On Sunday, 3 April 2016 21:35:21 UTC+1, newshound wrote:
On 4/2/2016 7:36 PM, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
On 02/04/16 18:34, AnthonyL wrote:
The bottom section of my 3 section loft ladder does not slide
smoothly.

The middle section slides up against the fixed section a treat but the
bottom section seems to have two or three points where it binds and I
can't work out why or how to fix it.

I've tried some silicone spray but the runners are clean anyway.

The ladder is a Youngman New Easyway (sticker says manufactured Week
23/00) similar to


http://www.youngmanaccess.com/uk/vie...siway/31334000


But mine is 100Kg limit.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galling

Just idly found the above on google, so could be irrelevant...

Or, could also be galvanic corrosion between steel and aluminium. A
friend had a particular struggle with that on the aluminium seat post
stuck on his steel bicycle frame. Freed using some ammonia, though that
also corrodes aluminium.


The Wiki link is not a bad article. Galvanic corrosion tends to show up
where clearances are very small and the environment is wet, so that
bicycle case is an ideal example. But there's much more clearance in a
ladder, and it is dry, and it is not likely to be steel on aluminium.

In the ladder, you probably have aluminium sliding on itself. Buildup of
dirt, wear debris, corrosion products, or galling type damage might
reduce the clearance. I would say the best option would be something
containing mineral oil, so WD40, vaseline, or lithium grease would all
meet the requirement. *Personally* I would go for something in the WD40
family. If it turns out that there are plastic "bearings" between the
two metal parts then silicone or PTFE spray might be better.

PTFE sprays might or might not work well if you have metal to metal
rubbing. It's certainly potentially cleaner. I've heard good reports of
the "WD40" PTFE spray and recently bought a can, but have not tried it yet.