Restoring a 128D

[Mervoid]

Hey folks,

I managed to salvage a 128D(CR) from the wrecking ball a little while back and I really would like to restore it back to its original condition and use it. It appears to work fine; all modes seem to check out so I essentially have a working unit that's in bad shape cosmetically. No dents or anything major that I can see, the metal casing needs a really good scrub and probably a new paint job. The real problem lies with the plastic used for the front bezel and the external keyboard. They have yellowed due to UV and age (not smoke). I've researched a bit online and come to the conclusion that this yellowing cannot be "cleaned" away with bleaches or abrasives as the root cause seems to be a chemical reaction between the plastic and UV within the plastic itself. At any rate, I've resolved to repaint the entire unit including the front bezel and external keyboard case but my question is with regards to the actual keys within the external keyboard enclosure; or perhaps the keyboard itself. If I were to find a 128 (flat, not 128D) keyboard in good condition (as they seem to much easier to find and I don't even need a working unit), can I simply swap the keyboards? Or would there be some kind of hardware magic I'd have to perform to get it to work (ie. soldering, wiring changes etc.)? I guess my second question would be, is there anyone in the Toronto (Canada) area willing to part with a 128, working or not that has a keyboard in good working cosmetic condition? Any other ideas or suggestions would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mervoid

[sjgray]

Sure, you can paint the plastic case parts. I believe there is a special paint called "Krylon" which works well. I've seen several repainted C64s (someone on here has a blue one...). I don't think that painting the actual keys itself would do much good unless you spent a decade masking each letter and symbol.

As far as I know you should be able to use a regular C128 keyboard on the 128D with a little soldering. I could check mine to verify (I have 2 C128's and 2 C128DCR's).

Steve

[gklinger]

I've seen several repainted C64s (someone on here has a blue one...).

See here.

[sjgray]

Ok, I checked and the keyboards are nearly identical between the flat C128 and the external C128D version. From the dual mounting options of the metal part of the keyboard I would guess that either Commodore planned for an external keyboard version of the 128 from the start OR they developed a new keyboard later for the 128D that they could also use in the original 128.

On the top is the flat 128 keyboard and on the bottom is the 128D keyboard.



Steve