I am going to sell my IPad Air 2. It has a Zagg keyboard connected to it. The keyboard has lots of oily fingerprints on the keys.
Does anyone have a tip on how to clean off the fingerprints?
A lot of manufacturers say not to use isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), but especially for non-routine cleaning of heavily soiled keyboards, it has worked very well for me. I’ll put enough on a lint-free cloth that it is damp, but not so much that it will drip into the keys. Pre-packaged alcohol wipes also can do the job well, but again, be careful that they are not so wet that they get alcohol into the mechanism.
You might want to test on a single key first, since it is possible that the lettering may come off on cheaply manufactured keyboards if you scrub them too hard. I’d also power down and disconnect the keyboard from the iPad before cleaning.
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Rub each key with a Kleenex tissue, toilet tissue, microfiber cloth, etc.
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What about iKlear products from iKlean?
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I do like iKlear products, and I’ve used them effectively on various screens. For a really dirty keyboard, though, alcohol gets more grime more quickly.
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My all-purpose kitchen cleaner spray (advertised to degrease and disinfect) does the job just fine. Works great against finger smudges on screens too (just wait till touchscreen MacBooks get released 
), regardless of all the manufacturer CYA. The key is, as @josehill points out, to use only very small amounts. The goal is a just barely damp cloth (and make sure that’s a fuzz-free clean cloth). The last thing you want is anything dripping in there.
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Mostly because most keyboards have rubber-dome keyswitches under the caps. Alcohol will damage the rubber, leading to device failure.
I suspect (but have not tested) that keyboards with mechanical switches should hold up much better.
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That’s right. I’m comfortable using alcohol on such keyboards, as long as small amounts are used and it’s only done on rare occasions. I would not recommend it for routine cleaning.
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I wonder how much of the oily-looking spots are actually just the surface being worn smooth and shiny. In my case, it’s both skin oil (which comes off) and surface wear, which is permanent.
In any event, I think wiping the tops with a soft cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol is the best solution.
Solvent. Whatever.
An occasional surface cleaning shouldn’t do any harm, so long as you’re not soaking it.
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I use ReadRight KeyKleen swabs.
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I use a standard kitchen cleaning spray, of the kind intended to remove grease, on a moist J-cloth. Obviously, the keyboard is unplugged at the time and I leave it in a warm place to dry out before reconnecting it.
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If nothing else, this thread made me look down at my keyboard, and…yikes! Funny how you get used to something until you are made to look at it. Fortunately, I reached over for my bottle of Woosh!, sprayed just a bit on a microfiber cloth, fired up my keyboard locker utility, and voila! Nice and clean again.
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What is a J-cloth?
Would you recommend hand sanitizer – or just stick to plain alcohol?
Just plain alcohol. Hand sanitizers often contain moisturizers or other ingredients that actually can make the problem worse.
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They’re soft woven cleaning cloths, used for pretty much everything. I expect they have a different name in the US.
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Ah, J-Cloth is brand name. How do they compare to plain microfiber cloths?
Edit: just did a search: they were invented by a European subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson in 1963.
They’re ubiquitous across Europe.
I will try the app. I find it completely infuriating that you can’t wipe off the keyboard without the MacBook starts up. What was the problem with an ON button?
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