Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

[frantically relaxing]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

Well, I'm not afraid to admit I'm wrong, but the fish oil wives tale is fairly prevalent...

But-- the ol' MSDS sheet tells all...

45-50% Aliphatic hydrocarbon-- which means half of it is one or more of these items:

Butadiene, pentadiene, butyne, butene, pentene, acetylene, amylene, cycloheptatriene, cycloheptane, cyclohexane, cyclooctadiene, isobutylene, dipentene, ethylene, hexene, isohexene, isoprene, methyl pentadiene...

The rest:

Petroleum Base Oil <25%
LVP (Low Vapor Pressure) Aliphatic Hydrocarbon 12-18%
Carbon Dioxide 2-3%
Surfactant (Proprietary) <2%
Non-Hazardous Ingredients <10%

So, it's a little bit oil, a whole bunch Aliphatic stuff that probably explains why it evaporates so fast, and not much else..

 

[sweet addiction]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

Slap some vaseline on it and call it good! :laugh::laugh::watermelon:

 

[Splat]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

I don't have to click the links. I have the msds in my catalog next to me. I work for one of the countries largest MROP distributors. WD40, tho they have as good a marketing base of gorilla glue and Bose, is not a effective penetrant nor lubricant. Especially in a outdoor HC environment like between a coupler and ball.

There are much more effective products.

Its like using kitty litter in your humidor and claiming its Heartfelt. It may work OK, your cat may even approve, but its still meant to soak up urine, not maintain a static humidity level.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

you are STILL wrong...... no it isn't the most effective possible product for either of those properties but it DOES work very well at keeping metal mechanisms used outdoors working well and relatively rust free.... and it isn't nearly as messy as the products with higher lubrication qualities such as grease... Ask any flatbed or lowboy truck driver what to use to keep chain binders working.... 99% will say wd-40 and they make their living with it.

The fact is that it works VERY well and it IS a lubricant AND a penetrant.....

Grease would lube the ball better BUT the suggested use was to lube the inner workings of the coupler and previous posts had alluded to NOT using grease.... WD would certainly be better than nothing at all even on the ball itself.

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

Ayuh,.... Exactly,.... The Problem had nothin' to do with the ball stuck in the coupler, other than the coupler wasn't Released....

Ooh Geez. No wonder

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

It's fine for chain binders and the like because they are being used on regular basis. If the binders were left setting like a coupler would be they would rust just like anything else. In couplers a Teflon/silicone lube would be the best.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

opcorn:

 

[cecho]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

opcorn:

WD40 is also flammable it seems. :lol:

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

Slap some vaseline on it and call it good! :laugh::laugh::watermelon:

I missed this one before... love it PRICELESS!


I have been spraying tons of stuff with wd for 30 years... It has never disappointed me.... NOW I find out that all of a sudden it doesn't work and I have to start using something else.... well crap!


LOL

 

[hungupthespikes]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

Sorry smoke

Penetrating oil ........... Average load to break free

None ..............................516 pounds
WD-40 .......................... 238 pounds
PB Blaster .....................214 pounds
Liquid Wrench ............... 127 pounds
Kano Kroil ......................106 pounds
ATF-Acetone mix............ 53 pounds

The Automatic Transmission fluid-Acetone mix was a "home brew" of 50/ 50 automatic transmission fluid and acetone.

A couple of others that are industrial:
711
Castrol penetrating oil

I've used all the above/and more lots of times and the Castrol is the best overall.
The whisking is unbelievable and it leaves a coating that last a long time.

Kano is very good.
711, LW, are about the same.
ATF-Acetone mix is just plain nasty. Cheap and works good for the parts you need to soak.
(used ATF will work for the mix)

After everything is clean and loose then, "Teflon/silicone lube would be the best." (Thalasso )
Even 3 in 1 oil would be better than leaving it bare after any of the penetrating oils.
huts

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

ATF kicks butt... I've used it on all sorts of stuff.... many years ago I dropped a valve in my honda cm-450 motorcycle... (adjusted valved too tight) and I bought a "junk" seized up motor from a junk yard... had been laying in the dirt for years with the carb off collecting rain.. I filled the cylinders with atf and left it for a week... came back and started rocking crank back and forth with a BIG breaker bar for about an hor till it turned one full revolution..... then spun it with the starter for a few seconds at a time and adding a little more atf over the next few days. Then I put it in the bike and fired it up... I ran 1 quart atf per tank of gas for two tanks and then changed the oil and plugs and it ran perfect and smoke free for years as I continued to beat the snot out of it till finally trading it in on a 750 crotch rocket.

Of course I would never DREAM of hijacking this highly focused thread LOL

 

[hungupthespikes]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

never

 

[BrianCinAz]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

try wd-40 all up inside the hitch.... works wonders and is FAR less nasty than grease.

Or try a product from Smith and Wesson. A local gun shop will carry it. They introduced a spray oil that dries and leaves a protect coat that bonds to the molecules of the metal. It lubricates as well as prevents rust. Sorry that I can't remember the name of it. I avoid grease because grease attracts dust and that is like sand paper in the hitch. I like the dry lubes because they don't rub off on the girl friend (or wife) when they brush into the hitch.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

heck with the dirt, girlfriend or wife... I just don't want the grease on ME or MY TRUCK.....BAWHAHAHA

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

They introduced a spray oil that dries and leaves a protect coat that bonds to the molecules of the metal.

That is what the marketing department puts out. Anything that bonds with metal is going to potentially be very destructive also. The only way you bond to something is to chemically interact with it on a molecular level, which means it has to be harsh enough to more or less dissolve metal. Normally you would call that rust.

I'm sure it does a great job at coating and probably sticks very well to it, but it isn't bonded in any way chemically. (ie, swapping electrons)

A couple years back slick50 got in trouble with advertising that teflon BONDS to engine parts. Dupont even came out and said, 'umm, no'. Teflon bonding involves a fairly complex process, not just dumping it on.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

Aha, Another armchair thread to watch !!!
opcorn:

 

[sweet addiction]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

I missed this one before... love it PRICELESS!

Glad you can enjoy my goofball sense of humor! :laugh:

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

I like Tri-Flow .

Anyone else hear of it .. good stuff IMO.

YD.

 

[sweet addiction]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

I like Tri-Flow .

Anyone else hear of it .. good stuff IMO.

YD.

Yup I have. Used it all the time on brake & shift cables as well as chains when I managed the bike shop. It is good stuff. Not real messy and actually smells kinda decent, Not that that matters much but...

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Will powder graphite lube be okay to use on a ball in place of grease?

I never got dirt stuck in my chain using try-flow.

Pro bikers love the stuff.

YD.