I bought a 3 ounce tube of Super Lube like 8 years ago, I barely made a dent in it, probably last me another 8 years, talk about getting your money’s worth
I use Super Lube Multi-Purpose Synthetic Grease (that I got from Harbor Freight). Super Lube makes different types of greases so you have to be careful which one you use for flashlights.
The “Multi-Purpose Synthetic Grease” is compatible with both nitrile and silicone rubber, which I believe is the material used for the O-rings in flashlights. The black O-rings are usually nitrile and the clear and color O-rings are silicone.
But the Super Lube “Silicone Lubricating Grease” is not compatible with silicone rubber. Even the Super Lube “Silicone O-ring” grease is not compatible with silicone rubber.
Well if you had some laying around then go ahead. I would still go with any form of silicone lube over dielectric grease.
I find that dielectric grease is sticky that’s why I use them especially on my keychain twisties. As for any different from silicone lube, I think it’s more economical to use silicone lube plus it moisturizes your o-rings
I use TEF-GEL on flashlights and our boat. It is a ptfe based substance that has no electrical conduction, never dries out, won’t wash away with moisture, and only needs one application. I think it was primarily developed for the marine industry. It’s expensive, but a two ounce tub will last quite awhile, and won’t go bad at room temperature, at least so far. My tub is eight years old and it’s about a third gone. It’s super sticky and will make a mess of things if not careful. I put some of it, along with some silicone on a piece of metal and left it in the sun for a few weeks. No discernible change to the gel. The silicone was gone however.
Years ago I was using silicone based grease for o-rings and such, but had to re-apply every year or so. After awhile I noticed black on my fingers from seals degrading, probably from not applying often enough. I was using silicone grease designed for seals and grommets. Silicone dries out and disappears eventually, as do most other seal treatments I’ve used. TEF-GEL was designed to prevent corrosion between dissimilar metals in contact with each other, but it works fine for seals. Anyway, no more black fingers and I only have to do the job once, as it never dries out. And, threaded parts disassemble with ease. Don’t get me wrong. If I put it back tight it stays that way, but won’t gall or lock up from corrosion. Best to clean surfaces first to remove the old lubricant.
Hey, Nyogel was like the past favorites for CPF and it’s super difficult to find for me in Malaysia. I’m not sure how they perform but I stick to Permatex because of the viscosity. I tried some local brand dielectric grease and they’re very smooth Vaseline texture while the permatex had a sticky glue like texture for a grease which makes me always fall back to it. Very useful on holding twisty lights as they won’t fall off.
here is one product I tried and do NOT recommend, not just because it is expensive. I dont mind buying stuff that works, this stuff does not work for flashlights:
Krytox 205… Do NOT Buy
It dries out and makes the light difficult to unscrew…
I dont know why it is highly recommended in the lube thread on CPF… it does not work for me.