Grease/lubricant recommendations?

[ABigChungus]

Hi everyone, just wondering what brands or products would people recommend for greasing up those gears and lubricating metal parts like drive shafts and possibly bearings? I know the Tamiya stuff supplied is good, but is it worth paying to get another brand in? A lot of guides I follow don't recommend greasing anything metal that is exterior, due to it attracting grit and dust. I wondered if something like dry lubricant might be a good idea for those parts?  

I'm currently using a brand named Finish Line who do a range of bicycle products for the grease. I saw this recommended by someone on Youtube but it made me wonder what other brands would people use or swear by!

[MadAtComputer]

I used Tuff Glide dry film lube on the drive shafts on my clod buster. So far so good. Only a few runs on it though. Been to cold. 

If you use grease sparely and check on it once in a while should be fine. I've not had any issues with my blackfoot. I used the lube that came in the kit as directed. plenty of run time on that one. 

[Kowalski86]

I use Super Lube grease for gears and screws, it's silicone based so it's safe on plastic. Its similar to some of Tamiyas grease, you just get much more per a tube.

For shocks (at least old shocks), blue lithium grease works to get more life out of dry seals and o rings. Your shop should have some, one container will last you forever.

Anything exterior I don't lubricate, maybe a pinch of lithium grease on something that won't see much dust.

[Panther]

A silicone based rubber grease from a motor factors is a good alternative to Tamiya grease. It won't attack rubber or plastic like a mineral oil based grease. I wouldn't use a lithium based grease either unless you know what's in it. 

Those little packets of silicone grease you get in a Bigg Red brake seal kit have been keeping me going for ages. 

[alvinlwh]

I got this big tube of silicone grease. Cheap and last forever. Safe enough to eat, safe enough on my plastics. 

[nowinaminute]

I have been using lucas red n tacky for several years now.

I was using super lube, too, but find it separates after a year or so and needs mixing back together whereas I have never yet seen the red n tacky separate under any circumstances.

I used to obsess over stuff like this, but the Lucas stuff works fine for general purpose stuff, I just add sparingly and don't worry about it. I'm almost certainly on the autistic spectrum with a helping of ADHD, and prone to obsessing over certain things briefly, so I had to have an intervention with myself before I found myself with 500 different tubs of grease. The old "let's spend £500,000 on grease to work out which one is the best, and then I can save myself £15 by not buying overpriced "RC" grease." 

Anyway, I eventually forgave myself for not allowing me to continue my grease testing quest, and the red n tacky has worked fine in the meantime.

I haven't had any plastic compatibility issues with either grease.

From what I can see, most multi purpose greases you'll see in stores are relatively plastic safe, even mineral based etc, it's the Ester and Polyglycol stuff that can be a problem, but if unsure, silicone is pretty fool proof.

Rubber is a different story, though, and seems to effected  by a wider range of stuff. 

Whatever you try, stick to NLGI 2 or lower. Anything higher will be too thick IMO. 
 

[Wooders28]

This thread is quite handy -

 

 

I quite like the dry lube on driveshafts, especially if running in dusty / sandy areas, as debris doesn't stick to the shafts, and turn to grinding paste.

[SuperChamp82]

Tamiya pretty much know what they’re doing 

The general stuff in kit is fine if you run dry weather / back yard and replace it every year or so 

Their specialist greases are also the best for competition imo - apart form Associated green slime which I’ve yet to beat 👏

They also give you a great choice where / when to upgrade depending on your running - albeit WD40 variants are prob the best / cheapest intermediate solution 👍

[ABigChungus]

Thanks for the tips everyone! Interesting reads! 

[Mechanic AH]

I've used a lot of different brands over time but have narrowed down some of my go to. I think the kit supplied grease or Tamiya brand is perfectly fine until you do a lot of cleaning, tune-up, builds/re-build, or race because it can get expensive if you exclusively use Tamiya. I'm in the US so these products might not be available if you're somewhere else but I'm sure there's an equivalent.

For general purpose I started with Tamiya's Cera Grease and moved to Labelle 206 but those two options are expensive if you have to frequently use grease. I also have Super Lube Multi-Purpose Grease and use that product a lot. It's also important to read the technical data and safety data on these products. Super Lube shows you what plastics it works with and how well, it's also safe to touch and not toxic. I remember someone invested in and I think exclusively used copper grease because it was cheap and effective—I believe he wasn't aware how toxic it was to inhale and touch. There's a lot of good grease/lubricant out there but when you check the safety sheet, a fair number of them are considered hazardous or dangerous for consumer use.

In the US, Tamiya Cera Grease is between $6-$8, Labelle 206 is $9-$15, and Super Lube at more than 8 times the volume of both is just under $9. 

