wd 40

[bpc293]

thanks i think just kiding thanks guys

[Varjeal]

Climate and conditions have a lot to do with the "best" type of lubricant. As Raccoon has mentioned, a clean and dry lock will benefit from the proper application of powdered graphite. I do not recommend powdered anything to customers because of the tendency to overuse. Also, black graphite is extremely messy on the hands and tools after a period of time as well.

I recall a particular instance where a customer phoned me to ask if it would be alright to use graphite. I asked about the particular application, gave the usual warnings, and we parted ways. An hour later the customer phoned complaining that his key would no longer go in the door.

I arrived on scene to find that the customer had gone to the competitor, purchased one of those 3 inch tall "puffers", took it home, jammed it in the lock and gave the puffer a big old squeeze not once, but TWICE!

He then continually tried to jam the key into the lock in an effort to get the graphite moving around. What he did end up doing is packing it in so tight I had to completely remove the lock, tear it down, and indvidually clean off each part.....This would have never happened with the "over" application of any type of spray.

The only bad thing about the over-application of sprays is the potential for the stuff to be dripping down the sides of the door. I much prefer a customer doing that than filling their lock full of powder, but thats a personal preference I guess.

[Wolfman]

I'm not a locksmith, yet, but I've cleaned out a few locks. Not sure if this is the right way, but it's worked for me.

Keep in mind, I fully disassembled and rebuilt this lock, but....
Kerosene to get any grime off of parts, pat dry, let set untill your ABSOLUTELY SURE its all the way dry, lubercate with graphite while assembling.

Lock now works as good as new.

I've also found that Lighter fluid (naptha) like the kind you put in zippos, works realy well to clean out locks, as well as remove tar, glue, and for use as an all around cleaning agent. And it kills ants on contact! 0_o faster if you light it...

[UWSDWF]

What I use is Chesterton 601
It is a food grade lubricant (wd-40 but different)
says it's for drive trains ect...
acts very different from wd and its non toxic

[bpc293]

you just gave me an idea. i have oil for my meat slicer thats safe and its suppose to not attract dirt or build up of any kind.

[Mutzy]

Graphite sucks. I have just spent the last three days cleaning Lockwood 530 knobsets that had more graphite powder than brass in them

As far as i'm concerned, graphite should be severely restricted in use. And only on locks with open ends, not ones that allow the graphite to compress and prevent the key from inserting in the whole way.

My work uses WD-40 primarily. I know it's not the best, but it's what we've got, and so far, it has done the job. What are the WD-40 alternatives in Australia?

[raimundo]

Just this week, I was asked to open a knobset that had not been used in manyh years, and was outdoors, it was completely jambed with verdigris, the oxide of copper that by the way is poison so wash your hands before you eat. after some bike chain lube it finally was pickable, before that, I was at a friends and he had an old padlock that wasn't wanting to play, I asked if he had some oil, he had no lube, but offered me something made for applying to leather, it worked. many year ago, when I worked as a locksmith in sanfrancisco, the neighborhood toward the pacific, where the breakers put salt spray into the fog, the locks were all verdigris, the closer to the beach you got, the more verdigris. but this did not happen on the bay side, because no breakers to add salt to the fog. People even kept their cars inside bags out in the sunset district.

[raimundo]

Varjeals mention of impressioning the lock brings this up, if you are impressioning a lock that has been oiled, wipe the key with a papertowel every time you pull it out of the lock before reading any impressions, because oil can make a mark that looks incredibly like an impression from the pin tip, but it wipes right off if the mark is false. even under a ten power lens, some of these oil impressions look real. also, since impressioning requires binding, the oil could interfer with that, but force will win, and by wiping the oil from the key every time, you are probably drying up someof the oil in the lock. Oil is not necessary to lockpicking but its plan b if the picking is not going well.