Silly-Cone Grease?

[Slick]

I did a search on silicon grease and came up empty..

Is there any CPF concensous as to any particular brand being best? What are the best places to find this stuff?

I know electronics stores would have it as I use it at work for heatsinking CPU's, but it's chalk white in color, and used more for it's thermal properties. I'm looking for the clear variety that is best for lubing aluminum threads and rubber O-rings.

Any Ideas? - Thanks

 

[Terrapin Flyer]

Might I suggest a search?
There have been a good number of threads on this topic here at CPF.

 

[Slick]

Uhhhhhhhh........ Like I stated in my first post, I DID do a search on "silicon grease" and did NOT get any hits.

Maybe I'm spelling "silicon grease" wrong or something?

 

[bwcaw]

I imagine you would come up empty if you searched for "silicon" grease!

There is
no such animal. Silicon, as you probobly know, is sand, so silicon grease would be
sand- grease, Really hard on your threads! I noticed that it is also called silicon grease
on all of Arc flashlights' literature, and
their website as well. These two are easily
confused, and i have eve heard more than one
TV announcer call each by the other's name.

 

[Roy]

Try Radio Shack Multi-Purpose Lube Gel #64-2326.

 

[bwcaw]

Uh, i forgot to put the correct spelling
of Silicon(e) grease in my first post, Doh!
(sound of me smacking myself in the head)

 

[Slick]

Duhhhhhh.... I just figured out what I did wrong - I searched for "silicon grease" WITH the quotes in an effort to qualify the search like you do when searching from Google or Yahoo.

I tried the search WITHOUT the quotes and got several hits -so it looks like I'm off to NAPA to grab a tube of the di-electric silicon grease. Sorry for my abundant idiocy with the CPF search engine..

 

[Spork]

I just purchased some of the radio shack gel today also. I've heard it works very well. if the o-rings aren't rubber even petroleum jelly can work but check with the manufacturer first.

 

[Daniel Ramsey]

I was under the impression its more of a Teflon based lube.Works for me and the 250+ mods it has been apppled to especially the Brinkmann Legend tailcap switches.

 

[L.E.D.]

what about moly grease? anyone tried that? (moly = molybdenum)

 

[WarrenI]

The silicone lube with teflon from Radio Shack is my favorite. The NAPA dielectric compound from NAPA works well too. Some may not like this as it is heavier than the one from RS. It might make turning a little harder.

Isn't moly lube and greese black in color? If I'm not mistaken, most moly lubes use a petroleum base to suspend the moly particles. I think moly lubes will cause more harm than good, and be quite messy when it bleeds.

 

[Roy]

Moly lubes are used to reduce friction Back in the early 80's there was a automotive oil with moly in it. The idle rpm went up about 300 rpm in my car after the moly plated out on/in the engine.

 

[Steelwolf]

The white chalky stuff you might find at electronics shops is not lubricating grease, but rather, a heat transfer compound.

As you have noted by now, silicone with the "e" is the correct way of spelling. When you choose greases for use with o-rings, it would always be best to check that it doesn't use a petroluem base. Then you can decide if you want silicone or teflon as the lubricating agent.

Personally, I have started to use CRC Dry-glide as it is the least messy of any lube. Within minutes of spraying, it drys and leaves a lubricating teflon film. It worked great on my folding knives and door hinges and fan bearings (doesn't clog up with dust anymore). Not sure how well the o-rings will hold up as I have only started using it recently, but since there is no petroluem products left in contact with the o-ring, I'm guessing that it should be fine.

 

[cave dave]

The only place I can find for real 100%Silicone grease is your local Scuba Dive shop.

I also have used with no problem pure teflon from dupont and O-ring lube from the Brinkmann website (under flashlights)