PTFE Lubricants

[Radio Fixer]

Has anyone tried these around old radios?

The advertised dry feature is attractive in not attracting dust but the radios wouldn't have had that decades ago and have survived OK. It just means more cleaning when doing a restoration

I currently have a Philips MonoKnob in pieces and will want to lubricate some of the parts including the stiff cables that run to under chassis controls. I have sewing machine oil and 3 in 1 and could use those sparingly. They would be easy to dribble in and apply. For other sliding parts I use white lithium grease.

A thing that bothers me about PTFE sprays is the possibility of contamination to cabinets. We keep the house silicon free for that reason. Once it gets into wood its very hard to remove and if left can cause 'fish eyes' in newly applied lacquer.

Any thoughts appreciated

Gary

[Refugee]

I just spray into a tin lid or milk bottle top and dab it across to the item it is to be used on with a tool or stick.

[Eddystonepete]

Hi Gary, I used to be a great fan of silicon grease but I take your point about contamination. I tried a dry lubricant spray from B+Q, cant remember the name but it was only about £3. It had such a bad smell I dumped it!. I then tried GT85 with PTFE from Halfords, still a bit smelly and didn't seem to lubricate very well. Stick to 3 in 1? May be safest. I know that gun shops do a dry lube, PTFE I think but its very expensive. In other words definitely a maybe!

Peter

[Nick]

I use a PTFE-based grease on my guns (12G & 20G) and also on our push-bikes. Basically, you need very little of it, its water-proof/hydrophobic, doesn't dry out and tends not to attract dirt. Love the stuff.

I've used it on radios, mainly to re-grease bearings which have been deep-cleaned in the ultrasound tank, e.g. on variable caps & tuning cord drives etc. In radios of course, the fact that its insulating helps too!

Its pretty much standard on bikes now - see http://www.halfords.com/cycling/tools-ma...ease-150ml etc.

[ed731pdh]

Have used ZX1 synthetic grease on moving parts, nicer than oil as it doesn't dry out and stays in one place.