Silicon lubricant grease!

Repairs to water guns. Please put repair topics in this forum so that people do not have to sort through so many topics when looking for a repair. If a fix is included in the topic, please add (Fixed) before the topic title to indicate so.
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blub man
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Silicon lubricant grease!

Post by blub man » Thu May 11, 2006 6:14 pm

Silicon lubricant grease Is possably the most useful thing i've ever bought for my water guns. The O-rings had worn down, so instead of searching for new ones, i used (quite a lot of) silicon lubricant grease. Its mainly used for plumbing, so can be bought form most DIY stores and Plumbers merchants. It can of coarse be used for simply lubricating parts, but it doesn't get washed out. You can also get it in spray form (just silicon lubricant) but the grease is much more useful, for everything. Its also cheap!
Last edited by blub man on Thu May 11, 2006 6:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Silence
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Post by Silence » Sat May 13, 2006 7:02 pm

I think this post should be merged into "Help please." I'm glad, of course, that you're so supportive of silicon lubricant, and maybe you (or somebody else) can try this in a homemade or for other repair/mod purposes. I think most people use Vaseline, but this might be a bit more professional...

In woodwind instruments, some amateurs use Vaseline as a pointless alternative to cheap and effective cork grease. Maybe cork grease can be used here as well, although you'll have to get it out of the tube in order to apply it.

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blub man
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Post by blub man » Sat May 13, 2006 9:17 pm

!NEVER USE VASALINE!, its main ingredient is petrolium (petrol), which acually reacts and eats away at rubber and plastic. This is probobly why so many people need replacement o-rings. Trust me on this!
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Silence
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Post by Silence » Sat May 13, 2006 10:21 pm

I doubt Vaseline degrades all types of rubber and plastic. For example, the containers it comes in are made of plastic :p , and although it probably spreads unknowingly, I haven't seen any pools of liquid plastic + Vaseline.

Anyway, my point was that Vaseline probably isn't the best choice, so I guess this is yet another reason why that is so.

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blub man
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Post by blub man » Sun May 14, 2006 2:19 pm

Fist of all it degrades rubber alot faster than plastic and only on some plastics. The plastic that vasaline comes in is probably special or coated in something. secondly it doesn't melt rubber it sort of makes rubber go sticky. I don't know whether youve heard of airfix glue, but it kind of has the the same effect as that does on plastic on rubber.

Just in case you havn't heard of airfix glue, the idea is that the acids in the glue soften the plastic, so that when it dries, it has a perfect bond with other plastics. This doesn't always work in practice. but the idea's the same.

Because petrolium is a solven it has the same sort of effect as acid, except it takes a lot longer time to do so.
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Post by joannaardway » Sun May 14, 2006 3:01 pm

Vaseline is not a good solution, but for some people, it is the only solution.

I can get silicon grease, but at more 20 times the cost of vaseline (per ml) and in a container so small that it would barely be sufficent to get one pump done, if any excess whatsoever were added.

Petrol itself should not degrade most plastics. It will have no negative effect on a soaker.

Logic:
Plastic is made from oil.
Vaseline is made from oil.
Plastic is made from the same stuff as Vaseline (thus will not degrade it)

There are types of rubber that are totally resistant to petroleum/natural gas based products, thus they will not degrade.

At the very worst, o-rings can be made out of flexible plastics (and quite a few are), and those won't degrade.

A brief comment on this topic:

Most topics get buried after a month or so. If you want to make this permanent, write it up and submit it - I would recommend checking your science and other things first though.
"Over the hills and far away, she prays he will return one day. As sure as the rivers reach the seas, back in his arms again she'll be." - Over the Hills and far away, Gary Moore

"So many people have come and gone, their faces fade as the years go by. Yet I still recall as I wander on, as clear as the sun in the summer sky" - More than a feeling, Boston

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Silence
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Post by Silence » Sun May 14, 2006 7:05 pm

Are we seriously so stuck for lubricants that we can't get substances that are designed to lubricate? Go to a shop that sells auto parts, and they will probably have tons of different lubricants. My dad probably has 5 different kinds! You don't need silicon lubricant, as many different (and cheaper) kinds will do.

@ joannaardway: Maybe there should be a stickied topic that just has a list of different lubricants. There are topics that list other things, but nothing like this yet.

