# Help me choose a lube! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 25, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-choose-a-lube/632601 "2012-08-25T13:57:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-choose-a-lube/632601/1 "2012-08-25T13:57:15Z")
Criteria: Will be used to lubricate aluminum tube in plastic channel. It will be inserted/removed repeatedly. Can’t be too messy…e.g. graphite is right out. Shouldn’t attract grit like gravel dust. In fact, gravel dust will probably be the main operating environment. Easy to clean off and re-apply when necessary. Preferably, water/moisture resistant. ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-choose-a-lube/632601/2 "2012-08-25T17:40:25Z")
Oh, rats. From the thread title I was expecting something… well, you’re talking about inserting and removing something repeatedly, but it’s just aluminium tubing. Robot sex? Is this on their behalf, or are you a robot yourself? I always assumed they just put their hands together, or shared USB sticks, but I’m not a robot, I don’t know how they, you know. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-choose-a-lube/632601/3 "2012-08-25T17:50:12Z")
Silicone spray. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-choose-a-lube/632601/4 "2012-08-25T17:56:14Z")
Nothing will be all that great in a gravel dust environment. Graphite may be your best bet. I don’t know why you consider that messy in a gravel dust environment. Just apply some, wipe off the excess. Anything that’s not dry will collect gravel dust and do the opposite of lubricating. There are some graphite film lubricants which are graphite embedded in a binder of some kind. Look on this site of [Dow lubricants](http://www.superioressex.com/uploadedFiles/Distribution/North_America/Essex_Brownell/News/Supplier_of_Month/Molykote%20lubricants.pdf)for something suitable. I think some form of Molykote will be intended for abrasive environments like that. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-choose-a-lube/632601/5 "2012-08-25T18:19:59Z")
A dry bicycle chain lube is waxy and designed for dusty applications. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-choose-a-lube/632601/6 "2012-08-25T18:24:32Z")
I seem to recall some kind of silicon-coated tape that was very slippery. We used it on the sealer elements for making plastic bags, so it was also very heat-tolerant. Can you get enough clearance for 50 mil tape? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-choose-a-lube/632601/7 "2012-08-25T19:23:49Z")
I ended up with a ‘dry’ Teflon spray from Home Depot: [http://www.blastergroup.com.au/dry-teflon-lube.html](http://www.blastergroup.com.au/dry-teflon-lube.html) Worked great, for the record. It’s pretty cheap, too, at about $4.50 a can, so it should last a while. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-choose-a-lube/632601/8 "2012-08-25T19:24:42Z")
Alternately, can you put some sort of flexible housing (rubber or whatever) around the tube-channel assembly to protect it against the dust? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-choose-a-lube/632601/9 "2012-08-25T19:28:17Z")
Teflon spray and install a felt wiper. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-choose-a-lube/632601/10 "2012-08-25T19:38:45Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > Oh, rats. From the thread title I was expecting something… well, you’re talking about inserting and removing something repeatedly, but it’s just aluminium tubing. Robot sex? Is this on their behalf, or are you a robot yourself? I always assumed they just put their hands together, or shared USB sticks, but I’m not a robot, I don’t know how they, you know. Since Sicks already got his answer… Ummm, kinda NSFW [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVInK7HugTs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVInK7HugTs)