What's a good lubricant for patio doors, those glass doors that slide in
metal tracks? I'm afraid oil will attract dirt and cause a need for
frequent removal of dirty oil and its replacement. I suspect grease would
have the same problem. Graphite wouldn't work. So far I've just been
leaving them alone and vacuuming them out when they get too much dirt in
the tracks. I seldom use them - once in a great while for moving furniture
or large appliances in and out or if I should accidently lock myself out,
which has not happened so far.

What do you successfully use?

TIA

--
I love a good meal! That's why I don't cook.

In article ,
KenK wrote:

What's a good lubricant for patio doors, those glass doors that slide in
metal tracks? I'm afraid oil will attract dirt and cause a need for
frequent removal of dirty oil and its replacement. I suspect grease would
have the same problem. Graphite wouldn't work. So far I've just been
leaving them alone and vacuuming them out when they get too much dirt in
the tracks. I seldom use them - once in a great while for moving furniture
or large appliances in and out or if I should accidently lock myself out,
which has not happened so far.

What do you successfully use?

As you point out, lubricants will attract dirt and dust, making it
harder to clean the tracks later.

Best to keep the track clean and make sure the door wheels (or
equivalent) are in good shape so they roll easily.

--
charles

On Wed, 14 Jun 2017 10:00:50 -0700, Charles Bishop
wrote:

In article ,
KenK wrote:

What's a good lubricant for patio doors, those glass doors that slide in
metal tracks? I'm afraid oil will attract dirt and cause a need for
frequent removal of dirty oil and its replacement. I suspect grease would
have the same problem. Graphite wouldn't work. So far I've just been
leaving them alone and vacuuming them out when they get too much dirt in
the tracks. I seldom use them - once in a great while for moving furniture
or large appliances in and out or if I should accidently lock myself out,
which has not happened so far.

What do you successfully use?

As you point out, lubricants will attract dirt and dust, making it
harder to clean the tracks later.

Best to keep the track clean and make sure the door wheels (or
equivalent) are in good shape so they roll easily.

Exactly You need to remove the door, clean and lightly lubricate the
wheel bearings. If the bearings are compromised, replace the wheel
assemblies. It is a whole lot easier than replacing a damaged track
when the wheels drag and gouge it.

On 2017-06-14, wrote:

Exactly You need to remove the door, clean and lightly lubricate the
wheel bearings.

Bearings? You are making the assumption his sliding door even has
bearings.

I suspect many doors, out there, are as cheap as mine. No bearings
and the wheel adj blocks are shot (stripped threads in the cheapo alum
adj blocks). You may be better off replacing sed sliding door with a
better one, though it's gonna cost you! I hadda take a 4-1/2"
right-angle grinder and open up the frame to allow the near-broken
wheel adj blocks to allow the wheels to even engage the floor rails.

I'll be replacing it, eventually. Sad! 8|

nb

On 6/14/2017 1:44 PM, notbob wrote:
On 2017-06-14, wrote:

Exactly You need to remove the door, clean and lightly lubricate the
wheel bearings.

Bearings? You are making the assumption his sliding door even has
bearings.

I suspect many doors, out there, are as cheap as mine. No bearings
and the wheel adj blocks are shot (stripped threads in the cheapo alum
adj blocks). You may be better off replacing sed sliding door with a
better one, though it's gonna cost you! I hadda take a 4-1/2"
right-angle grinder and open up the frame to allow the near-broken
wheel adj blocks to allow the wheels to even engage the floor rails.

I'll be replacing it, eventually. Sad! 8|

nb


BTDT. Original builder quality aluminum frame was replaced after 12
years. The Pella was replaced after another 22 years. Now I have a
Marvin that should outlast me.

As others stated, the fix is to repair or replace the wheels. I did
that once on the Pella but a few years later the door rotted internally
where it held the wheel assembly. Best fix is to replace it with
something other than a slider, but this 8' in my family room looks out
to the woods and I don't want to give up the view.

On 14 Jun 2017 16:49:33 GMT, KenK wrote:


What's a good lubricant for patio doors, those glass doors that slide in
metal tracks? I'm afraid oil will attract dirt and cause a need for
frequent removal of dirty oil and its replacement. I suspect grease would
have the same problem. Graphite wouldn't work. So far I've just been
leaving them alone and vacuuming them out when they get too much dirt in
the tracks. I seldom use them - once in a great while for moving furniture
or large appliances in and out or if I should accidently lock myself out,
which has not happened so far.

