Holy Crikey wrote:

I have squeaking front and garage entrance door hinges in my house I
need to spray with lubrication during the winter because it gets so
loud. I used WD-40 a couple of times, but the irritating noise would
come back only after a few days.

Someone told me to give silicone spray a try, so I might do that, but
thought I'd pose a question in here to learn when using one over the
other is better.

I've read that silicone oil can cause problems by being incompatible
with any oil already in the bearings, and it's better to use regular
light machine oil (5, 10, or 20 weight). Another person said that
sewing machine oil isn't good because it's vegetable oil (so it won't
stain clothes permanently). Only the bearings are supposed to be
lubed, not the nylon wheels or the tracks. If your door runs on pivot
hinges instead of tracks, then aerosol grease is supposed to be the
best. This grease is mixed with a liquid solvent that evaporates after
it's sprayed on, and auto parts stores should have it because it's used
for door hinges and latches.

I once had a squealing speedometer (metal cylinder spinning in nylon
hole). I cleaned the parts with degreaser and applied silicone oil --
still squealed. Cleaned again and tried WD-40 -- again no help.
Another cleaning and two drops of light machine oil -- no more squeaks,
ever again.