue.

Anyways how you do this is very important.
First you have to prep the surface. I used 99% isopryl acetone is also an option.
After you let it air dry run some water on it if the iso has left any residue.
try and do this in a dustfree and hair free environment as it will all get stuck and leave texture or be a pain to get off as if you touch or scrape this paint when it's wet it will go right to the plastic. when its dry it will be nearly impossible to get out
Anyways Handle with gloves after out clean it as the oil from your fingers will prevent the dye from properly adhering

Anyways after you got the paint area set up or figured out. Do light coats do alot of coats because you don't want the paint to add texture to the keyboard.
I used about 2 cans of black on the case
Let it dry between coats. and after you are done I would give it atleast a day or 2 to set properly. this way the paint won't be as likely to fade.

So far I have tested duplicolor paint red, black, and silver.
red you can sort of see the lettering silver/grey you cannot, same with black

I highly recommend lexmark made keyboards for this as I am not sure with others but the underneath-the-keys area was made from black plastic saves work for the perfect look.

Will update with pics

 

[Pylon]

You can RIT dye the keys on the Model M's if you want durable coloring that also lets the lettering show through.

 

[SH1]

Much of my computer is black. So I swapped out my Model M's case with that of a black one from an M13 and that bridges the gap aesthetically for me. (The keys are still original, eggshell or what have you, which I prefer in the case of IBM's keys, which are so beautifully done.)