Most off-the-shelf keyboards utilize Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic for their keycaps, which isn't necessarily a negative thing—but the quality might vary a lot. However, most ABS keycaps have one feature in common: they wear down and become glossy extremely rapidly. This article will discuss how this affects keyboard users. The first thing you should know is that ABS keycaps are not meant to be painted. The material used for keycaps is designed to take a chemical polish and look good doing it. If you try to paint them, the coating will come off when you wash the keyboard. This means that if you want your keys to look nice, you'll have to buy new ones regularly. The only exception to this rule are colored keycaps; these can be painted any color you like. But even then, the paint won't last very long. The reason why keycaps wear down so quickly is because they're made of plastic. Plastic degrades over time due to heat and oxygen, which is why metal keys tend to last longer than their ABS counterparts. But even with metal keys, you'll still need to replace them eventually. In conclusion, ABS keycaps are not meant to be painted and will soon start to look worn out. But there are also metal keycaps available that don't wear down as quickly.