I’m currently into translucent keys with swirls of color

The layers of colored resin are pressed together by the two-part mold, resulting in a cool smooshed look.

I need a backlit keyboard to make these shine.

My keycaps have improved!

After a lot of trial and error, I finally realized if you put more resin in the bottom of the two part mold, you’ll avoid the massive air bubbles. Now I can consistently make keycaps without gaping holes (and without a pressure pot).

Here are my “cucumber mint” and “watermelon” keys.

I’ve been watching the L2K tutorials on Youtube to learn to cast keycaps.

While the tutorials are fantastic, I had to watch several times to compile a list of materials. I’m starting from scratch so I needed to acquire everything.

For the Two-Part Silicone Mold

• Lego bricks and base plate (a small kit with many bricks works great, you don’t need all the bricks to be 2×8)
• Mold Star 30 (silicone)
• Mann 200 or Smooth On Universal Release (mold release)
• L2K adapters (to secure your master keycap to the mold box)

For the Resin Keys

• Polyurethane resin (I accidentally got epoxy resin, but they have similar properties)
• Resin dye (any solid/mica dye or a liquid dye)
• Mold release (see above)
• Sand paper (to polish the keycap bottom)
• Pressure pot (I don’t have one but the videos strongly recommend this)

General supplies

• Graduated syringes (you’ll need to mix 1:1 ratios for silicone and resin; catheter tips are better than Luer locks or needles)
• Disposable containers (I’m using plastic egg cartons and other household plastic refuse)
• Stirrers (any small stick will work)

I recently started casting keycaps as a quarantine hobby.

I’m making one a day.

I’m pleasantly surprised the quality of the mold registration. It captured the matte texture on the tops of the keys while keeping the sides smooth and shiny.

I’m using a two-part silicone mold made with L2K adapters. Since my keyboard has DCS sculpted keys (every row of keys is shaped differently), I’ll need to make a mold per row.

The keycaps are susceptible to giant air bubbles. I’m taping the mold to release trapped air but I might purchase a pressure pot in the future.

Once I master the fundamentals, I’ll attempt to make embeded keys like Jelly Key.

It’s the pumpkin season again! We got a few friends together to create these delightful jack-o’-lanterns.

Check ’em out: