Best oil and recommended OCI for door hinges :-D

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Dec 20, 2024
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This thread is mostly a reaction to a post that I can no longer find. Someone told @Pablo that next thing he (Pablo) would post a thread about best oil for door hinges.
Well, I doth protest! Door hinge lubrication is serious matter. I have to react !!! So here's my story. Be impressed, be very impressed 😋

First, the door and its hinges.
Not just any door. But fairly normal, no ?


1743284633411.webp


Shot here with the chief engineer, in the foreground. Yes, I deserve that look. I am not to be trusted.

And here are the actual hinges:

1743284720849.webp



1743284770886.webp



Now, I am quite confident that History has seen simpler hinges, but I can't think of any at this specific moment.

So, these hinges screech. Even for the small, short daily trip they do (I would put the angular movement of the door being opened to 90 degrees to what - one inch ? Let's be generous. One inch. A screech that can be heard upstairs.

Our daily commute is initial loading, then about one log every couple of hours or so. So - let's generously put the commute to a warm living room at five-ish open/close trips, or about ten inches :)

So, come the Fall oil change and preparing these hinges for winter driving, we started going through what we had in the closet.

- First, and not expecting much at all: WD40. I know, it is not a lubricant per se. But well. I had it. Result, after a day: Screeeechhh !

- Then, going deeper.

Had this in the closet as well, for some reason. Says stable up to 300F:

1743285261689.webp


3 days, or 30ish inches OCI. Screeeeechhh...

Then, this guy:

1743285320909.webp


Then this one:

1743285338307.webp


Same as above. 3-ish days. Screeechhh...

Then, I got out my bulky Chinese smartphone from another drawer. Has an infrared cam, The Predator style. Took a measure of the area around the hinges (behind them, on the metal) - the hinges's base would be north of 120 Celsius on a good day, and the metal behind them - well, 120ish is about the upper limit my IR camera can get before maxing out, so I don't know.

But one way or the other, we're still looking at under 300F, so anything should handle it, right ? Well, apparently nope.
So we went ugly. I had this as well. Says 500F upper limit:

1743285574081.webp


Screeech, screeech screeech...

With swiss-clock precision, after two or three days.

More rabbit hole diving, and - why not, this ended up in my mailbox:

1743285638392.webp


Don't ask. I just needed an excuse to have some, not that I have a firearm to use it on. But I have hinges !!!
Didn't really know what to expect out of this one, but it did surprise me that after HALF a day and barely two or three openings - Screeeecccchhh...


Little trip down more rabbit holes, oven hinge threads, oven cleaning, cooking, distractions...

Then a reset, about three minutes of thinking on my own, rather than doing searches, and I ordered this:

1743285791888.webp


850F. Well. If that doesn't do it, I'll just use butter.

Well...
This:



A much, much enjoyable silence.
Screeechhh after about three months, or what - 900 inches traveled.

I can live with that. I guess I have enough for twenty winters.

Here. Thread published. Justice is served.

PS: This thing STAINS !!! BOY, does it stain. Always put a napkin behind the hinge when spraying.
 
This thread is mostly a reaction to a post that I can no longer find. Someone told @Pablo that next thing he (Pablo) would post a thread about best oil for door hinges.
Well, I doth protest! Door hinge lubrication is serious matter. I have to react !!! So here's my story. Be impressed, be very impressed 😋

First, the door and its hinges.
Not just any door. But fairly normal, no ?


View attachment 270773

Shot here with the chief engineer, in the foreground. Yes, I deserve that look. I am not to be trusted.

And here are the actual hinges:

View attachment 270775


View attachment 270776


Now, I am quite confident that History has seen simpler hinges, but I can't think of any at this specific moment.

So, these hinges screech. Even for the small, short daily trip they do (I would put the angular movement of the door being opened to 90 degrees to what - one inch ? Let's be generous. One inch. A screech that can be heard upstairs.

Our daily commute is initial loading, then about one log every couple of hours or so. So - let's generously put the commute to a warm living room at five-ish open/close trips, or about ten inches :)

So, come the Fall oil change and preparing these hinges for winter driving, we started going through what we had in the closet.

- First, and not expecting much at all: WD40. I know, it is not a lubricant per se. But well. I had it. Result, after a day: Screeeechhh !

- Then, going deeper.

Had this in the closet as well, for some reason. Says stable up to 300F:

View attachment 270778

3 days, or 30ish inches OCI. Screeeeechhh...

Then, this guy:

View attachment 270779

Then this one:

View attachment 270780

Same as above. 3-ish days. Screeechhh...

Then, I got out my bulky Chinese smartphone from another drawer. Has an infrared cam, The Predator style. Took a measure of the area around the hinges (behind them, on the metal) - the hinges's base would be north of 120 Celsius on a good day, and the metal behind them - well, 120ish is about the upper limit my IR camera can get before maxing out, so I don't know.

But one way or the other, we're still looking at under 300F, so anything should handle it, right ? Well, apparently nope.
So we went ugly. I had this as well. Says 500F upper limit:

View attachment 270781

Screeech, screeech screeech...

With swiss-clock precision, after two or three days.

More rabbit hole diving, and - why not, this ended up in my mailbox:

View attachment 270782

Don't ask. I just needed an excuse to have some, not that I have a firearm to use it on. But I have hinges !!!
Didn't really know what to expect out of this one, but it did surprise me that after HALF a day and barely two or three openings - Screeeecccchhh...


Little trip down more rabbit holes, oven hinge threads, oven cleaning, cooking, distractions...

Then a reset, about three minutes of thinking on my own, rather than doing searches, and I ordered this:

View attachment 270785

850F. Well. If that doesn't do it, I'll just use butter.

Well...
This:



A much, much enjoyable silence.
Screeechhh after about three months, or what - 900 inches traveled.

I can live with that. I guess I have enough for twenty winters.

Here. Thread published. Justice is served.

PS: This thing STAINS !!! BOY, does it stain. Always put a napkin behind the hinge when spraying.

Try a nickel antiseize
 
I'd use a solid lube such as pastelub I already have for brakes.
or a high temp antiseize.

Initially I thought your cat picture was AI generated... 😂
 
Nah, that's how she looks, especially cropped in a low-light phone pic :)
Now that I think of it - I since did brake job on the Santa Fe, so now I have copper antiseize somewhere. More experiments upcoming, next Fall :)
 
I think with enough brainstorming we'll be Teflon-bushing this thing in no time.
 
One thing you have to know about me, kind Sir :giggle:

My office chair pops its seatback out a couple of times per day.
I bought Mr Persuader (the one in the middle) specifically to be able to smack the seatback three times per day (one is a bonus, the other two are preventative), so it doesn't pop.

mrpersuader.webp


The concept of actually fixing it for good with $3 worth of Gorilla Glue is completely alien to me.

This copper seal kit suspiciously sounds like a permanent fix to me. No Sir-eee Bob.
However, I will for sure buy one, as I am a complex person. I shall use it some day, for some thing or the other. I'm also a hoarder.
 
powered graphite for lock mechanisms may work, its fairly cheap in a small tube, mix with some gear oil in carefully apply. with a small brush so it soaks in.
 
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