I've always heard that you lube brass locks with graphite . Stainless steel , etc. use a wet lube .

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Surely you are familiar with the concept of the “figure of speech”.

I am, yes, but many people who speak of oil or grease “attracting” dirt and grit are clearly not using it as a figure of speech, and genuinely believe that such products will somehow suck them out of the surrounding environment.

My private reaction to careless word usage by the rest who know better will of course not change anything, but just as some people notice whether someone has properly coordinated her nail polish and lipstick or his socks and trousers, I tend to think about what words actually mean. And who knows? If such things get pointed out often enough, perhaps other people will too. Stranger things have happened.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
I think the answer might be get a better lock like Medeco. But if you had a stuck key in a CHEAP QUICKSET, what would you use. I will understand if you defer answering, I should have been specific in my question. My apologies.

Not really the answer IMO, we use Medeco locks at work and keys get stuck all the time. (of course we're talking tens of thousands of keys/locks, so that drives the odds up. ) My point being I think the chances of a high quality, high tolerance lock getting jammed are higher, not lower than a cheap lock. (Like a firearm with "slop" working better in grime and gunk in it than a tightly fit one.)

I dunno.

I know I find it much easier to pick name brand locks than the cheap Chinese knock offs of the same. All that play and slop makes it harder.

quote:

I am, yes, but many people who speak of oil or grease “attracting” dirt and grit are clearly not using it as a figure of speech, and genuinely believe that such products will somehow suck them out of the surrounding environment

In some dictionaries it is also defined as a force that resists separation. So a lubricant that attracts moisture or dirt will hold
onto it once exposed.

Living within a stones throw from the bay I've recently had to deal with the issues of keys and locks on my doors as they were in dire need of help. I tried the Houdini 4-way lock lubricant as others here have recommended and it works like a dream. The keys now slide in and out like magic and the door locking mechanism work super quiet like a champ. I'd put this on the top of the list for living near the salty environment anyday.

We have Medeco locks. All the locking doors. We built the house in the very early months of 2010. Along about 2016 my front door lock was "misbehaving", as in not wanting to accept a key and not wanting to turn. Kind of upset me because in all the years of home ownership I'd never had that with the Yale locks. So I did the lazy thing and called the locksmith we used to install the Medeco products. The builder wanted to do it, but I'm obstinate to say the least. Big locksmith company, too. The lady who answered the phone, obviously not a locksmith herself. said just give it a spray of WD40 and call back if that doesn't work. Worked wonders.

So I'm interested in what the engineers have to say. It was only that one lock. Still working like a champ. I have no idea if I messed up the long term life of the lock. I expect it to outlast me.

For years I've had a small aerosol of lock antifreeze in the glove compartment. It somehow vanaished. So I used the WD as instructed (I'm so obedient). My future plan is to use it again if I have a problem, pending the outcome of the engineers advice.

The old and outdated ideas of WD turning to varnish is false. Just plain false. Let me repeat that adage, it isn't true. The original formula, the 40th one, was varnish based. No wonder it evaporated into varnish. Google it or something. Then they changed it to a Stoddard solvent base. It evaporates to nothing. But don't use 50 year old NASA water displacing stuff.

Next time I see a sale, be it Harbor Freight or similar, like maybe Home Despot or Lowe's, I'm going to go splurge and buy up a half dozen of the mini cans of WD40. Then if I can remember long enough, I'm going to place them all over, like in the kitchen junk drawer, down in the basement, you name it.

As for lock unfreezer... I used a pan of boiling water at my employers house. But its been a while since he croaked back about 2006. The pan of water unfroze the door lock just fine. Like it was made to do that even.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: rburg,

Okay gents, here's what Medeco engineering has to say. They prefaced this with "if you ask 12 of us this question you will get 13 opinions", and "this question is kind of like oil threads on auto enthusiasts forums."

"We’ve done multiple studies and the optimal lubricant really varies by climate, application, and conditions. But, I can tell you this from personal experience. Stay away from powdered graphite. For a dry lube, use PTFE white powdered Teflon. For a spray lube, try to use a non-petroleum based formula. We recommend Fluid Film. You can get that anywhere. I know a lot of people who use Houdini but we’ve never tested it. WD-40 does work great...for a short while and then you have to reapply. It will attract dust and dirt so it cleans at first but then quickly degrades over time"

So, the take away is 1) read their first sentence again and 2) don't assume the ex-CEO of a lock manufacturing company knows WTF he's talking about.

aileron

quote:

For a spray lube, try to use a non-petroleum based formula. We recommend Fluid Film.

Fluid Film is a Lanolin Based Petroleum Oil. Just saying.

I'm not an engineer or lubrication specialist, but if I was making a wild guess, it would be that the petroleum aspects of these lubricants is what makes them move into places they normally wouldn't. That's a good thing.

WD40 is not a lube. It is a moisture remover.WD is for water displacement. Works just fine for locks.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:

quote:

For a spray lube, try to use a non-petroleum based formula. We recommend Fluid Film.

