Super Lube: Oil or Grease?

I don’t think I need to go that far, just something to help some, lol. Although it really isn’t all that expensive to buy both.

I use a tub of the grease for everything

my criterion was the price. whatever was cheaper. the oil was cheaper so i bought the oil. i dont know how good the grease is and what the noteworthy differences are. i can only speak of the oil:

i like it for my AAA flashlights. there isnt much in the oiler and since it's a viscous substance it wont last you long. the oiler gets empty rather quick yikes. in the US superlube is cheap stuff and any other Teflon based lube is more expensive, grease or oil.

i would say superlube is nothing special. The only special thing about it is that it is cheap (in the US) and the cheapest Teflon based synthetic lube, i.e. not Petroleum based lube.

it's not a thin oil and it doesnt run. it has in fact the consistency of men's semen :love:

^That better not be directed at me ;)

I think you spoke for all of us there, Jack.

so it must have been against E1320

:D

I've used, um... medical lube for pocket knives. Seemed to work alright. Not sure how it would work for o-rings.

I ordered the grease, I figured I don't really need semen in my flashlights.

I'm using Xtar lube and Nyogel. They are really make me happy

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There are some things money can't buy..

Truedat, bro. :)

kreisler, is that a flashlight in your pocket, or.....

Just had to ask

Dirty? Never.

sorry guys, i dont know what went into me last night. i was browsing DD customers' shopping baskets on the DD FB page and seeing that many flashlight products being sold (people still buy Klarus and Tank.. !!) i got somewhat exc*ted in da pants i guess

WOW! Why did I avoid this thread until now. Look at all the gold opportunities I missed...too late to the party yet again. ROFL!

Everything, huh E? :~
I bet she poops like a goose for the following week. 0:)

Well, while not "budget", I can throw in my 2 cents on grease. I read an old thread on CPF about some green-colored Teflon grease called MagnaLube G. It smells exactly like burned or overly used automatic transmission oil (I actually think that's what they use as the base stock)--strong and unpleasant, and I personally now think is unhealthy. There was a group buy on CPF years ago by the guy who helped to popularize the stuff for flashlights. I went and ordered the smallest tub, off Ebay or Amazon (wildly different final price, can't remember which was cheapest). Well, I hate it, at least for flashlight use. While it does stay put, it inevitably gets on your fingers whenever you take a cap off or put more on (I use a cotton ear swab). Teflon or PTFE is based on fluorine, or the element which makes the poisonous substance many known as "fluoride". In fluorine/fluoride's case, "the difference between a nutrient and a toxin is the dose" is NOT true. Fluorine, like mercury, lead, and aluminum, plays no part in the human nutritional system, and is at best considered a medicine, and teflon is most definitely NOT a medicine. Animals are sensitive to fluorine in microscopically small amounts (some more than others), and there is comparitively a shipload of fluorine in PTFE grease. Here you have a guy (me) who got rid of his non-stick coated pans years ago, and was dumb enough to buy PTFE grease. As for its "action", I don't like the way it 'feels' so much, for the price I paid. Feels kind of thin, and contrary to what I read prior to purchase, it definitely doesn't stop aluminum shedding (grease becomes dark from aluminum oxide) from what I guess is mild galling. Dirt loves it, and it sticks to clothes really well (best way I found to get it out is a liberal amount of "Goop" brand cleaner, then rinse with water). I don't get a good "feel" I hoped for.

Though the website touts it as a miracle, and I'm sure it's great for some things, the other applications I've tried it with didn't turn out excellently either (most memorably, a telescoping antenna--definitely not recommended, as you'll inevitably brush the antenna with your clothes).

Cheap old lithium grease, however, is non-staining, and in my view has less of a toxic concern. You may not think it's a big deal, but when I change a battery, no matter how careful, I smell my fingers and there's definitely a noticeable smell of it, and a simple handwashing doesn't really do the trick, especially a water-only washing. Plus, when you're out using a flashlight, changing batteries, you often can't wash your hands, but may need to eat. Also if you rest the flashlight tube in your lap, the dirty grease gets caught in the clothes (leaves a nice clingy imprint of dirty threads). Overall, for flashlights, not recommended by me. YMMV.

MagnaLube claims it's safe for rubber, while simultaneously admitting it causes rubber to "swell" slightly. They actually sell that as a positive. I haven't noticed swelling so it must be slight if so. They say they've never seen a significant case of rubber degredation from their product. So, it seems safe enough to use on rubber. ML is probably best used for bearing grease on boat trailers. Not something which will be touching human hands regularly. As long as we're making gross consistency analogies, I'd say the consistency of MagnaLube is that of mud, or maybe a blood clot. Personally, I prefer more resistance in the threads, and ML in my experience does not stop that "grinding" feel. To me, the most bizarre thing about MagnaLube is that they never properly explain the implied inferiority (for most uses) of their other product, MagnaLube GX, which has both PTFE and graphite in it, aside from that it works best at higher pressures (the X must mean 'extreme pressure'). Why they push the "G" stuff so hard on the website, and give short shrift to their pricier "GX" product, is not explained on their website.


