Comprehensive Grease and Lube Thread

[yifu]

I have used silicon lube, Krytox PFPE and Nyogel 760 and out of the three Nyogel is the best for the threads and gives just the right amount of dampening. Kryotx works very well on the o-rings though. I personally would avoid Nano Oil as it looks danger as well as using Super Lube or Krytox for bare Al threads as the Teflon suspended inside is very abrasive and WOULD cause fretting and cause the threads to wear off in my experience.

 

[TyJo]

I have used silicon lube, Krytox PFPE and Nyogel 760 and out of the three Nyogel is the best for the threads and gives just the right amount of dampening. Kryotx works very well on the o-rings though. I personally would avoid Nano Oil as it looks danger as well as using Super Lube or Krytox for bare Al threads as the Teflon suspended inside is very abrasive and WOULD cause fretting and cause the threads to wear off in my experience.

I have heard this before but this is over my head. I tried to look up hardness of PTFE and aluminum and I was unable to find measurements using the same scale. I have a hard time wrapping my head around why Superlube would be putting abrasive particles in their lubricant?

 

[yifu]

I have heard this before but this is over my head. I tried to look up hardness of PTFE and aluminum and I was unable to find measurements using the same scale. I have a hard time wrapping my head around why Superlube would be putting abrasive particles in their lubricant?

Teflon is very smooth by itself and works very well with harder materials like steel, anodised aluminium or titanium and it is usually recommended for those types of threads, which are more common in industrial applications. It's only when used with softer metals like aluminium that fretting occurs.

 

[N162E]

I have a hard time wrapping my head around why Superlube would be putting abrasive particles in their lubricant?

Simple answer, they don't. Super lube is the best all round lube you can get for all surfaces aND O RINGS. I' ve been using it for over 20 and I have never seen it fret bare aluminum or any other metal .period. Whatever PTFE they add in is at the molecular level.

 

[shelm]

I have used silicon lube, Krytox PFPE and Nyogel 760 and out of the three Nyogel is the best for the threads and gives just the right amount of dampening. Kryotx works very well on the o-rings though. I personally would avoid Nano Oil as it looks danger as well as using Super Lube or Krytox for bare Al threads as the Teflon suspended inside is very abrasive and WOULD cause fretting and cause the threads to wear off in my experience.

+ 1

i have superlube and i have bare Al threads on Klarus and 4sevens.
i do NOT recommend superlube on bare Al threads (such as Klarus and 4sevens).
Like with any other lube (or no lube), the bare Al threads wear off fast (fretting/abrasion/galling/howeveryoucallit) simply because Aluminum is a very soft material. After a few twists you can tell how the lube becomes grey by the aluminum particles.

superlube is great on ANYTHING ELSE but bare Al threads. On bare Al threads superlube sucks as much as any other lube i have tried so far.

i havent tried Nyogel 760 nor Nano-Oil nor froglube but will do so in future.

and I have never seen it fret bare aluminum or any other metal .period.

- 1

i cannot confirm your assertion. moreover i have specified which Aluminum brands i have applied superlube on: Klarus and 4sevens. so my statement is valid and easily verified as long as you own those flashlight threads. i cant confirm your assertion because you didnt name any flashlight model on which you tried superlube.

Again to be clear FOR EVERYBODY who is reading my posts/following this thread: superlube sucks on the bare Aluminum threads of Klarus lights and 4sevens lights. period. so use some other lube on them!! maybe superlube protects the bare Al threads of Sunawayman and Olight lights but it DOES NOT on the bare Al threads of Klarus and 4sevens lights. end of discussion. period.

 

[DM51]

end of discussion.

I rather doubt that...

 

[JudasD]

+ 1

i have superlube and i have bare Al threads on Klarus and 4sevens.
i do NOT recommend superlube on bare Al threads (such as Klarus and 4sevens).
Like with any other lube (or no lube), the bare Al threads wear off fast (fretting/abrasion/galling/howeveryoucallit) simply because Aluminum is a very soft material. After a few twists you can tell how the lube becomes grey by the aluminum particles.

superlube is great on ANYTHING ELSE but bare Al threads. On bare Al threads superlube sucks as much as any other lube i have tried so far.

i havent tried Nyogel 760 nor Nano-Oil nor froglube but will do so in future.

What lube are you using on your Klarus and 4sevens?

JD

 

[N162E]

I cannot confirm your assertion. moreover i have specified which Aluminum brands i have applied superlube on: Klarus and 4sevens. so my statement is valid and easily verified as long as you own those flashlight threads. i cant confirm your assertion because you didnt name any flashlight model on which you tried superlube.

Again to be clear FOR EVERYBODY who is reading my posts/following this thread: superlube sucks on the bare Aluminum threads of Klarus lights and 4sevens lights. period. so use some other lube on them!! maybe superlube protects the bare Al threads of Sunawayman and Olight lights but it DOES NOT on the bare Al threads of Klarus and 4sevens lights. end of discussion. period.