Fluid Film is a Lanolin Based Petroleum Oil. Just saying.

I'm not an engineer or lubrication specialist, but if I was making a wild guess, it would be that the petroleum aspects of these lubricants is what makes them move into places they normally wouldn't. That's a good thing.

I suspect the petroleum oils emulsify the wool wax (aka lanolin) for using in aerosol and trigger sprays, and as an added bonus have lubricating properties of their own. A quick perusal of their website doesn't describe having petroleum in their other 6 products that are liquids and gels.

From the manufacturer's web site:

https://www.wd40.com/myths-legends-fun-facts/

quote:

A QUESTION OF LUBRICATION
Myth: WD-40® Multi-Use Product is not really a lubricant.

Fact: While the “W-D” in WD-40® stands for Water Displacement, WD-40® Multi-Use Product is a unique, special blend of lubricants. The product’s formulation also contains anti-corrosion agents and ingredients for penetration, water displacement and soil removal.

The PMS card for our armory locks/pyro lockers/ready service ammo(which were exposed to sea water) had us putting a drop of LSA or light oil(think sewing machine oil) on the key and a drop in the keyhole and a drop on either side of the hasp..probably once a month IIRC....these were high strength locks made by Medeco.

I’ve always just used fishing reel oil cause it comes in a tube applicator you can direct it exactly where you want it. If the lock gets gummy or gritty I just flush it with brake cleaner and re apply some light oil.

If you live in a area where freezing rain or more commonly rain followed by a hard freeze then putting one or two drops of automotive antifreeze. Use full strength and youll be good for a few weeks. Then just redo. Hot water will thaw a frozen lock but if you dont do something supportive, its frozen again.
I think its been established that if you do something, anything you may get your lock working at least for a while. Better than doing nothing. Triflow as stated is really, reLLY GOOD STUFF. Its easy to squirt it away though. Use sparingly.
As to the legend of WD40, I just dont use it so I dont have any problems. BTW there are many better products available. CRC 556 for example.

All I can say regarding WD40 is that I use it on almost everything. Hinges, door locks, springs, tools... whatever.

If it's metal and squeaks, watch out, here comes the WD40. Having used it for many, many years, I've never had any issues that I've noticed. I have several cans in the garage as it's hard to pass by the WD40 display in the hardware store and not buy a can. The latest one has a cool flexible metal tube for spraying

Oh, and it smells good, too!

I don't use WD40 on my guns, however. No particular reason other than I'm happy with Hoppes gun oil for that purpose.

I've found that Breakfree CLP works incredibly well in locks, in a house I used to manage and my house which are relatively close to the ocean.

My first inclination with a stuck key was to pull it out with a pair of needle nose pliers, but I had to get in the house first. The key of course was attached to a bunch of keys on the key chain and I was locked out of the house with no one there. I remembered I had a made a duplicate key and that it was in my car. I got in through another door. I searched YOu tube first. They suggested gently and quickly juggling the key up and down in the lock. I first had to get the other keys off the ring which was not easy. Anyway is finally worked. I then came to Sigforum and got all these opinions. I ordered the Houdini spray and it ungummed the lock. Considerably more expensive than the other products. I also noted after I ordered the item that it was then out of stock and the price went down 7 bucks. I did not know Walmart.com did that sort of stuff. Smart business, supply and demand economics at work.

Anyway I lubed most all my locks last night. The ones at the office even work well. I never knew stuck keys had so many solutions, and the controversy as great as it was between silicone,graphite, and petroleum based products. I also learned what CEOs of lock companies tell their customers about taking care of their locks.

Thanks guys..

Houdini 4-way lock lubricant..
PENETRATES
CLEANS
LUBRICATES
PROTECTS
NO TEFLON
NO SILICONE
NO GREASE
NO OIL
NO GRAPHITE
NO GUM-UP
ANTI-RUST
NO CORROSION

Works on tough jobs under extreme conditions, even in sub-zero weather.

"IT'S MAGIC I TELL YA!"

quote:

Originally posted by just1tym:
Houdini 4-way lock lubricant..
PENETRATES
CLEANS
LUBRICATES
PROTECTS
NO TEFLON
NO SILICONE
NO GREASE
NO OIL
NO GRAPHITE
NO GUM-UP
ANTI-RUST
NO CORROSION

Works on tough jobs under extreme conditions, even in sub-zero weather.

"IT'S MAGIC I TELL YA!"

I'm not sure where they got "NO OIL" from... if you check the MSDS, it has three "proprietary blend of base oils" ingredients plus "solvent-refined heavy paraffinic petroleum distillates" (kerosene).

I can't help but notice that the "best" lubricants brag about the lack of lubricants in their products.

I'm going to start selling cans of compressed air as the next wonder lube.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
I can't help but notice that the "best" lubricants brag about the lack of lubricants in their products.

I'm going to start selling cans of compressed air as the next wonder lube.

Nowhere does Houdini say there are no lubricants.