Rubber Lubricant?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 14, 2004
Messages
17
Location
Concord, NH
What is a good lubricant to use on rubber, like hoses and o-rings? Will grease deteriorate the rubber? Is a cream soap acceptable? Is vaseline best?

Thanks,

Philip Bradley
 
I would generally avoid petroleum based greases and go with a silicone grease such a Silglyde. Soap would be a good, but temporary lube.

I'm not sure if vaseline is the best, I honestly haven't used it much, nor have I heard about it generally attacking rubber as some oil based products do.
 
companies such as Parker sell rubber lubricants specifically for O-rings. If you have rubber exposed to the atmosphere then plain old talcum powder is used by nearly every rubber manufacturer to prolong the life of their product while in storage.
 
Silglide silicone grease works very well. NAPA and other auto parts stores carry it. Excellent for keeping automotive weatherstrips in good condition as well. A tube belongs on every mechanic's shelf IMO.

Vaseline would be a bad idea as that is petroleum based and can rot some rubber formulations.

John
 
quote:

Originally posted by FowVay:
...plain old talcum powder is used by nearly every rubber manufacturer to prolong the life of their product while in storage.

Are you sure it's talcum powder, and not sodium stearate? Rubber has white powder on it from the sodium stearate used in manufacturing (release agent?). I don't see how talc can prolong the life of rubber.
 
A silicone-based product like Amsoil Silicon Sray is excellent for light trim.

Westly's Black Majic, a super thick silicone fluid is probably best for tires, hoses, and heavy/thick rubber.

[ May 23, 2004, 06:36 PM: Message edited by: MolaKule ]
 
NEVER put Vaseline or any other hydrocarbon on brake parts. It or grease might be OK on radiator hoses, bushings, and other things made out of modern Neoprene, Hypalon, etc. that are formulated to resist hydrocarbons. For protection and appearance sake, something thin such as Armoral made for the purpose should be good. Thicker stuff may hold dust.

For brakes and other mechanical parts, I firmly agree with jthorner, Sylglide. Watch the brake assembly lubes. I think some of the older ones were cellulose based and would be hygroscopic. Sylglide would give caliper pistons much better protection.

Rubber often is dusted with what ever is around cheap, talc or a stearate, to keep it from sticking to itself.
 
just to add to my above post, i usually use whatever is being used in the system to lube the o-ring.
on turbine engines we use petrolatum (vaselene) almost exclusively on all o-rings, but most are made out of very chemical resistant materials, not your run-of-the-mill cheapo orings.
 
What grease to use depends entirely on the material. You should never use silicone based lubes with silicone rubber just as you should never use petroleum based lube with conventional (petroleum based) rubber. Flourocarbon grease such as Duponts Krytox(expensive and hard to find)can safely be used just about anywhere.
Stationary "O" rings almost never need any lube but an extremely light coating sometimes aids in installation (might prevent pinching)
 
quote:

Originally posted by pbonsalb:
What is a good lubricant to use on rubber, like hoses and o-rings? Will grease deteriorate the rubber? Is a cream soap acceptable? Is vaseline best?

I use Dow Corning MolyKote 55M grease. It is a Silicone O-Ring lubricant and meets MIL-G-4343B. This stuff is very oxidation resistant and is very effective for dynamic lubrication between organic O-rings and metal parts in pneumatic systems. I use this stuff on all my hose installations and any O-ring or gasket. I have had one 5.3 oz tube for as long as I can remember.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Kestas:

quote:

Originally posted by FowVay:
...plain old talcum powder is used by nearly every rubber manufacturer to prolong the life of their product while in storage.

Are you sure it's talcum powder, and not sodium stearate? Rubber has white powder on it from the sodium stearate used in manufacturing (release agent?). I don't see how talc can prolong the life of rubber.


The white powder that you see on some rubber parts is used as a means of keeping the rubber parts from sticking together after the manufacturing process. A silicone lubricant is the best thing to use for lubrication of rubber parts.
 
VetteMan:
Do you know of any local retail sources for the Molykote? I have seen it mentioned in many manufacturer's factory repair manuals and I am sure it is good stuff.
Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by 59 Vetteman:

quote:

Originally posted by pbonsalb:
What is a good lubricant to use on rubber, like hoses and o-rings? Will grease deteriorate the rubber? Is a cream soap acceptable? Is vaseline best?

I use Dow Corning MolyKote 55M grease. It is a Silicone O-Ring lubricant and meets MIL-G-4343B. This stuff is very oxidation resistant and is very effective for dynamic lubrication between organic O-rings and metal parts in pneumatic systems. I use this stuff on all my hose installations and any O-ring or gasket. I have had one 5.3 oz tube for as long as I can remember.


 
Thanks PolySi Tech Guy for posting this. I have been using the Dow Corning 55M for over 20 years. I use it on any O ring that I encounter. Also I use it on the rubber edges of flat panel air cleaners. Excellent product.

Ironic that this came up, but I just used it on one of my faucets, on the O rings, in my TT and no leak since.


cheers.gif
 
PolySi Technologies is a Distributor of Dow Corning Automotive products, and has this product available for sale, along with a full line of silicone greases and lubricants we manufacture. Please visit our website at www.polysi.com for product and ordering information.

Brandon Ruiz-Sales
PolySi Technologies, Inc
 
Old post but came up in a 2018 search. There's a product called red rubber grease that is the stuff I've received in Brembo brake rebuild kits. Used to be made (maybe still is?) by Castrol but I found generic online. For a thinner lube I use silicone based dielectric grease. Silglyde is a little thicker, Parker O-ring lube is thicker yet. I've also used olive oil in certain applications (japanese car trunk/hatch locks where the pawl is rubber coated). The P80 line of lubes from International products is excellent but can be hard to find. They make stuff that lubes the rubber for installation and then the lube dries and promotes adhesion.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by MolaKule
A silicone-based product like Amsoil Silicon Sray is excellent for light trim.

Westly's Black Majic, a super thick silicone fluid is probably best for tires, hoses, and heavy/thick rubber.



Those tire wet products have petroleum distillates in them.

Look at silicone brake fluid as an option.
 
For common o rings found on injectors and hoses use WD40 for installation, to remove stuck rubber hoses just lift the edge with a pick and squirt some down the opening, twist and it will remove easily. Nothing works better.
For A/C and brake use a product specifically designed for use with these systems. I got this tip from MOOG years ago with a rubber boot fiasco.
 
For AC O-rings and compressor seals, the specified compressor oil works fine, Nylog works better as an assembly lube for HVAC seals but the benefits aren't worth the $ for it. For general purpose O-rings, depending on the system I like silicone spray, Dow 111 or motor oil/ATF to lube them. For braking O-rings, use Dow 111/silicone dielectric grease or red rubber grease(Castrol or Toyota) ONLY.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top