#Lubricants: We’ve tried Silicone Spray, WD-40, White Lithium Grease, Dupont Teflon Non-Stick Dry-Film Lubricant. Currently we are using LPS 2 Heavy Duty Lubricant. What are you folks using on your machines?
Ballistol oil:-)
I use CRC Silicone Grease Spray (green spray can).
I tried Teflon spray but really didn’t see any difference and the price difference is huge.
Stay away from Silicone if you are cutting wood. It does really bad things to finishes.
WD-40 is not a lubricant. Although many a fishing reel has been ruined because people thought it was.
By the way, I heard that you should not use mineral lubricants because they will eat away plastic bushing. Hence suggested to use synthetic lubricants. I cannot confirm that myself but I stick to Silicone.
paul what is wd40? thanks
The wd part of wd40 is water displacement
It does wonders to aid certian electronics (phone lines) temporarily if you happen to have a water leak in the junction box. It sure does displace water well.
But how it would ruin a fishing reel I’m not sure.
I’ve had pro repair shops suggest it’s for specific applications, but never as a fix all
@Eugenio_Villaverde It is a light mixture of a little petroleum base (like a light kerosene) with some solvents and other things. You can use it a bit like a penetrating oil, a cutting fluid (great for aluminum), and solvent. It doesn’t last long enough to be a good lubricant and will evaporate without providing rust protection (well, it will do a little bit.)
Really good at removing adhesives. Nice for cleaning parts. Doesn’t smell bad. Fairly safe to work around.
It is useful for a lot of things but some people try to use it for things that it isn’t good for.
https://plus.google.com/106032930427999812503/posts/SqCqi8zhkwc
Explains some stuff and offers advice 
@David_Kirtley remember the old saying: it is has to move and it doesn’t, wd40. If it moves and it shouldn’t, duct tape.
I use WD to store my gardening tools so they don’t get rusty due to moist or humidity. We have a lot down here in Peru. Pretty close to 99%hr.
I heard it has some oil fish on it. That will explain the smell.
About mineral vs synthetic oils it depends the type of seal you have. Use what the manufacturer specifies, in term of mineral or not. Just like brake fluid never mix or change from one to the other it will mess up your braking system.
@Max_Kalin Spray silicone on an inflated latex balloon and it pops. That has always made me a little leary of the stuff.
If you are not familiar witb WD40 perhaps think of CRC 556
I find this discussion interesting as I haven’t considered it for wood. I know what to do with metal on my lathe
@Eugenio_Villaverde
WD-40 was originally formulated as a preservative for missile components. You coat parts with WD-40 and you can store them for a period of time without the component oxidizing. WD-40 does in fact work pretty good for doing that too. The rest of the various uses people put WD-40 to are questionable at best.
@David_Kirtley WD-40 does a lot of things so so. Goo Gone is a far better adhesive remover than WD-40 is, but Goo Gone is a specialized product though. My favorite all around solvent has to be acetone. I really go through that stuff. WD-40 sucks as a cutting fluid compared to real cutting fluids. I just bought a couple bottles of Tap Magic. My spit is probably a better penetrating oil than WD-40 is. The old formulation of PB Blaster was the best.
You’re wrong about WD-40 and rust protection. WD-40 leaves a protective film behind when it evaporates. That is what WD-40 is actually designed to do.
I heard that some guys are using really cheap silicone lube that you can buy from autoparts store (like 2-3 dollars a tube). Yes, it is in a tube like a toothpaste. Some were using it for years and people have not complained about anything.
@Paul_Frederick Yes, but where WD40 is not as effective as acetone and GooGone, it’s not as volatile and a lot friendlier as far as fumes. It is also a lot less destructive to some plastics.
If you compare the MSDS for Tap Magic for Aluminum to WD40, you will see that they both are mostly Aliphatic Petroleum distillate. I prefer the smell of wd40 to the tap magic.
Yes, WD40 will leave a film that prevents rust (as I admitted before). It is also not very durable. It depends on the use whether it is good enough protection. I have seen some pretty interesting rust patches on things where people have sprayed on some wd40 and then accidentally brushed against it.
Many of the old formulations of stuff worked much better. Many were taken off the market because they were pretty nasty stuff for your health or toxic environmentally.
@David_Kirtley
In an enclosed space PB Blaster fumes could drop an elephant. Man it sure busted up rust then though. As delicate as WD-40 may be, I still have not found anything better than it for protecting bare metal against rust. I personally have found WD-40 fairly durable in use too.