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blub man
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Post by blub man » Sun May 14, 2006 9:16 pm

Let me get this straight. Vasaline will not decrade plastic, but will (over a period of time) decrade pretty much all rubber.

Are you sure that there are types of rubber that are resistant to petrol, i suspect that they may not be actual rubber, but a plastic.

If you don't trust me, trust my dad, he is an engineer who knows quite a lot about, er..well..all materials and is sure most rubber will definetly decrade over a period of time.
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Silence
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Post by Silence » Sun May 14, 2006 9:25 pm

No, being an engineer doesn't mean you'll know about all materials. A chemist is the closest occupation, but a plumber is the most specific. Could you please link to some sites that talk about the degenerative properties of petroleum?

Listen, I've said this before, it doesn't matter whether Vaseline breaks down rubber or not. The fact is, with so many better lubricant alternatives out there, why use Vaseline, which is intended to serve as a soothing balm? This is getting old...

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joannaardway
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Post by joannaardway » Mon May 15, 2006 12:06 pm

Different trees produce different saps. There are some that are resistant to petrol products.

I would use other greases, but I live in the UK.

Over here:

There are only ever two products to do the job, one of them is next to useless, the other is expensive and you can't find either in any shop you try.
"Over the hills and far away, she prays he will return one day. As sure as the rivers reach the seas, back in his arms again she'll be." - Over the Hills and far away, Gary Moore

"So many people have come and gone, their faces fade as the years go by. Yet I still recall as I wander on, as clear as the sun in the summer sky" - More than a feeling, Boston

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blub man
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Post by blub man » Mon May 15, 2006 12:31 pm

I also live in the UK, and i don't think that sulicon grease is expensive. I also agree that just being a engineer does not mean that you would know about all materials, but my dad knows about most.
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joannaardway
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Post by joannaardway » Mon May 15, 2006 4:23 pm

I've done hours and hours of reasearch into those things - I'm not saying that your dad is wrong, but my reasearch says that there are some rubbers (I think that they are chemically altered with additives) that are resistant.

I live rather close to London, so stuff is quite expensive here - given that the only place I can practically get it is a small DIY store (typically very expensive)
"Over the hills and far away, she prays he will return one day. As sure as the rivers reach the seas, back in his arms again she'll be." - Over the Hills and far away, Gary Moore

"So many people have come and gone, their faces fade as the years go by. Yet I still recall as I wander on, as clear as the sun in the summer sky" - More than a feeling, Boston

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blub man
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Post by blub man » Mon May 15, 2006 5:19 pm

My dad could well be wrong! He may have meant true rubbers of coarse, the ones you are describing probably wouldn't be classed as true rubbers.

As for me, i live in Rugby (warks) and DIY stuff is relatively cheap, can you tell me what sort of quantities you can get over there. I have a tub of 100 grams.
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Silence
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Post by Silence » Mon May 15, 2006 8:21 pm

First of all, I'm glad to be here, because with Lowes and even a Home Depot now, the prices are cutting-edge. joannaardway, you could order directly from an online site (maybe McMaster-Carr?), and I'm sure there's at least one located in the UK. Maybe there's a directory like Google Directory that specializes in UK stores, or maybe you could find "local" online yellow-pages.

First things first: you (joannaardway and blub man) should tell each other how much each of you has to pay for a specific product. In my experience, priorities determine the relative value of a product, and blub man might not mind paying a certain amount for grease because he uses it a lot or because his father is an engineer. On the other hand, joannaardway might be able to access the grease for even less money, yet she might find that too much to pay anyway.

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Post by joannaardway » Tue May 16, 2006 10:00 am

I've found a cheaper source of the stuff. It's in a very small tin, but it's cheaper than the other store (at least per gram). I don't know how far it'll go, but it should be alright

Later on today, I'll go into town, get some epoxy to seal up my 27K trigger valve and with the change, buy some grease.
"Over the hills and far away, she prays he will return one day. As sure as the rivers reach the seas, back in his arms again she'll be." - Over the Hills and far away, Gary Moore

"So many people have come and gone, their faces fade as the years go by. Yet I still recall as I wander on, as clear as the sun in the summer sky" - More than a feeling, Boston

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