As for dry lube/metal parts, I already have Finish Line (and use it on my bike's chain as well). I only use it for RC cars' metal exposed parts like dogbones, CVA joints, universals, and other necessary parts where friction might occur but not all metal parts. But, it's a tad toxic so I wear gloves and a bit more careful with it. I also use Hudy Graphite Grease or Associated Black Grease for the joints/cups, alloy to alloy gears, to help decrease wear or you can use Tamiya Molybdenum Grease. For diff and ball grease/oil, I have a range from all the brands that invest and focus on RC racing. It just gets overwhelming because there are many weights/viscosities and properties. But I tend to use Yokomo, Hudy, or Kyosho diff/ball grease. For bearings, I didn't invest in grease but use bearing oil. Used various brands but narrowed it down to Boca High Speed Oil. When I did a test on brush motors with a motor tester the oil gave me 200-400 more rpm on average. I would also look into Avid Racing's bearing grease and oil. For o-rings, shock o-rings, shock caps, rubber, and the like, I use either Associated Green Slime, Protek Premiere Blue O-ring grease, or Molykote 111 (because they have a safety data sheet available). 

[Juggular]

I've been using Labelle 106 for over 20+ years, and 206 for several years.  205 is lighter, 206 is slightly stickier.  

Both are excellent Teflon grease, originally designed for plastic gears of model trains.  One tube will last 50-80 builds (you are supposed to use it very sparingly).  For the pinions on a stock motor, Torque tuned, and Sport Tuned, I'd recommend 106 all around.  It's less sticky, thus runs smoother.  

If you want to go faster than Sport Tuned (like above 20,000 RPM or brushless with fewer than 15.5t; that's my arbitrary line in the sand), I'd use 206 on the pinion and the spur gear only.  Since it's slightly stickier, more could stay on the pinion (which is the fastest spinning gear).  All other gears are fine with 106.  

Even this much 106 is too much. There is no chance all this would be flung away even at 20,000 RPM. So, my thinking pinions needing 206 for faster motors might be overly cautious.  Subjectively, the gears "painted" with 106 feel quieter than stock ceramic grease (I haven't measured decibels or anything).  

All this is Labelle 106, except for the pinion and spur.  (I bought Konghead just to test this out)

For the shaft of a 540 motor, I use 108.  It's not teflon, so I put a "tiny dab" of 106 with a toothpick or a knife (so it'd be machine oil + teflon).  That's what I do for bearings also. (The Konghead above has bearings washed and re-lubed with 108 + a tiny dab of 106). 

Half a drop of 108 + tiny dab of 106. (below is a "tiny dab")

But for the motor and bearings any machine oil would work fine (like 3-in-1 oil. But I feel 108 is thinner, thus less rolling resistance; but it's splitting hair at this point). 

Seriously, Labelle should pay me or send me their products for reviews!  

 

[ABigChungus]

1 hour ago, Juggular said:

I've been using Labelle 106 for over 20+ years, and 206 for several years.  205 is lighter, 206 is slightly stickier.  

Both are excellent Teflon grease, originally designed for plastic gears of model trains.  One tube will last 50-80 builds (you are supposed to use it very sparingly).  For the pinions on a stock motor, Torque tuned, and Sport Tuned, I'd recommend 106 all around.  It's less sticky, thus runs smoother.  

If you want to go faster than Sport Tuned (like above 20,000 RPM or brushless with fewer than 15.5t; that's my arbitrary line in the sand), I'd use 206 on the pinion and the spur gear only.  Since it's slightly stickier, more could stay on the pinion (which is the fastest spinning gear).  All other gears are fine with 106.  

Even this much 106 is too much. There is no chance all this would be flung away even at 20,000 RPM. So, my thinking pinions needing 206 for faster motors might be overly cautious.  Subjectively, the gears "painted" with 106 feel quieter than stock ceramic grease (I haven't measured decibels or anything).  

All this is Labelle 106, except for the pinion and spur.  (I bought Konghead just to test this out)

For the shaft of a 540 motor, I use 108.  It's not teflon, so I put a "tiny dab" of 106 with a toothpick or a knife (so it'd be machine oil + teflon).  That's what I do for bearings also. (The Konghead above has bearings washed and re-lubed with 108 + a tiny dab of 106). 

Half a drop of 108 + tiny dab of 106. (below is a "tiny dab")

But for the motor and bearings any machine oil would work fine (like 3-in-1 oil. But I feel 108 is thinner, thus less rolling resistance; but it's splitting hair at this point). 

Seriously, Labelle should pay me or send me their products for reviews!  

 

Great read!