Comprehensive Grease and Lube Thread

[teacher]

My favorite lube as of late is dielectric grease. It is kind of a milky clear grease used on electrical contacts and connectors the look and consistency remind me of silicons grease. I bought a large tube of it at the auto parts store for a about $6. They also have little single use packets of it at the check out counter for less than a buck for adding to things like trailer light connectors. I find myself putting a small dab on a finger and then wiping it on the inside lip of a tail cap that seals against the o wring. Then installing the tail cap does a good job of coating the o wrings. I figure it is a grease and intended for use in electrical environments, aiding in electrical conduction. I guess I don't know it's long term effects on o wrings but so far I have had no adverse effects. But I suppose it is intended to use with connectors which often have rubber environmental seals.

Here is a link to the tube I am using.

Any thoughts or advice?

Here is what I use on all my lights and have never had any kind of problem at all.

I use the Super Lube pictured on the left mostly, if I don't happen to have any handy I use the Dielectric Grease pictured on the right. [Same as in your link above.]

Get a 3ml syringe at the Drug Store, pull the stopper out, fill it about 2/3 full with Super Lube, put the stopper back in... and you have a handy dandy Super Lube dispenser. If your syringe has an 18 gauge or larger needle you can either leave it on or take it off. I have found that smaller than 18 gauge makes squeezing out the lube too difficult.

Get a soft rag, clean the O-ring & threads real good. Clean the threads inside the tail cap &/or head with the rag & a Q-Tip.
With the handy dandy dispenser or whatever, put a small amount of lube on the O-ring & threads. [I squirt a small amount out of the syringe and either use my finger, a tooth pick, a clean Q-Tip, or all three to spread it out.]

DO NOT overdo it with the lube. Use sparingly.

Put the batteries back in, re-assemble and call it a day. :thumbsup:

When I first got into good lights I "over thought" all of this and wasted money on stuff that did not make a hill of beans worth of difference in the big scheme of things. The lube I used was one of those things.

Hope this helps............

I also hope the pictures show up........ .:thinking:

EDIT for disclaimer....
DISCLAIMER : This is what I do & have done for well over 10 years. It has worked for me and worked well. Your mileage may vary...

 

[teacher]

Silicone oils and greases cause silicone rubber to soften and swell. See the first post in this thread, or look up any rubber chemical compatibility chart.

OK, my bad. I had read that a long time ago. For the past several years I have used Super Lube almost exclusively [occasionally Dielectric grease], so either I have been real lucky or some of my O-rings have not in fact been made of Silicone.
How do you tell what they are made of? Is there a color code??

EDIT / Looks like Silicone O-rings are Orange colored from what I could find out. Is that correct?

 

[teacher]

This chart might be of some help in identifying what material an O-ring is made of. It is not fool proof it seems, but it might be a good starting place.

O-Ring Colors

Over time and in certain industries, specific color standards have been used to easily, visually identify what type of o-ring is being used.

The chart below shows the standard colors that Global O-Ring stocks in our most common materials/compounds.
Please note that we can supply ANY O-RING IN ANY COLOR.
***Disclaimer: It is never safe to assume an o-ring is a certain type, material, or hardness just based on the color alone. - - - -

Global O-Ring Stock Color Chart

Color	Image	Most Common Compounds	Global Compounds
Black		Nitrile (Buna-N, NBR), Viton (FKM), EPDM, Neoprene (Chloroprene), HNBR (Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber)	N70 | N90 |V75 | V90 |HNBR90
Brown		Viton (FKM)	BV75 |BV90
White		Nitrile (Buna-N, NBR), any FDA compound	WN70
Green		HSN/HNBR (Highly Saturated Nitrile or Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber)	HSN70 Green
Blue		Fluorosilicone	F70
Red/Orange/Rust		Silicone	S70
Clear		Polyurethane (Urethane)	U70 | U90

 

[Yamabushi]

... I have used Super Lube almost exclusively ...

Super Lube grease (by Synco Chemical Corporation) is not silicone based. It is a synthetic hydrocarbon oil in PTFE thickener and will not harm silicone rubber. It is also OK for most hydrocarbon rubber compounds. There is a Super Lube Silicone aerosol lubricant but it is clearly identified as silicone based.

 

[teacher]

Super Lube grease (by Synco Chemical Corporation) is not silicone based. It is a synthetic hydrocarbon oil in PTFE thickener and will not harm silicone rubber. It is also OK for most hydrocarbon rubber compounds. There is a Super Lube Silicone aerosol lubricant but it is clearly identified as silicone based.

:thumbsup: ..... Thank you for reminding me.

Trying to think back, IIRC; that is why I started using that particular Super Lube in the first place long ago. Plus I had a couple of bigger tubes on hand that I used on fishing reel gears.

 

[spcsys]

Suitable Water Resistant Thread Sealing Grease

I have seen that I can purchase small packs of thread/o-ring sealant or grease online specifically packaged for high end lights. I have a light that I want to go ahead and treat if I have a good product already lying around the house. The light if relevant is a Surefire 6p metal body configuration.

