Please recommend a flashlight grease for dummies (ie me)

What grittiness.. i thought you like it for what it's worth. Does it mean that cheapo me has to cancel the DX order? :D

leelou, foy, agedbriar reported problems on non-anodized threads (specifically with NT grease) .... I use scuba sil, a friend told me that he uses nextorch and is happy with it... I assumed that silicone grease is silicone grease no matter what brand... apparently mileage varies a little. If sil grease would be bad in general for threads.. I'm sure the top brands you listed wouldn't use it... so the question is: Is especially NT sil substandard or not, or did they change their recipe.

yeah, the top brands use it because theirs are anodized threads. i wont cancel my DX order. i dont own more than 10 little torches and the threads are all anodized except for 1 brand. o-rings are all rubber which is the standard, and the NT sil will perform fine on them.

i would have bought the recommended superlube but i wasnt willing to pay the disproportionate shipping costs. In the U.S., superlube is a budgeteer's choice (it's so cheap maybe because it's produced in mass quantities and available in every hardware store); and since i am spoiled by the Ch*nese No-Shipping-Costs-philosophy or policy (also seen on ebay often), superlube is a nogoh.

With a positive attitude i am sure not to regret the ultracheap NT cr*p. haha. (2.60$ total)

jo guys, FYI. i know that others on THIS and on other forums and in many threads repeatedly warned about silicone grease. but some people may rather want to see it by themselves in person (like me the el cheapo and el budgee) or hear it from people they know/trust (like the suspicious kreisler me? hehe), so i am repeating it FOR EVERYBODY TO HEAR IT AGAIN:

Nextorch Silicone Grease is highly NOT RECOMMENDABLE, and i promise that you will regret the purchase if you apply it on all kinds of flashlight threads. And here is the most obvious reason why:

check out this video first:

Have you seen the part with the tooth stick? Dont you think that this is weird? It is!! It demonstrates the most essential (positive/negative/youdecide) physical property of silicone grease:

IT IS EXTREMELY STICKY.

With "sticky" i dont mean the stickiness of sugary stuff like dried Coca-Cola or syrup (which is disgusting. i never drink soft drinks. because they make my tongue sticky haha), or the stickiness of glue stuff like glue, scotch tape, etc.

With "sticky" i mean the stickiness of tooth paste or any other (non-oily) highly viscous matter. Grease and tooth paste are still called "fluids" although they dont flow or pour like real fluids (oil, syrup, water, beer).

So tooth paste will "stick" to anything solid, any solid surface it comes in mere contact with. And if it is a layer between two (moving or not) solid surfaces, then it sticks to both. And silicone grease behaves even more like tooth paste, to an extreme degree as showcased in the video. So what *is* the definition of "lube"? Is lube defined as any fluid which is applied between moving parts, or does the fluid have to have a certain set of physical properties to be called "lube" after its definition?

Here is what silicone grease obviously does due to its extreme viscosity:

  • it's not oily, not soapy, doesnt smell. it does leave stains on paper, though.
  • disregarding o-rings for a moment, it DEFINITELY increases the required torque in any kinds of threads, anodized or not-anodized because it sticks to both surface sides within the threads, which makes it behave as real glue and increases the shear stress required for the twisting action. Non-anodized bare aluminum threads (e.g. Quarks) work, without exaggeration, really really bad with this stickiness. you get the total opposite of soft smooth twist action: the Quark head gets stuck and inoperable, and when you force to do some twisting, the aluminum gets severely ground; you can feel it (grittiness), you can hear it (~squeaking), and you can see it (massive grey grease residues after 1x twisting the head on and off; youre going to cry).
  • it seals the threads and o-rings better than any other thinkable "lube". water-proof, water-resistant, guaranteed. so i can recommend it for the Xeno E03 because its tailcap is used for torch sealing purposes after exchanging the battery. With the grease, it's harder to screw the tailcap on giving you a feeling of safety and 100% water-proofness.
  • it immensely reduces the wobbliness in the threads because of its stickiness, its thickness and high viscosity. For example the disassembly of the Romisen RC-29 unveils two bare aluminum parts whose male threads are rather wobbly screwed in the anodized female threads (the LED pill, and the lens holder cup). these 2 parts tend to loosen fast (which is bad) and then begin to emit a rattling sound (which is bad too). Applying silicone grease on all threads and o-rings of the RC-29 ensures the 100% water-proofness and no more rattling. Problem is: the torch may be begin to squeak during the zooming action (at "zoom 1x") and the zooming action is not soft/smooth but rather sticky or squeaky.

And here is what silicone grease DEFINITELY does NOT do. The downsides of silicone grease:

  • it does not reduce the friction (or shear stress) in between the two facing surfaces. this holds true for both anodized and non-anodized threads. in fact, the torque is increased. guaranteed. you will need more force (torque) to twist the threads. guaranteed.
  • "smooth". depends on what you mean by it. If your threads were gritty and squeaky and wobbly and felt bone-dry (e.g. in the iTP A3 Titanium), then the silicone crap "smoothes out" all that, yes. But in this example, does "smooth" mean that the A3 head is easier to twist? No, it doesnt. Twisting action has become harder! Same with Tank E09. Twisting the head *was* smooth and easy when it came pre-lubed (I am not sure which lube they had used!!) and one-hand operation was very easy and welcome. After applying the grease, twisting the head single-handed has become challenging. The tight threads of the A3 and the E09 are still to be called smooth *with* the grease. Twisting the head feels good, there's no squeaking, no wobbliness and you can feel that it is "lubed". Twisting resistance has increased, that's all. (So what again was the purpose of "lube"??)
  • to repeat myself: like glue (or toothpaste or beer), it does not reduce the friction between parts but the opposite. Think of massaging human body parts where you wish 100% "smooth" action and minimized friction between the two rubbing skins. In this example, you get minimized friction with soap (the best! with enough water). Expensive massage body oil is good too i guess, very slippery. But in case of silicone grease? nah, that rather tears the skin tissue when rubbing vehemently (e.g. up and down movement) and you would have preferred not having applied anything on the skin, i.e. dry skin rubbing against dry skin: not bad at all, nice massage!