Now, for what I do recommend. Nyogel. I stupidly didn't buy any on my order from Lighthound, having erroneously settled on MagnaLube instead. I then bought a SureFire tailcap, which I understand comes pre-lubed with NyoGel (I don't know which NyoGel version was used on my SF plastic tailcap). My gosh, that lube had exactly the right "feel" I was looking for, like in terms of resistance, and EXTREMELY smooth feel. Thicker/more resistance than MagnaLube, to me the perfect amount--not too much or too little. It also lasted well, and it didn't stick on me or my clothes. But MAN, that stuff is expensive! Yeah, a little goes a long way, but let's face it, most grease we use gets wasted in accidental over-application. NyoGel was "formulated for" electronics, whatever that means. For my engineer friend, something being puropse-made for an application means a lot (I'm more of a "whatever works" guy). But NyoGel "works". I don't want to make another LightHound purchase (with shipping) just for that, it about doubles the already high price of the smallest tube, and not a high priority for me. It's NOT necessary, just "realy nice"! Heck, you don't really "neeeeed" lube in most budget type (non-stainless) flashlights (depends on how you define need). Aside from Lighthound and maybe one other boutique flashlight seller, I don't know who sells the stuff to mere mortals.


So far in addition to MagnaLube and NyoGel I've used:
- Lithium grease (most commonly used, I guess). Will probably eventually damage your rubber O-rings. Cheap, non-staining, no big toxicity concerns that I'm aware of with normal/prudent use. Works okay but no miracles. I've never been extremely impressed or extremely disappointed with lithium grease for any application.
- (Pure) Silicone grease. Overly thick (too much resistance), but works. The best thing about silicone grease is it actually protects rubber, instead of damaging/destroying it. Very expensive for the amount, but can be purchased at any hardware or plumbing store. The little tubs are typically only about a tablespoon and cost around $5, ouch.
- Petroleum Jelly. Works fine until it damages your rubber O-rings. Obviously super-cheap and universally available. I use a very thin layer of PJ on light bulb and AC electrical sockets, especially outside, to prevent corrosion and seizing. Some people just try to keep it away from their O-Rings. I do not find this possible for myself. (Does anyone first coat O-rings with silicone grease to be able to use PJ on threads?)
X - I have not tried Molybdenum grease (though I own some) mainly because of of how it stains. The human body does use Molybdenum, but only in extremely small amounts, and it easily becomes toxic.
X - (Pure) silicone oil: would love to try some. I'm too cheap to buy the little vials sold on Amazon for RC cars.toxic. Most "silicone lubricant" oils you see are not pure, and therefore are usually not rubber-safe.
X - DuPont Teflon Greases: supposedly the 'King' of Teflon greases. Sold under other brand names, the most accessible being Finish Line Extreme Fluoro (currently $10.57 for 20g on Amazon in USA). You want to see an expensive grease, try Krytox (touted and sold by some CPF'ers). After my magnalube experience, I'm trying to spurn "wonder lubes".
+ - I plan to start experimenting with Automatic Transmission Fluid and Gear Oil as substitutes to "wonder lubes". I assume neither of these are rubber safe, but wonder to what degree (aren't there rubber seals in transmissions and gearboxes?). Would like to hear opinions, the internet is mixed on this. Plus, if MagnaLube's base stock is really tranny fluid (of which I'm not sure), there shouldn't be much difference in interaction with rubber.


I like it when lights come un-lubed, because I can use what I want. I've seen reviews where people were impressed or wrote that threads were lubed as a positive, but the lube being used was probably petroleum jelly. I've seen and been burned too many times by the long-term effects of petroleum on rubber. I wish silicone oil were more easily and cheaply available, and wish silicone grease were just cheaper. I'd mix it together to make a custom viscosity.

I got sucked into that MagnaLube group buy way back when. I agree with you, I hated that stuff too and gave it all away.

As many others have, I've settled on Super Lube grease and oil. It works, is non-toxic, safe on o-rings and is relatively inexpensive. I agree with kreisler above (minus the semen comment ), it's nothing super special, but it does the job well enough. As far as getting either the grease or oil? It's cheap enough to just get both. Aaaindustrialsupply is a good place to get it, they have all the sizes including the 4oz size of oil (#51004) plus the greases and shipping is tolerable at $5, free over $25 (Home Depot's shipping will usually be a couple bucks more, free shipping starts at $45).

I haven't tried Nyogel simply because of the expense.. perhaps I'll throw some in on my next Lighthound.com order (it's the shipping that kills you there - don't forget the 2% discount code "blf", miniscule but hey).

I will be experimenting with a few other lubes (if anyone has any experience with these, please chime in):

Militec-1 grease and oil. I've used it in the past on my knives and guns and it works very, very well. I found out about it a few years back because a diesel mechanic friend of mine who maintains a fleet of severely abused ambulances put militec into their a/c compressors and saw a 75% decline in compressor failure.

Dupont Multi-use Dry Wax Lubricant w/ Teflon, found at Lowe's. ("White Lightning Easy Lube" found at Walmart, perhaps same material but without the Teflon? - not sure.) While at Lowe's, Dupont Silicone Lubricant may also be worth investigating.

And I just saw this at Walmart: Pedalite EcoGrease (and Green Oil): "EcoGrease contains no petroleum and no Teflon. It does contain a small quantity of African bee's wax, but the rest is a blend of 100% plant extracts provided by nature."

Fluid Film, lanolin-based, non-toxic, no solvents. Found it cheapest at Kellsport Products. At the polarisatvforums.com forum there was a thread talking about a Fluid Film dealer sending out free samples.

I did a search for "lube" on DX and was sorry.

Any recommendations for stuff I can get in Germany? kreisler, wanna jump in? :P