On Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:43:29 +0100, Dave Osborne wrote:

PeterC wrote:

Out of interest, is there a thin spray lube that's OK for switches, locks
etc?

PTFE dry-film lubricating spray.

Now there's a thought. I've not tried that for about 20 years (we had some
at work) and hadn't bought any for bike chains as the Technical Officer of
the CTC reckons it clogs chains (or at least, the lube with oil/PTFE does).

In a switch it could be OK.

Contains tiny balls of PTFE (Teflon) suspended in volatile solvents. The
solvents evaporate leaving the PTFE as a dry-film lubricant.

Apart from generally being bad, WD40 has a tendency to get onto the key
and then stain your hands/clothes, so it's a bad idea for this reason alone.

Yup, but that's true of any attempt to lubricate anything. You should see
the inside of a Vincent gearbox: fill with 40% oil, 40% grease, 20% heavily
soaked jam-rags then churn and heat for 40 years!

Graphite powder is good, but puffing into the lock tends to over-egg the
pudding somewhat and then that gets everywhere (your hands, your face,
up your nose, etc).

That could possibly be carried with some sort of liquid, same as PTFE.

Best to use PTFE dry-film or get a soft pencil and rub it over the key,
then use the key to transfer the small amount of pencil lead to the lock.

Cheapest dry-film lubricant is from Toolstation @ £2.58:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/ygosmvm

The locksmith trade uses GT85:

http://www.gt85.co.uk/products.htm which you can buy from Amazon,
Halfords, your local cycling shop, etc. £3.50-£4.50

Screwfix sells this product:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/80487 @ £2.83 which, judging by its MSDS
should be OK as well.

HTH

Thanks for the links. Id forgotten about GT85, although it does seem
similar to WD40.
--
Peter.
The head of a pin will hold more angels if
it's been flattened with an angel-grinder.