Topic: DIY "ivory" feel keys - improve cheap glossy keys feel & playability
I got a cheap ultra-portable MIDI keyboard for travel: something to throw in the backpack. It had glossy plastic keys that were also quite grippy/tacky: difficult to play chords as black keys are easily dragged down just by the rub of the side of one's finger when playing white keys next to them. And forget slides/glissandos.
I dissassembled the KB and removed the keys and gave them the de-gloss treatment demonstrated in this video:
https://youtu.be/31hhHEDIlj8
It involves dragging a scourer back and forth (in this case along the length of the keys) until desired finish is reached. Unlike what's shown in the video, I found I needed to do this in two stages: using heavy duty scourer first, followed by "non-scratch" scourer after wiping the dust off from first stage with a damp sponge. To finish off I cleaned the remaining fine dust off with a damp cloth (forget using glass cleaner shown in the video). The white keys are very easy to do, the black keys take some time as you have to do top, sides and front. But it's worth doing. (But note that you definitely cannot do this properly without dissassembling the keybed.)
The result is remarkable. Feel and playability of the keys has improved 200%. It's still basically a synth/organ keyboard (the action is what it is) but the keys feel very nice to the touch, much easier to play fast, and glissandos are no problem.
Incidentally, if you're on the east coast of Australia, after a cheap ultra-portable synth-action keyboard, these Nektar SE49's are on sale at DJ City stores for $AU79 (in-store price only, $149 otherwise). I'm in no way affiliated.