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Conuctivity of spray lube?

Sorry to clutter the forum with a real basic question, but I have an
electronic display piece that needs maintenance. There are plastic
gears that make the piece rotate; the rotation feature is running very
rough and there is exposed wiring near the gears. If I spray some wd40
in there to see if the gears are running rough due to dryness, etc,
will that affect the wiring? Does spray lube conduct current?
 
J

John Popelish

Jan 1, 1970
0
Sorry to clutter the forum with a real basic question, but I have an
electronic display piece that needs maintenance. There are plastic
gears that make the piece rotate; the rotation feature is running very
rough and there is exposed wiring near the gears. If I spray some wd40
in there to see if the gears are running rough due to dryness, etc,
will that affect the wiring? Does spray lube conduct current?

I doubt that conductivity will be a problem with any lubricant that is
not specifically designed ot be conductive. But WD40 is a poor lube
for plastic gears. I think white lithium grease would stay on the
teeth and last lots longer.
 
K

Kamus of Kadizhar

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thanks, but can that be sprayed? I can't reach into the mechanism, and I
don't want to risk taking it apart...yet.

Get a straw or a coffee stirrer, put a bit of grease on it, and dab it on
a gear. A little goes a long way.

Or is the mechanism sealed somehow? Is appearance important? Spraying
would probably smear any plexiglass casing.

--Yan
 
M

Mike

Jan 1, 1970
0
I think they make spray lithium grease still. I have a can of it, somewhere.

Mike
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
Sorry to clutter the forum with a real basic question, but I have an
electronic display piece that needs maintenance. There are plastic
gears that make the piece rotate; the rotation feature is running very
rough and there is exposed wiring near the gears. If I spray some wd40
in there to see if the gears are running rough due to dryness, etc,
will that affect the wiring? Does spray lube conduct current?


DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES USE WD-40 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did this once, and it took me WEEKS to clean the crud out of the
mechanism.

Get some proper contact cleaner, or EXTREMELY light-weight penetrating
oil, or, for that matter, soapy water.

But WD-40, after it makes your hinge stop squeaking, turns to 180 weight
vaseline.

Good Luck!
Rich
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
I think they make spray lithium grease still. I have a can of it, somewhere.

Mike


He has to get the dirt out somehow before he can ever expect the mech to
run smoothly again.

Contact cleaner, and if possible, some kind of spray solvent that doesn't
attack plastic, but don't add any more crud before you get the crud that's
causing the problem fixed first!

Good Luck!
Rich
 
P

peterken

Jan 1, 1970
0
Mike said:
I think they make spray lithium grease still. I have a can of it, somewhere.

Mike

first use a light solvent to clean the dirt out, beware of the solvent not
to attack plastics
then you might rince it using hot soapy water
have it dried thoroughly
next use some lubricant (machine oil,...)

only using cleaners just displaces the dirt, by which the dirt will cause
probs later on
 
M

Mike

Jan 1, 1970
0
Are you guys forgetting that he doesn't want to take it apart? Cleaning the
crud out is only effective if he can get the dirt *out* of the mechanism. I
would use machine oil on plastic gears. Machine oil is used for spindles,
motors, etc where there's no plastic parts. Lithium grease (white) is best
for plastics.

Cheers,
Mike
 
P

peterken

Jan 1, 1970
0
peterken said:
Are you guys forgetting that he doesn't want to take it apart? Cleaning the
crud out is only effective if he can get the dirt *out* of the mechanism. I
would use machine oil on plastic gears. Machine oil is used for spindles,
motors, etc where there's no plastic parts. Lithium grease (white) is best
for plastics.

Cheers,
Mike

Many of those parts *do* have smaller or larger holes in them
that's how the dirt gets in in the first place.....
 
Thanks for all the useful info, and after reading all the replies, I
have decided to return the item (it was an ebay purchase). I will try
again with another auction that lists the item as mint and/or perfect
working condition.
 
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