What do you successfully use?

TIA
They don't slide, they roll - I haven't lubed mine in over 30 years
and they are doing fine. I've replaced the rollers on the screen -
they are pretty trashy.

On 14 Jun 2017 17:44:48 GMT, notbob wrote:

On 2017-06-14, wrote:

Exactly You need to remove the door, clean and lightly lubricate the
wheel bearings.

Bearings? You are making the assumption his sliding door even has
bearings.

I suspect many doors, out there, are as cheap as mine. No bearings
and the wheel adj blocks are shot (stripped threads in the cheapo alum
adj blocks). You may be better off replacing sed sliding door with a
better one, though it's gonna cost you! I hadda take a 4-1/2"
right-angle grinder and open up the frame to allow the near-broken
wheel adj blocks to allow the wheels to even engage the floor rails.

I'll be replacing it, eventually. Sad! 8|

nb

There is some kind of bearing in there. A better door will have ball
bearings, cheap ones use oilite bronze bearings.
YMMV on lubricating them but usually something like 3 in 1 oil will
work for a while.
Usually you can find the whole wheel assembly at a good door shop and
the more popular ones are at Ace.

In alt.home.repair, on 14 Jun 2017 16:49:33 GMT, KenK
wrote:


What's a good lubricant for patio doors, those glass doors that slide in
metal tracks? I'm afraid oil will attract dirt and cause a need for
frequent removal of dirty oil and its replacement. I suspect grease would
have the same problem. Graphite wouldn't work. So far I've just been
leaving them alone and vacuuming them out when they get too much dirt in
the tracks. I seldom use them - once in a great while for moving furniture
or large appliances in and out or if I should accidently lock myself out,
which has not happened so far.

What do you successfully use?

TIA

I don't lubricate them but there are other things to consider.

I probably have medium quality doors. At any rate, they are thermopane
and the smaller one** moves easily with one hand after 38 years, and no
other flaws have shown up. Well, not counting that the aluminum frames
are oxidized a little, and maybe pitted a litle (but I really should
look before I say that.). (My landlady with windows and a sliding glass
door just 4 years old had beautiful windows with vinyl(-covered?)
frames.)

Somehow one or both of mine had to have the wheels lowered, which is
done by turning the screw at the each end of the door, although maybe
only one wheel will need this. Lowering the wheel raises the door so it
doesn't rub on the track. It might have helped -- I can't remember***
-- to use a pry to lift the door and take the weight off of the
adjustment, even though leverage is in your favor. It might have helped
to spray light oil or wd-40 on that one screw, at each end, if adjusting
it was hard.

I also took out the sliding part of the smaller door. I was 30 years
younger then but it was heavvvvy. I could handle it, but it wasnt'
that easy, almost tripped over kitchen things, and it surprised me and
it might have gotten away from me. I would want a helper if I did it
again and that was the smaller of the two. (I think I wanted to drill
a hole in the track and the door was in the way, but if you ever want to
replace the wheels, you'll have to remove the door.) .

**The bigger one takes a shove to get it moving, but then it rolls okay.

***I guess I did this a long time ago and haven't had to do it since.
Maybe they weren't adjusted right when the doors were put in???

On 14 Jun 2017 16:49:33 GMT, KenK wrote:


What's a good lubricant for patio doors, those glass doors that slide in
metal tracks? I'm afraid oil will attract dirt and cause a need for
frequent removal of dirty oil and its replacement. I suspect grease would
have the same problem. Graphite wouldn't work. So far I've just been
leaving them alone and vacuuming them out when they get too much dirt in
the tracks. I seldom use them - once in a great while for moving furniture
or large appliances in and out or if I should accidently lock myself out,
which has not happened so far.

What do you successfully use?

TIA

Remove the operator door, "slider". Clean the rollers or replace them
if necessary. Wash and clean the track and allow it to dry. Use a
Teflon spay on a rag and then wipe the track well. That is all you
need. Rollers accumulate all kinds of kinds of stuff like pet danger,
hair, etc.

If you have an 8' door with tempered glass have another person help
you lift the operator door out so you don't break the glass.

Done.

BTDT