Pre-guide: How to fix worn out membrane buttons

[Ziggy]

Here's something I've been wanting to try for a while. I finally got a chance to test it out, and it works great so far, so I wanted to share.

I eventually wanna do a proper write up for this, I suppose in guide form, so this'll just be more of an info dump thread. I want questions to be asked and answered, I want people to perhaps try this out on their broken stuff. I want my own experiments with this to have some use/time to see if the fix holds up.


I've been looking for a good fix for membrane buttons, such as the kind you'll find on most game controllers. You'll also find them on remote controls for TVs, DVD players, ect, as well as keypads for car keyless entry, auto start, alarm, etc, as well as many other electronic devices.

I've read of a few different fixes, not of which I like. Some times you can get away with just cleaning the membrane and the traces to get it to work again, and some times the membrane is just worn out. One fix I've seen is to glue on aluminum foil or use aluminum tape. Aluminum isn't the best thing to use. There's copper tape, but copper will corrode or tarnish or whatever. One fix that I've seen recently is kind of interesting. Some one got another "donor" membrane with the circle pads being the right size. They cut the circles out and used a silicon to glue them onto the worn out membrane. It worked for them, but I don't like this for a couple of reasons. One, it's labor intensive and will take patience and a lot of time. Two, will they stayed glued in place forever? After 1,000 button presses? Doesn't seem like the best fix to me.

So here's an idea I came up with a while back: Conductive paint. I finally got the chance to try it out, and so far it works great. It was my mom's keyless/remote start keypad for her car. I applied a very light amount of the paint to each button, let it dry, and now the keypad works great. But only time will tell if the fix will last. So I'll let her use that for some months before I decide if it's a perfect fix or not.

I have some Genesis and SNES controllers that I got from a friend that have some worn out buttons. I have a couple of remote controls around the house with worn out buttons. I have a friend with a car keypad that doesn't work. I'm gonna try and fix all of them with this method. I'll try and give all the items some good use. Then I'll see what's what.

The only problem I can see is if the paint starts to wear off the button, flake/chip away or something. It seems pretty solid tho. If any one wants to give this a try, here's exactly what I used...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hum-Bugger-Cond ... 35ba327d34

Conductive paint is kinda expensive, but this guy sells 1oz cups for an affordable price. 1oz is an INSANE amount for fixing buttons. I applied mine to the buttons with a toothpick. I did 5 buttons, and I think I used the equivalent to one drop from an eyedropper, maybe less.

If any one wants to give this a try, feel free to ask any questions about this.

And I'd like any input any one has about this fix.

[Hobie-wan]

I'm pretty sure I've seen stuff specifically aimed at using on the domes at Fry's.

[Ziggy]

Does any one have more info on what Hobie said? Maybe some one can go into a Fry's and try and find it and buy it? I don't have a Fry's near me (wish I did).



I did this to my mom's second car keypad, and that one seems to work fine as well. I didn't leave either keypad to dry for very long. I figured since I applied such a small amount, and stuck it in front of a heater fan for a short while, that it was good enough. I think it would be better to leave it dry for a good 24 hours.

When I get around to doing my controllers and remotes, I'll allow them to dry to 24 or more hours before putting it back together. I'll see if that makes a difference when I'm testing everything.

[fastbilly1]

I am very curious about this Ziggy. Ive got a couple sets of NES and SNES controllers that could use this.

I will try to go to frys this weekend.

[SpoonyBard]

Do you notice that you have the press the buttons any harder? I seem to recall the conductive surface being thicker (than a thin layer of paint at least) on a lot of the membrane buttons i've looked at.

I've yet to have any wear out, but this definitely seems like a good fix in the case that they do. Simple, inexpensive and effective is always a good thing.

[CRTGAMER]

There is also Circuit Writer pens also available at Frys used for touching up traces on a PCB. I tried it out on a flexible traces of a Dance Pad and covering with transparent tape inside though a mixed result, the ink would crack after repeated use.

However, fire buttons won't distort as much as the Dance pads and the conductive ink just might work. This might be an inexpensive and better fix over aluminum foil for the Atari 5200 controllers.

[Hobie-wan]

The stuff I think I saw was specifically paint on.