The above blah treated the physical properties of silicone grease on threads. On o-rings it does the best sealing job and it's better than using dry o-rings. But here again "smoothness" in the sense of "easy twisting action" is something different. Silicone grease on o-rings is *not recommendable at all* if you want easy twisting action, e.g. on the twist UI of AAA lights or the 8-mode UI of the Quark Tactical. While the grease spares o-rings (because dry o-rings flake or show signs of abrasion), it does NOT provide easy twisting operation on the o-rings (nor in any threads!).

What about the chemical properties (interactions) of silicone grease on threads (aluminum, stainless steel, titanium) and on o-rings (silicone o-rings, rubber o-rings)?

i dont know. I mean who cares. The above listed physical properties suffice to declare silicone grease as crap for flashlights. It's only good for sealing purposes (Xeno E03) or for reducing the wobbliness of loose threads (2 threads of the Romisen).

**ck it. really.

Thanks, kreisler - very informative. I haven't tried the Nextorch grease but my first attempt at lubing was with some Silicon dielectric grease and I was not impressed. I'm really starting to like my bike chain oil - the key is very light application. Might stop by a Gander Mountain store and see how much gun lube costs just to try it out.

gun lube is the best (cpf threads).

the point is the price. i was hunting for a solution from DX, DD, KD or MF because it's shipping free and i got DD credits. and my attitude was: hey, any lube should do the trick, better than bone-dry!, so lemme buy the cheapest accepted solution.

now i learned it in person. no more silicone stuff (grease, oil, whatever). I dont know about oil, but it's out of stock (DX), and i doubt that it works on the Quarks.

i am thinking now of buying superlube off ebay. no more experimenting. i heard that superlube is not the best, but it's among the best.

The precision lube at Radio Shack works great, thin enough and lasts. Pretty sure I read where it was similar to one of the fancy names. I put some on a friends Ti Q-mini and he was amazed how much smoother it became.

Bottom line, it works great, easy to apply, doesn't appear to deteriorate o-rings, and only costs $4. It is located near the soldering stuff.

This

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/high-purity-silicone-oil-lubrication-for-flashlight-torch-10ml-2-pack-53289?r=43033281

works great for me (anodized and unanodized threads).

On the other hand, this

http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/nextorch-silicone-grease-for-flashlights-p-5355

was gritty and produced black oxide gunk on unanodized threads quite fast.

instead of ordering superlube (50$ shipping costs amazon acehardware) i will consider visiting the local hardware store and ask for advice (especially for bare aluminum on bare aluminum, and o-ring compatibility). if they have stuff which is cheaper than superlube, then i'll buy it.

basically i regret having applied silicone grease on my lights. on the Xeno, fine, who cares. there is no twisting UI. but on the Romisen (twisting zoom action) it's squeaking now. and on the Quark it was a total catastrophe (and where was MixoMaxo to hold me in the arms. baby me crying haha).

Silicone grease is good for sealing a cap (which you never want to twist again).

Silicone grease is not good on o-rings for twisting action/UI's.

Silicone grease is not good on non-anodized threads.

Silicone grease is not good on anodized threads.

These are 4 simple statements, and they are not exaggerated. And they all originate from the high friction causing stickiness of the silicone stuff as opposed to the slipperiness of soap water or oil films or frozen ice.

it's out of stock! i want to buy it, and if it's bad/good, report it in order to reconfirm/verify your statement ;)

I had nextorch grease but ditched it a long time ago. I use machine oil in the mean time and it seems to work well.

From what I see, it's promised to ship in 4-7 days, as many other items on DX.

And yes, that is the one that has worked best for me. Scuba light silicone grease was good too, but this oil is easier to obtain (for me) and apply.

Anyway, these are all very cheap. No problem to try and see what works for anyone. I threw away the NexTorch grease without the slightest remorse. Smile

Yeah, I had some silicone jelly for other stuff I used to use....found it too thick for anything twisty.

I, like others advised you about nextorch grease, now the only thing that come in my mind to make you stop crying about stupid lubes is give you a better new reason like crush your squirrel's nuts xD

yep, I would be a bad daddy >)

it is still out of stock. for months actually. ive just talked to james on the DX chat. and for people interested in the silicone oil, better ask James if it is IN STOCK before you place the order.

it is a little diffcult to get a partial refund on unshipped items (=canceled items). try to avoid asking for partial refunds, if you can avoid it.

kreisler,

When the weather clears, come around for a good home-made espresso and a few drops of that fabulous silicone oil on your flashlight threads. Smile

weather has cleared :steve: , i am coming to Sloveniaaaahhh!!

( sorry, but i took your words as invitation. hehe )

Espresso machine turned on.

I hope you'll understand that, given the current oil shortage, only brand name flashlights qualify... Laughing

i am looking into it, good idea ;)

Fenix is brand name :

Looking now for some good oily stuff..

Me too. Had it for years and use it on everything. Doesn’t eat any O-rings that I know of. Easy to find. I got mine at a gunshop but prob find at hardware store.