what's the best lubricant for squeaky door hinges

[Squelchtone]

Thank you for all the replies guys, I'll read them again and try some products out. I remember one thing I used once which was more of a matter of what was available at home that day was some Teflon bike chain spray, that stuff is great, but probably not intended for door hinges!

[GWiens2001]

They make a spray grease for garage doors that works, too.

Gordon

[nine4t4]

Chain Wax!!!!

I used to do maintenance work in very Chi Chi place. The kind of place where Rich-B^%$s would look for things to complain about. They'd complain about a squeaky hinge, and if the squeaking stopped, they rub their Gucci against it to have something new to complain about.

Back in the day we used to cook our bike chains in wax. It now comes in bottles with a solvent that evaporates

The excess flakes off, it doesn't pick up dirt or dust, and lasts a long time.


That said, if the door is wood... those squeaks aren't always the hinges. I've had a squeaky door stop squeeking because we were painting

[Tyler J. Thomas]

I use white grease (Lithium grease) on hinges that are exposed to the outdoors and 3 in 1 oil on hinges that are indoors.

When able, I remove hinge pins, clean them up, run them under a wire brush to smooth them out, and then apply white lithium grease. Lasts for years and years. That was one of my first tasks as an apprentice: go around the shop and clean and lubricate all the hinge pins. I never had to do it again for the 5-6 years I was there. I'm sure it hasn't been done since.

I use Tri-Flow for the rest. 3 in 1 on my key machine, heh.

[hyper9]

no one said vasoline?! i assumed everyone had this is in the med cabinet.

[smokingman]

I , like most people try what I have on hand.
I found that Remington Rem-Oil with Teflon works, and lasts for years.
The carrier evaporates and leaves a light teflon powder
Good for your loud toys too.

[Jacob Morgan]

Resizing wax for metallic case reloading would probably be perfect--it is sticky and stands up to extreme pressure. It is also colorless and odorless. Have some at home, now only if I had a squeaky hinge to try it on.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/519525/imperial-case-sizing-wax-2-oz

[Silverado]

Wipe everything down with bacon grease. Lubrication, and the wonderful scent of bacon!

I just use WD40 on everything that squeaks, which is probably something I learned from my grandfather.

[RedE]

I typically use white lithium grease for lubricating hinges and door closer arms. It works wonders on them and tends to stay put for awhile. Also, it's readily available and is cheap... I think I've seen cans of the CRC stuff at Walmart for $3ish. WD40 stops the squeaks too, but it evaporates quickly IMO, and can be very messy if not applied correctly.

Lubes in general though seem to be very subjective, and everyone has their own opinion on them. While lithium grease is my preferred product, I'm open to using anything as long as it lasts along time and doesn't attract dirt.

[Gantry]

Ok, Couldn't help myself... I saw WD40 mentioned about 5 times in these posts (with the right answer I might add - don't use for that). I just wanted to shout out what WD40 means (how it got it's name) and there fore why
it might not be the best for lubrication... WD40 got it's name like this - Water Displacement (formula) 40. So it's act's as a anti rust & lube and was the 40th formula they decided to market. And now you know the rest of the story... Gantry

[mseifert]

Pull the pin, clean the parts that come in contact .. Apply a light coat of grease to the contact parts and reassemble.. is usually my attack plan

[Tyler J. Thomas]

I've been playing around with CLP lately. I've always used it when cleaning and lubricating my guns so I had a few extra cans. I haven't been thoroughly impressed with its use on hinges or mortise locks. Great for guns, not so much for door hardware.

Still a huge fan of 3-in-1 Garage Door Lubricant for everything that isn't a keyhole. About done with Locksaver (which I've used for years) once these last few cans are empty. I'm not a huge believer in "dry lubricants" in the keyhole anymore after running an experiment for 2+ years now. 3-in-1 is a bit too "thick" for pins and springs. Going to play around with Royal Purple's synthetic lube shortly - learned from a locksmith at a nearby college that they all use it for SFIC and they're enamored with it.

[dll932]

Just a thought: Strattec makes a spray grease for auto locks called Lokshot. Says it won't attract dirt and works over wide temp range. Might be worth a try on stuff like hinges.