Cleaning ASSA 40C lever lock

[Xarragon]

Hi guys, I recently purchased two ASSA 40C indoor lever locks that were pretty gummed up. Here is a picture of one of them with the cover removed:



My first guess for the green stuff was some sort of synthetic grease, I've got a red variant of that in my parent's garage. It had actually gummed up one of the levers so bad that someone managed to twist and warp the key while trying to force it open.

To best of my knowledge lever locks are usually not lubricated, as they are very robust by design. Is this correct? I usually use dry-type teflon lock lube on my pintumblers, is that proper lube for these kind of locks as well?

And last but not least, any recommendations for cleaning and repairing this lock? My first idea would be degreaser or kerosene, but I am at a loss of what to do after that.. Oh, and is it me, or aren't these old lever locks just beautiful?

[Squelchtone]

<3

very cool locks!

[EmCee]

Hi Xarragon

Do you want to clean it so that it looks bright and pretty, or just to the point where it works?

Starting with the levers, the green stuff looks like verdigris, which appears naturally on brass over time as it weathers. Verdigris can be removed by various methods depending on how bad it is - from the 'gentlest' method of hot water and soap and a toothbrush or somesuch, through rubbing with lemon juice (acidic) and a bit of salt (slightly abrasive) or soaking in vinegar, to using a brass cleaner, to rubbing with a fine abrasive paper.

Verdigris comprises poisonous chemical compounds, so wash your hands after touching.

To clean the whole thing to 'display' quality would take a bit of work. I can't tell if the case is brass but usually not - you can try soaking, rubbing, scrubbing etc etc. I'd be careful handling the springs, as they can become brittle after a time and you don't want to snap them.

However, if you only want to end up with a working lock, you could just rub over the body as much as needed to remove loose dirt and grime, then remove all the parts and clean the inside to remove any loose bits.

As for lubrication, graphite powder is best (although messy). If you don't have a pot of it you can use pencil shavings or just run a pencil over it. As you replace each part, apply the graphite to all surfaces that rub against another surface. Just rub it in a bit with your fingers (yeah, it's a messy job) and tap off any excess (you don't need to see a layer of black on the part, rubbing over it will leave enough of a layer to lubricate and let everything move smoothly).

Cheers...

[Xarragon]

Thanks for the insights, EmCee. Much appreciated! I bought the locks becasue they're fairly common here in Sweden in older domestical buildings and since we have a hackerspace opening up in my home town I hoped to get some more people interested in this hobby, thus I've tried to gather some of the more common locks in order to show people how they work. The plan is just to get it into working condition; right now the lock housing leaves a sticky residue wherever it's placed and the insides are equally sticky. I also figured it would be a good beginner's lock for lever picking.

I apologize the topic of cleaning the lock was covered in more detail elsewhere. I just figured it would be nice to have another lock entered into the forum complete with pictures. And now perhaps more people will know what verdigris looks like.

I'll post some more images once I get it cleaned properly.

[EmCee]

Good luck with setting up the locksport club.

Verdigris can look like a 'stain' on the metal or it can bubble up into powdery/grainy deposit. It is also corrosive so removing it may reveal pitting of the substrate surface.

After cleaning the case to remove the stickiness, make sure to leave everything to dry thoroughly before putting any graphite powder near it (graphite powder + moisture = paste and you don't want paste).

Lever locks are common in the UK too. Yours looks interesting because it has more security than a basic 3-lever lock. It looks as though it will be fairly easy to pick with wires or a 2-in-1, but it will have to be picked 'twice', once into the false first gate which will allow the bolt to withdraw halfway, and then again into the second gate.

Cheers...