I can't confirm or agree with your assertions pertaining to 4Sevens lights. I have always used Superlube on my 4Sevens lights with bare aluminum threads and never experienced any unusual wear or fretting. Superlube is great on 4Sevens lights. Nyogel is way over rated and Nano Oil is useless as a flashlight thread lube.

Abrasive Teflon in a lube!! Give me a break.

 

[shelm]

I can't confirm or agree with your assertions pertaining to 4Sevens lights. I have always used Superlube on my 4Sevens lights with bare aluminum threads and never experienced any unusual wear or fretting. Superlube is great on 4Sevens lights. Nyogel is way over rated and Nano Oil is useless as a flashlight thread lube.

we need to get some agreement in our opinions otherwise the reader is confused haha. Maybe we can agree that superlube doesnt cause unusual wear or fretting (or abrasion or galling or howeveryouwannacallthegreybuildupinthecleanedthreads) on 4Sevens bare aluminum threads but there is grey gunk building up anyway. And imho i find the rate of grey gunk production rather high; maybe not as alarmingly high as with Nextorch silicone grease but saddening high nonetheless. I have talked to colleagues who use superlube on bare aluminum threads too (on cheaper branded flashlights) and they are equally dissatisfied with the result, the superlube performance :shakehead so i am not alone with my opinion --- well maybe we should run a poll to find out about the consensus on this topic. I will vehemently vote against superlube on 4Sevens bare aluminum threads (Quark Tactical) to express my dissatisfaction.

Maybe superlube isnt responsible for the grey gunk buildup in the 4Sevens threads (Me either i dont believe in the theory of Teflon particles being harmful) and, most importantly, maybe superlube doesnt cause it (e.g. by dissolving the soft surface) .. but i am saying that i am very disappointed with the superlube performance after it had been hailed, praised and recommended in the OP as "Very Good Lube". In this respect i believe that superlube isnt better than any other synthetic oil/grease based on Teflon (there are tens or hundreds of lubes with Teflon; one only has to sort out the synthetic ones since they wont harm the o-rings). Superlube is a cheap lube after all. 2.xx$ for a mini tube (or oiler) at the counter desk so how could we expect that it works better than expensive gun oil? Superlube works fine in most cases (anodized threads, o-rings of any kind) but is imho not too recommendable in special cases (Titanium threads, bare aluminum threads) where it does an okay job but not a convincing job.

Having uttered the above anti-superlube rallying cry...

What lube are you using on your Klarus and 4sevens?

JD

...i do use superlube on my Klarus and 4sevens
*BIG SIGH*

EDIT: this is a fresh picture of my fresh Q-tip after cleaning the Titanium threads of my iTP A3 light. i had lubed it with superlube 7 days ago after meticulously cleaning the threads. i could see that the threads were getting darker and darker after days of twisting action, so today i decided to clean the threads with a Q-tip. The picture is deceiving because in reality the Q-tip is completely dark (black) by a thick layer of superlube-Titanium gunk.

From today on i will stop using superlube on the Titanium threads. i prefer bone-dry Titanium threads even if they squeak. Still less abrasion than with superlube!! i will use superlube only on the o-ring of my iTP light.

Does anyone know .. are stainless steel threads more abrasion-resistant or titanium threads? maybe i should have bought the iTP A3 in stainless steel!!

 

[diesel79]

I use Superlube on all of my lights (Malkoffs), three of which have bare aluminum threads and I have zero of that gray material forming so Im not sure if the Superlube is to blame. There must be quite a bit of difference in the the aluinum these makers use. Seems like the 4Sevens must be a bit softer?

 

[TEEJ]

Is it possible that some lights/batteries emit vent gases that interact with certain metals and/or lubricants?

 

[shelm]

It must be something to do with the aluminum they use. I use Superlube on all of my Malkoffs, three of which have bare aluminum threads, and I have zero of that gray material forming. Im not sure if its the lube thats the problem, if this is even considered a problem?

i had asked Kevin Wall from Synco (manufacturer of superlube) about it and he explained that superlube does not dissolve aluminum, metals or o-rings. it is a fully harmless substance by itself. So of course it must have something to do with the aluminum they use and i bet that Malkoff uses a different aluminum (alloy or quality) than Klarus or 4Sevens.

It is common logic that soft (or cheap) aluminum will wear down faster than hard toughened aluminum. Just look at the keyring holes (holes for splitrings) and you can see how soft 'flashlight aluminum' is. The holes wear down fast (and eventually tear or break) and logically a lube cant avoid the wear and tear because the material (=aluminum) physically remains what it is: soft!

If a lube (or substance) hardened or toughened the aluminum surface, then this would stop the wear and tear because hardness is defined as the ability of two materials scratching each other. The hardest surface is provided by diamonds. You cannot scratch diamonds with any metal because a diamond is harder. In diamond threads there wouldnt be *any* wear and tear and logically you wouldnt need any lube to reduce the abrasion because abrasion doesnt take place. Superlube would reduce the friction though.

What superlube does is reducing the friction in aluminum threads thanks to the slippery Teflon particles. But superlube does not harden the surface. The aluminum is still soft and will wear. And that's why i get the grey gunk after a very short while of twisting the Quark head (Tactical UI).

