Lets see the facts. Most people dont care how their keyboard looks like. They dont even think about how it looks. But when you have a modded case, it just doenst fit to have a plain grey-black keyboard. That was the case for me…Not anymore…
The victim: Microsoft Digital media pro keyboard
Step 1: The buttons
The first thing was to remove the buttons. Nothing special about it. Just use a flat screwdriver or anything sharp enough to pop the keys out. Take a bit more care to the “long” keys, such as the spacebar, shift key etc. as they have a metal hook on the back connected with the keyboard.
Step 2: Taking the keyboard appart
After all the keys are removed, its time to take it apart. Start by removing all the screws from the back plate of the keyboard, and be careful not to lose them (in case u want to take it back to work). I used a small bucket to put all of the keys and screws in. After the back plate is removed (all the keyboard cables and touchpads remain on the bottom plate) take the front plate and remove the remaining keys that need to be removed (such as the LED protectors, play/pause, volume etc. After ALL keys are removed, its a wise idea to clean it a bit!
Step 3: Its Spraying time
After you are done with taking everything apart and cleaning them, its time to start spraying it. Select your favorite color, visit a local paint shop and get some plastic spray paint.
I am not going to tell you how to spray a surface (there are plenty DIY projects online - google it!) just that you have to spray it two times, the first has to be done very light, so dont spray it with a huge amount of paint, and the second one is the one that has to go more deep. If you want the best results you can go on 3 passes, but i dont think its really necessary for a keyboard.
Step 4 : Get everything back together
After you are satisfied with the color result, and you let it dry properly, its time to take everything back. Just go reverse the way you put everything together.
Step 5: Feel free to buy yourself an icecream as an award
Thats it. You got yourself a personalized keyboard to fit your style.
Final Thoughts
I loved this mod. its just cool to have your own personalized keyboard. Just a couple of sidenotes:
- I also wiped away the letters from the keys (just to make it more “geek” like :P)
- Used 150 and 400 sand paper for the wiping
- The project cost around 9 euros (paint and sand paper)
- Take care when using the sand paper not to wipe away any fresh paint
- Do not spray indoors!
If you liked the project or you have already done something similar, please feel free to post some screenies and thoughts 
Thanks for the tip!
Respectfully,
Kristi@diyhappy
For input devices that are exposed to a lot of paint-removing finger-rubbing, you might want to check out vinyl dye, like this guy did: http://alcaron.blogspot.com/2006/12/noir-360-wireless-controller.html
@john
i can say so far the paint hasnt fade-off yet but its a good thing for further usage. thank you for your feedback.
Interesting
Very, very nice. I’ll just have to remember which light belongs to Num Lock, Caps Lock, and Scroll Lock. This project would cover them!
Could this be done to the monitor, anybody?
@Rosario
Its pretty much the same procedure for the monitor. You have to take it apart, and paint the borders only. If its a TFT, take good care of the screen itself and all the cables of the inverter.
I did this to my ipod:
full gallery:
http://devonation.com/galley/displayimage.php?album=random&cat=14&pos=-650
I did this a while back to my IBM Model M keyboard.
photos here -> http://flickr.com/photos/davekaufman/sets/72157594252710575/
@devo
Nice work mate.
@Dave
Flickr says its a private picture
thanks a lot ill have a tut up soon, but u do it pretty much the same way
I think this is neat, but for the none geek people, I think we need stickers to put the letters back on the keys. Or spend a lot of time striking the incorrect keys. Either way, I love the idea.
@sha403
Hehe true. but you can just not wipe the keys away (ofc if they are in good condition still :P) i just wanted to make it more -geek- like
If you’re going to blank out the keys, why don’t you paint it all green? It would look outstanding. This is the reason I see no need to pain a keyboard, the keys always stay ugly unmatched black!
@ s
it looks dull 
I dont like monochrome
Hey, this is great and awesome, i want to paint evrything on my pc…
I have a question, i want to paint my keys without painting the letters. Any idea ?
so cool DIY
@Hipocampo
leave them as they are 
well, just don’t wipe them away
uselesss
i think they all r to difficult the devises
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