Which gear grease/lube and why?
 

Random question I know but I'd like to know which gear grease/lube everyone uses and why.

I've been doing a lot of MTB lately and got hooked on this Wax based chain lube, it goes on wet and dries to a dry finish. It's super clean and doesn't attract dust or dirt or anything. I'm currently experimenting and I'm thinking that it might be great for those super dry dusty areas (I'm looking at you Alberta/Sask).

I've tried the PTFE/Teflon greases from companies like Modify and such but it seems to me it can attract dust and dirt and also get gummed up (what kind of interval are we looking at though?) resulting in higher wear. Obviously if you take care of your gearbox and clean it and do maintenance every few months and at the start/end season it shouldn't matter too much but I'm one of those people who are power users and want to try different/unconventional things.

Also, I feel that wet lubes although good and you don't have to do it as often they attract dust, dirt and have a chance of getting whipped around off the gears compared to something that dries up and leaves a film of lube.

http://www.rona.ca/images/0170053_M.jpg
Use just on the Gears/bushings
http://www.chaosfab.com/product/acce.../superlube.jpg
use this on the piston (little lighter)

Don't know if it right or not, It just what I do.

Only owned airsoft guns for this season but i'm a maintenance WHORE!!
open my gear boxes at least ever 2 games just to learn the wear patterns

Is super lube safe for O rings? I've been looking for a good thick grease to use around piston heads.

Lithium white grease? In my experience it's something to avoid. Sure it's good but eventually gets gummed up, "cakes" and can increase wear after dirt gets attracted to it and starts to cake and get everywhere. But I guess if you take it apart every few games it probably doesn't get to the point where it gets gummy, cakes up, and flakes off. It's much better to use something like Modify Gear grease which contains PTFE (AKA Teflon) since it doesn't seem to cake at least when I used it.

As for the superlube interesting choice, I'd like to see how it works out for you in the long term. According to the website it doesn't run, drip, evaporate form gummy deposits, and will not melt or separate. Seems like a good choice.

I just want to see what everyone else is using and how it's working for them.

EDIT: @ Spike - According to the website apparently it is safe: http://www.super-lube.com/where-to-u...e-ezp-160.html

Although it looks like it's this specific super lube product that you want (Silicone grease with Synclon PTFE): http://www.super-lube.com/silicone-l...fe-ezp-53.html

Seems like it describes an airsoft gearbox at an abstract level (plastic gears, lubricate o rings, plastic threads, electrical and rubber stuff).

Depending on the applications...I currently use RWS Spring Cylinder Oil and RWS Chamber Lube and Systema Grease

I am also going to try some Moly Paste...heard it was very good...

I picked the white lithium grease cause I use it on the Gears and bushings cause I want a heavier grease on the metal to metal points
as for the super lube it does have PTFE in it I find it has low resistances with the piston head o-rings and piston guides, I know some might not agree using more then one lube in a gearbox but it seems to work for me as of now

Been using white lithium grease with excellent results for the last 30 years on everything from my rc cars helicopters, planes and airsoft guns... It works, hold up to wear and abuse why changr something that works. I've never noticed any buildup of cakes or accumulation. Btw any type of lub will build up debris

Yes, superlube is safe for O-rings. It hasn't hurt my sorbothane pads (yet) either.

Super lube, except on gbb mags seals where it turn into a white gunk (propane breaks it down i think)... for those I use 90 weight rc shock oil..,

If the superlube is gunking up it might be that too much is being used, you really need to use a very thin coat

I'm interested by the wax based stuff you using

More details?

Cheers

I'm just trying it out for a year or so to see the results. I know there's the saying if it isn't broken don't fix it but I say if it isn't broken there aren't enough features yet!

Anyways this is the stuff I'm trialling right now: http://www.whitelightningco.com/products/clean-ride.htm

Basically it's designed for bicycle gears/chains/crank sets. There's no petroleum products (I've checked) and doesn't appear to damage O-rings or anything. Wax is a natural lubricant and "slippery". It's used on snowboards and skis when you do a base wax, there's wax based bicycle lubes, etc. So I thought I'd try it out in a gearbox.

Other lubricants that I'm interested in testing and seeing the results are; Molybdenum, Graphite (graphite powder is used a lot as a lubricant in mining machinery), and maybe a "wet" oil based lube (thinking of doing either White Lightning Wet Ride or Finishline Ceramic Wet as my next test).

Obviously this is an extreme thing to do that in the grand scheme of things probably isn't needed but I just like experimenting and tinkering, it's in my blood as an engineer. If I can make something slightly more efficient or better then I consider that a success (I'm sure there's professional chemical engineers that work on this kind of stuff to make better lubes but I don't really fret all that much since I'm more Civil/Geotech). Honestly like vondnik said white lithium is good enough and although I've never seen white lithium cake up in an airsoft gearbox I have seen it do so in other applications (maybe they were crappy/low grade lithium mixtures?).

Note that lithium grease isn't actually the lithium element itself, they actually use the "soap" that forms from a Hydroxide and Acid reaction and mix it in with oils to make lithium grease.

So what does anyone think about jigaloo xtreme graphite lube for gears? I've got a high speed setup, I know some guys use it, but has anyone used on high speed?

Does it say it contains petroleum distillates? If it does, no good for plastic or rubber stuff.

It has no mention of petroleum however cautions some plastics and paint may react. I know ppl who have used it without issue but never on a high speed setup. Once it coats the metal it really stays put, supposed to be great for high heat, -73 to 538 celcius. It even has a picture of gears that look like airsoft gears on the can! I've used it for all sorts of applications from bike chains,(over spray on rubber, no problem) to garage doors,(sprayed all over plastic wheels, no problem). I guess what I'm wondering is more about how much grease it will need, I've got a modify gearbox that came very lightly greased and I've read that they need more. This will leave a very thin coat on the gears but is supposed to work well like this. It seems to do well on standard boxes but like I said no one I know of has used for a high speed box. Thnx for any input.