dry vs wet lubricants--When to use what

[bsheffer]

Wd-40, 3-in-one oil, crc-656,graphite,lithium grease, marine grease, automobile general purpose grease....and the list of lubricants go on. I recently reorganized my garage and realized I have a ton of different lubricants for many different things. In general, I feel I know the one to reach for but I'd be curious to understand in particular the different applications that clearly require a "dry lubricant" such as graphite vs. a heavy oil lubricant like 3-in-1 oil. I have always heard people say that wet lubricants attract dust and dirt and for instance in a mechanical lock, you never want to use a wet lubricant for that very reason. I've got about 25 different combustion engines from snowmobiles to personal watercraft to weed-eaters and a variety of trailers so we are talking about standard motors and all the related components. Nothing heavy industrial "like".

[K. L. McReynolds]

No simple answer, in my experience. Our F-150 uses 5W20 oil and the lawn mower says 30W. I once rebuilt a transfer case for a piece of heavy equipment(assembly probably weighs 600 to 700 pounds and is a huge gear case with roller bearings 12" in diameter) which uses Dexron transmission fluid as the lubricant.

Some automotive differentials spec 90W gear lube, others 120W or 50W.

The deal with liquid lubes attracting dirt/etc. is true. Oil a lower hinge on an outside building and dry graphite a different one. Check in a couple months.

As for CR556/WD40/etc., those are not true lubricants. they have rust/grease cutting ingredients. And some have moisture repelling properties.

In general, automotive wheel bearings can all use wheel bearing grease(of which there are several types, but all are use specific for wheel bearings).

Chain saws/2 cycle need specific chain saw gas oil additive. Brand manufacturers always spec their brand of oil, but other than Stihl(of which I have little experience) most other brands work well with any brand of oil additive. The gotcha is in the mix ratio. I run all my 2 cycle stuff on a 50-1 mix(Lawnboy and Homelite). Homelite specs a 40-1. I use what ever is on sale at HD. No experience with snowmobiles or SkiDoos.

And chain saw bar oil is pretty use specific. Any oil can be used, but the lighter oils will run through the tank like melted butter and heavier oils will not work at all.

General purpose automotive grease is kinda useless. Not the best choice of any automotive job, since use specific products are better.

And then there are situations requiring dielectric grease. Like trailer light plugs and automotive electrical connections. The lube has to be non conducting.

You can pare down the number of general type products. One brand of spray lube, one tube of lithium, one type of graphite(spray or squeeze tube), and so on.

Oh, that wet lube and lock thing----I have three Master locks that are outside, exposed to the weather 365. I flood all three with WD40 or Zepspreserve about twice a year. Is not a dirt thing, but a rust thing. Those locks are over 20 years old and working just fine.

[EatenByLimestone]

The SDS says it is. The 1st word actually. Now, the quality of said lubrication can still be questioned. But it is sold as a lubricant.

[mike4244]

The WD-40 website lists it as a water displacement lubricant.
It got its name from a chemist that tried to come up with a water displacement product.On the 40th try he got it.Hence the name WD-40.

mike

[blackhat]

I'll bet the label says nothing about using it as an anti spider flame thrower.

[EatenByLimestone]

Worked better at that when it used propane propellant.

[daddo]

When I was a kid, my sisters always wondered where their hair spray went and why I had a zippo.

[messmaker]

I hear Astroglide works pretty well.

[mad_planter]

for hinges or.......?

[bennybmn]

thooks said:

---

So for all those folks spraying WD-40 on squeaky door hinges....guess what they are doing?

---

Cleaning the gunk out of them