Like white lithium grease? That stuff is nasty. The aerosol version I like, not for flashlights obviously, but the kind that comes in a tube sucks for everything. It’s literally sunscreen.
The anodized later is aluminum oxide, Al₂O₃, thats literally sandpaper. For real. That’s literally what sandpaper is. Lube can only do so much.
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Yeah, MAO Hanklights are the same, and even Fireflylite who arguably have the most durable MAO have the same problem too.
Another vote for Nyogel. Bought a tube 15 years ago and still haven’t used more than 1/3 of it.
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The issue with MAO in our flashlights is it’s not as thick as true MAO, which creates a harder surface than anodizing.
I haven’t used it yet, but I just got some of this. Thought I’d share for those who have a local Do It Best hardware store. 90% pure silicone and in a 1/2oz container. The price is right at under $5. It’s also available on Amazon, but for a markup.
My flashlight manuals that included maintenance info recommended silicone grease, so that’s the direction I went over some kind of petroleum/hydrocarbon stuff.
I remember when it was like that for a Lubriplate product that got popular on semi-auto slides. This article kicked off the craze and for good reason. It really was fantastic in that role and being non-toxic was a plus for something you carry close to your body all day long. Eventually, a company started buying the large sizes and repackaging it in smaller sizes specifically for the gun community.
Lubriplate would go on to obviate that need and now markets it directly as a gun grease. (It’s too thin for the purposes here but a good analog to that story.)
As far as flashlights, I’ve mostly used Nyogel since someone here recommended it. Faucet grease isn’t a bad idea. I’ve also thought about the White Lightning non-toxic bike chain grease, which I got into using on Kershaw Speedsafe torsion bars per a recommendation from a Kershaw employee. Not being an electrical whiz, I’ve always wondered if there were other factors to consider here.
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There is more than one type of Nyogel. Some are hydrocarbon based.
760G is the one everyone uses.
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Are you sure threads should be lubricated? I’ve been using Super Lube but it adds a lot of electrical resistance and is especially problematic when current is high. After cleaning off all the lube my lights run much better.
Nyogel 760G is a connector grease and designed primarily for that - to insulate a contact until a connector touches it as it makes it water resistant.
I haven’t had issues with it even at high currents (up to 16A)
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760g is hydrocarbon based.
Yes. The tube says :
“silica thickened, synthetic hydrocarbon grease”.
Use Nyogel instead, it’s actually designed for electrical connections. Save the super lube for truck axles or whatever it’s actually for.
Also, most lights have the current path through the top of the body tube, not the threads.
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NyoGel 760G, just like SuperLube, is a dielectric: NyoGel®
NyoGel®760G has good fretting corrosion protection, dielectric isolation capabilities, and is also compatible with common connector materials.
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I used Nitecore SG7 for my lights.
Worked very well.
Any popular lights with electric circuits through the threads?
Thanks for joining the gang, LuminPro!
Wurkkos TS10, some of Lumintop’s small LEPs, some older Fireflylite.
I’ve always used nyogel on the threads of all of my lights and never had a problem with any of those.
I find it to be a huge advantage that I can use Super Lube on my flashlights as well as my truck axels. I also like that Super Lube comes in 55 gallon drums. Last me a good two years.
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