Anyone ever lubed his/her keyring holes (to reduce the wear and tear)??

 

[DisrupTer911]

I've been using finish Line Extreme Fluoro http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002L5UL92/?tag=cpf0b6-20 on my lights.

I haven't noticed any ill effects but should I be wary of using...

 

[N162E]

we need to get some agreement in our opinions otherwise the reader is confused haha.

Maybe superlube isnt responsible for the grey gunk buildup in the 4Sevens threads (Me either i dont believe in the theory of Teflon particles being harmful) and, most importantly, maybe superlube doesnt cause it (e.g. by dissolving the soft surface) .. but i am saying that i am very disappointed with the superlube performance after it had been hailed, praised and recommended in the OP as "Very Good Lube". In this respect i believe that superlube isnt better than any other synthetic oil/grease based on Teflon (there are tens or hundreds of lubes with Teflon; one only has to sort out the synthetic ones since they wont harm the o-rings). Superlube is a cheap lube after all. 2.xx$ for a mini tube (or oiler) at the counter desk so how could we expect that it works better than expensive gun oil? Superlube works fine in most cases (anodized threads, o-rings of any kind) but is imho not too recommendable in special cases (Titanium threads, bare aluminum threads) where it does an okay job but not a convincing job.

OK OK Uncle!! Superlube may not satisfy 100% of the requirements of the upper 1/2 of 1%ers in this group. For the rest of us it is inexpensive, easily available world wide and useful for just about every moving surface we will encounter. I have yet to find an O-ring or rubber part that Superlube will degrade. For the most part gun oils and grease are petrol based products and destroy many o-rings as did Vaseline.

Thank you everyone for your interest and contribution.

P.S. I have mixed various grades of diamond dust with lubes and oils to smooth out threads on titainium lights.

 

[TEEJ]

Again, the discoloration of the thread lube can be contamination due to oxidation/reaction with something else. A forensic analysis of the uncontaminated, and contaminated lube samples,and the thread materials in question, would allow differentiation as to the identity of the contamination.

If the contamination is found to be the same aluminum alloy composition as the light threads for example, wear is indicated, if its a new compound, then the nature of that compound would indicate the reaction that produced it. Sometimes the contamination can be traced to another part that is in close enough proximity, that is subject to wear, other than the one under scrutiny. IE: As an example, a switch can have its own wear and tear and/or lubrication/degradation issues, and dust/by products from the switch can be later found in thread lubricant samples. The same for battery carrier movement within a carrier, etc.

And so forth.

Food for thought.

 

[N162E]

Again, the discoloration of the thread lube can be contamination due to oxidation/reaction with something else. A forensic analysis of the uncontaminated, and contaminated lube samples,and the thread materials in question, would allow differentiation as to the identity of the contamination.

Sometimes the contamination can be traced to another part that is in close enough proximity, that is subject to wear, other than the one under scrutiny. IE: As an example, a switch can have its own wear and tear and/or lubrication/degradation issues, and dust/by products from the switch can be later found in thread lubricant samples. The same for battery carrier movement within a carrier, etc.

And so forth.

Food for thought.

O-Rings and gaskets need to be watched. Ten years ago pretty much all o-rings on flashlights were carbon rubber. The more oil we applied the more they swelled, stuck and decayed. Peter Gransee was the first here to adress the problem and Introduced Nyogel. When I came along in 2002 I introduced "Lube Gell' later to become Super Lube. I had used a single tube of lube Gell on my Mag Lights for about 10 years before I was aware of CPF.

 

[shelm]

And so forth.

Food for thought.

nice one, thanks.

flashlights is all about happiness. and my colleagues and i we are unhappy with superlube on bare aluminum threads as experienced with the cleaned(!) threads of 4Sevens and Klarus.

so what lube are you using, and what threads (flashlight models) have you tested it on, and are you happy with the results? and what is the degree of your happiness?

 

[TEEJ]

LOL - I agree about happiness.

I haven't had any interactions myself, but I do forensics work, and failures can be due to many sources, some synergistic. This is the reason I posed some potential alternate pathways to achieve the same result.

In my field, the simple answer is often correct, IE: The contamination and the aluminum are the same color, therefore, the contamination might simply be due to aluminum wearing off, etc....

...albeit it is not ALWAYS correct, sometimes a similar appearing condition can be assumed to be from the obvious source, but turns out to be from a second or third source, or a source created when certain conditions are met, yet not from either source per se.

If our goal was to find the reason for the contamination, then I suggest we explore it methodically rather than jump to conclusions. If our goal is to simply say "this works and this doesn't", we can just do that instead...and, most certainly, be happy.

 

[Dusterdude]

Great thread, I started researching lubrication and came across this http://www.sandsmachine.com/grease_t.htm Maybe you folks know about this already, anyway, I thought it was a good find.

 

[Rossymeister]

I love the silky smooth action on my lights when using ballistol, but i came across something today:

Cleans & dissolves traces of copper...

Since some PCBs have copper electrical traces, what would be the long term effects of using this? Am i thinking worst case scenario?