Restoring a lock - what lubricants to use?

[ridinplugspinnaz]

I know there have probably been topics on this before, but it seemed like the search function was almost fruitless for finding them. Anyway... I've taken apart some of my older cylinders recently to find that they were full of a lot of gunk. Cleaning all the crud out was easy enough, but in some of the locks the pins are dragging excessively due to removing everything from those surfaces, including what was probably a latent layer of oil. So what kinds of lubricants do you guys recommend for restoring a lock to good old frictionless operation, and where's a good place to find them?

[cottonmouth]

I use a special lubricant aerosol from ABUS. I am satisfied with it.
The dragging may also be caused by worn surfaces. Dirt in the locks may considerably increase the wear on those surfaces. I recommend not using oil. It makes the crud and dust stick better and increases the wear of the locks. I don´t use graphite anymore. It tends to accumulate in the springs and makes the cleaning procedure messy.
Don´t be too generous with the lubricant. More lubricant just means more mess.

[globallockytoo]

DO NOT use WD40 period. If you do...you will suffer...that's a guarantee.

Soak the original parts in gasoline or kerosene, overnight.

Clean with soap and water afterward.

before rebuilding, sand each element with wet & dry sandpaper (the finest you can get)

rebuild and lubricate with a teflon or silicon based lubricant.

Tri-Flow is one of the best and available in most locksmith shops.

[straightpick]

The way I clean up locks, levers safe tumblers. etc. is to soak the parts in lacquer thinner, which will remove all grease and oil and not leave a residue on the parts. They don't have to soak long, about 10 minutes, then use a small paint brush to remove any heavy accumulations. Don't recommend using it in the house; it has quite a smell and is very flammable. Also dries your hands out by removing the oils from your skin - use latex gloves.

The best way to clean small parts is to buy a small kitchen strainer, put the parts in that and set it in the lacquer thinner. That way you don't have to fish for parts in the bottom of the liquid. You also don't need much thinner, a little goes a long way. If you want to be frugal, after you are finished cleaning things, pour the used thinner in another glass bottle with a top. The grease and grime will settle to the bottom and you can reuse the liquid over until it won't dissolve any more grease.

After the parts have dries, you can lubricate them with any type spray that has teflon in it - PC Blaster, Triflow, Superlube, LockSaver, etc.

[ridinplugspinnaz]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the info. One more quick follow-up question. I noticed that a lot of the lubricants you guys listed come in several forms including plain old drip bottles, sprays, and more. Is there a particular type that is preferable when working with locks? I'm leaning towards the spray style, but I'm wondering if there's a big difference or a strong preference among those that work with locks all the time. Thanks for the input!

[cottonmouth]

Usually spray is easier to use in the lock while it is assembled. Liquids tend to be cheaper. For disassembled locks it doesn´t really matter. As lubricants shouldn´t be mixed if you are not sure that they will mix well, it´s more convenient to use the same lubricant on assembled and disassemble locks.

[n2oah]

Personally, I use

+


Works great.