Lock Lubrication

[Cherry Picker]

I've heard many people here and elsewhere talk about what type of lubricant to use in a lock, some bad, some worse.

As a longtime professional gunsmith I thought I'd offer my opinions about proper lubricants for fine mechanisms.

Graphite

This is a horrible idea. Keep graphite and all other forms of "Solid" lubricant away from your locks. It doesn't matter how slick the stuff is if there's so much of it crammed in the mech that the pins won't move.

WD-40
Anybody here know what the "WD" in WD-40 stands for?

Water Displacer

It was never designed to be a lubricant but over the years, it's been marketed as such. This is another very bad idea. WD-40 is a fish based lubricant (Think "Cod Liver Oil") in a very thin carrier. Once the carrier evaporates, it leaves a gooey film of gunk on the mechanism. I've seen M-16 rifles lock up and cease to function because of the glue-like properties of this residue.

Obviously, this is something you want to keep far away from your locks and any other device with small moving parts.

Those two or the "Big Baddies" of the Lubricant world. Avoid them religiously.

So, what should you use?

A Century ago, the prefered lubricant for fine watches and clocks was Sperm Oil taken from the Sperm Whale. The lubricating properties were perfect for use in fine mechanisms and lasted for an incredibly long time.

But you can't go down to the local Wal-Mart and buy Sperm Oil anymore, right?

Well, almost right.

In the early days of Automobile development, cars like Pearce Arrows and Dusenbergs had a transmission case full of sperm oil. It was a non-frothing low viscosity oil that was as perfect for that use as it was for clock and watches.

Today's Transmission Fluids are carefully synthesized Sperm Oil.
The best news is, that the cheaper the tranny fluid, the better it is. (Less additives.)

A single drop placed in the workings of a lock will keep it running smooth, clean, and gunk-free for a year.

For those who simply MUST have a more modern Lubricant I recommend something fairly cheap and PTFE based. If for no other reason that "A little goes a long way."

"Gunk Super Lubricant with PTFE" is readily available and very cheap. A large aeresol can sells for about 2 bucks and will lubricate more locks than you want to look at. Available at most Wal-Marts and Auto Stores.

Now a note on cleaning...

It is not enough to simply lubricate your locks, they must be occasionally cleaned if you expect them to keep running well.

A once yearly cleaning with a good oil dissolving solvent will do wonders for the life of your locks.

The "High Tech" (and expensive) route to cleaning is one of the aeresol de-greasers available on the market. These de-greasers often run 8 to 10 dollars for a can.

The "Low Tech" is to invest in a quart of diesel fuel and soak your locks over night and then allow them to "drip-dry" in a warm sunny spot outside the house. (Wifey will object to the smell of diesel permeating her house.)

After the locks are mostly dry, apply your lubricant of choice and you're good for another year.

Remember the golden rule of lube though...

Less is more!

[CPLP]

I know this thread is very old but... do you agree about what he says of graphite?

[vector40]

It's a view held by many locksmiths. The point isn't that it doesn't work -- it does. But it's very, very easy to use improperly, and at the end of the day there's just not a lot of reason to mess with it when you can use a good synthetic lube and be done.

[Shrub]

The original post and vecs responce is all spot on, this should be made a sticky in my eyes but the sperm bit is a little off target as its still a liquid that remains so and will eventually attract dust and muck.

[vector40]

I should clarify that, though it's not much as a lubricant, WD-40 can be used and is often used as a cleaner/degreaser -- say if you've got a gunked-up, rusted, dirty cylinder, you might flush it down with WD-40. Just make sure you chase it out with an actual lube, or you'll end up with nothing good.

[Shrub]

Yes i totally agree, WD40 is fantastic for that.

[Bahrg]

Personally I like the idea of silicone spray. How do you lockies feel about that?

[jgencinc]

has anybody seen the stuff called "lock ease"? It is colloidal graphite in an evaporative petroleum product. Any thoughts on this stuff?

[vector40]

Silicon's good. So's Teflon.

[zeke79]

Ok, in my opinoin graphite can be used in areas that are not high in humidity or next to a body of water. To use graphite one needs to totally disassemble the lock and clean in a solvent such as ethyl ketone or naphtha (yes that spelling is correct). Once that is done and the parts are dried thoroughly, I use a fine make up brush dipped in graphite and then tapped on the side of the graphite container to clear excess. I then lightly dust the plug and chambers with the brush. That is the proper amount of graphite to use, anything more is excessive and will cause problems. The graphite squeeze applicators will apply way to much and therefor cause problems. This is my $.02 on the matter.

[dmux]

WD-40

water displacement 40th attempt, so it must have taken 39 tries before they got it right

[Shrub]

40 is the thickness i think.

[alberty]

i use WD40 for all.
explain:
i clean my tools, guitare, lock, all mechanical machine how's need to be clead and lubrificate.
so i have one in my "magical first aid kit", like swiss knife and alcool 90° ...

[Shrub]

WD-40 is totally the wrong stuff for machines even more so than locks, its just too thin and is also a degreaser in the long term, the only use of WD in machines is a light spray on the beds to stop them rusting otherwise you should be useing the greese and oil points with the appropreate lubricant's.

[illusion]

If I remember right, WD-40 was ne'er actualy intended to be used as a lubricant...