Lubrication

[laingsoft]

What's the go to lubricant for gears, timing mechanisms and the like? I spoke to an old machinist that suggested using a dry graphite lubricant spray. It's basically finely powdered graphite in some sort of quickly evaporating carrier. I've noticed that graphite doesn't tend to gum up like a sewing machine oil, but the downside is that it stains and leaves black spots that are a pain to clean.

What do you guys use?

 

[Hunter_Compton]

For escapement mechanisms, I normally use a combination of powdered graphite and a #2 pencil.

The important thing is to remove all traces of previous lubricant otherwise the graphite will gum up any petroleum or grease in the mechanism. Disassemble and clean or soak the entire mechanism in a solvent like acetone. If disassembled, use the #2 pencil to apply graphite to the bearing surfaces and reassemble, then blow a bit of powdered graphite into the mechanism and work it back and forth a few times. The important thing is to use compressed air to blow any excess graphite off the mechanism, otherwise the movement of the gears will distribute it throughout the camera, particularly bad in the case of between the lens shutters where it will get graphite on the lens mechanisms.

 

[mshchem]

I have had good luck with Kodak movie film cleaner. It's a solvent, composed of heptane and CFC-113 (banned). I've fixed gummy Hasseblads, several leaf shutters. Any mechanical fooling around is above my skill level.

 

[Hunter_Compton]

I have had good luck with Kodak movie film cleaner. It's a solvent, composed of heptane and CFC-113 (banned). I've fixed gummy Hasseblads, several leaf shutters. Any mechanical fooling around is above my skill level.

If you can't find that and don't like acetone, CRC QD electronic cleaner is a very good aerosol solvent as well. It should be available at a Canadian Tire in Edmonton.

 

[4season]

My choices have changed over the years:

Clock oil for self-timers, slow-speed escapement axles and pivots, applied with the largest size watch oiler from Bergeon (still tiny by camera standards)
Pencil graphite burnished dry onto large sliding metal surfaces like lens iris and leaf shutter blades and with any excess polished away with clean cloth.
Molykote molybdenum paste for slow-moving, high pressure metal contact areas. Applied sparingly, sometimes in combination with other grease.
Anything which might come into contact with user fingers or clothing including lens flanges and door latches: Light clear grease.

Spray lubricants: No, most seem designed to penetrate, and that's generally not what you want when working on a camera. If you must experiment, spray some into a cup and apply like regular oil.
White lithium grease like Lubriplate: I haven't had great results with any grease that tends to separate into an opaque base and clear carrier but suppose if you apply them very sparingly they might be okay.

Have also seen more modern Minolta and Pentax mechanisms with made with slippery plastics which seemed to be self-lubricating. At least I couldn't be sure there had ever been any lubricant applied, yet they seemed to be in good shape.

 

[albada]

The difficult spot for me is the high-speed bearing (with the star wheel) of an escapement. When dry, the bearing squeals, slowing down speeds 1/30 through 1/125. The problem is that any oil in that bearing (or anywhere else) creeps onto the nearby metal surfaces, causing the bearing to become dry, making it squeal.

My solution to this problem is:

1. Mix a little Naphtha into some molybdenum powder, producing what I call "moly mud", and apply it to the bearing. The Naphtha will quickly dry leaving moly powder on the bearing.
2. Apply a tiny drop of synthetic watch-oil onto the bearing with an oiler.​

A couple of test-cameras have gone over five years with no squealing.
I believe this technique works because the moly powder is so fine that it attracts oil more strongly than the microscopic valleys in the metal, thus preventing the oil from creeping.

I also apply a bit of moly mud to the teeth of the star wheel, but with no oil because dust would eventually make the oil become gummy.
Mark Overton