I have plenty of Abu Garcia silicone fishing reel grease available. The tube also has PTFE listed as an additive. I also have a few different brands of dielectric grease, one being GRC which I believe is clear whereas the others I believe have a blue tint (stain clothing in the field).

Would you all recommended that I wait and buy something specifically labelled for lights or which of the two: silicone or GRC dielectric grease?

I believe this is my fist post so please let me know if I have used the wrong subforum. If you all recommend a light specific sealant what brands work good and commonly receive good feedback? If I need to buy something I would like to get a one time purchase size and maybe a field pack size (or make my own on the road size).

Thanks for your time!
Sean

 

[SkagSig40]

Hello everyone,
I'm new here and was hoping to find an answer to my question. I'm trying to find a good grease that I can store some rubber gaskets used on NATO fuel cans in and a friend of mine recommended this forum because flashlight guys use a lot of rubber O-rings.
The rubber gaskets I have that I would like to store for the next 20 to 30 years are made of a fuel grade rubber and used on NATO mil spec Jerry cans. I bought a bunch of extras and I don't want them to dry out over a long period of time. Does anyone know what type of rubber these are made out of and what type of grease would be good to store them in to keep them from drying out and keep them flexible?
Many thanks for the help!

 

[gbynum]

I'm in the hydraulics industry, and we use lots of o-rings. Ours, which are "the same as military" are most often "buna" or fluorocarbon (chemical name for DuPont trademarked Viton). We either store them dry or wipe them with an oily rag and store them in sealed black polyethylene bags. Sunlight is the enemy; wrapped in aluminum foil is fine for a few smaller ones. Keep them between 40F and maybe 120F if you can.

That "oily" is, for us, petroleum hydraulic oil. A conventional motor oil would be as good. When we install them, we often use petroleum jelly so they'll slide easily. You could use that to rub on them before storage. I believe Fenix suggests petroleum jelly for their threads and seals.

 

[Dry-cell]

Does anyone know which grease ThruNite uses on the their flashlight threads and o-rings?.

Edit: Anyway... I e-mailed the question to ThruNite and am awaiting a response, I'll post it here if they get back to me.

 

[Dry-cell]

I received a reply back from ThruNite, here's the message...

Hi,
Thanks for contacting us.


Nyogel 760G, plain silicone grease from your hardware store works well.
Greases tend to go everywhere and can be messy at times, so if you choose a grease do not use too much of it.


Hope above is helpful to you.


Have a nice day.

---

Best RegardsEva
ThruNite Service Department
Website: www.thrunite.com

 

[Overclocker]

use SuperLube and be done w/ it

flashlights are one of the LEAST demanding applications for lubricants

 

[Dry-cell]

use SuperLube and be done w/ it

flashlights are one of the LEAST demanding applications for lubricants

For all my flashlights I've been using Nano-Oil 10 weight. When I'm had purchased my first ThruNite flashlight, the Archer 1A V2 NW, I noticed that they used grease for their threads and o-rings. I like how smooth the action was with it on there, then I got another ThruNite, the Archer 1A V3 NW, so I thought I'd find out what it was they used so I can get some for myself. The NyoGel 760G is nice, but it's a bit pricey and more difficult to get. I'll most likely stick with the Nano-oil instead.

 

[PB Wilson]

I got a tube of Mobil 1 synthetic red grease and after lubing up about a dozen lights I haven't made a dent in it.

Guess I could repack the headset, bottom bracket and hubs on our fleet of bikes...

 

[dugndeep]

Has anyone tried Tetra gun grease on the threads of aluminum flashlights?

 

[NathanaelTillman]

how would you realize that nano-oil it is petroleum based? i just purchased a few and need to know whether i ought to be mindful utilizing it, particularly on costly lights.

 

[Yamabushi]

how would you realize that nano-oil it is petroleum based? i just purchased a few and need to know whether i ought to be mindful utilizing it, particularly on costly lights.

The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for Nano-oil lists its ingredients as:
Highly Solvent Refined Paraffinic Petroleum Oil
Extremely Hydrotreated Heavy Naphthenic Mineral Oil
Detergent, Inhibitor & Dispersant System Trade Secret Mixture
Highly refined Mineral base Stock distillates
Proprietary Ingredients

 

[IsaacL]

Has anyone tried Tetra gun grease on the threads of aluminum flashlights?

Yes. But it was 5-6 years ago before I knew what I know now. Not sure I'd try it again when Nyogel and Krytox are so readily available.

I do recall it making the threads feel pretty smooth, fwiw.

 

[Fenix Elite]

Do you clean the threads thoroughly? Threads seem to be very deep, and I have a hard time to clean out the grease.

 

[Bugdozer]

I purchased two Nitecore lights and both had excessive lube on the threads and o-rings so they needed cleaned and re-lubed. I do work on Espresso machines and always have a tube of Dow 111 around. It's thick enough to give the threads a nice, smooth feel, it's safe for all o-rings and is NSF certified if you need to eat off your flashlight. As it made for valves in fluid environment, it's very durable and will not come off easily. On my older lights, I don't recall having to lube them more than once every couple of years.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

What's a good recommendation for copper threads?

I have Krytox and mobile 1 on hand, either of those suitable?