Jump to content

Grease for the knobs


orange_hand
 Share

Recommended Posts

Be really careful with this. Grease has a way of spreading from parts to hands to surfaces, potentially leaving permanent stains on lovely panels. Even a tiny dab of grease into a knob will probably mostly ooze out once you put it on the shaft.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think this should be possible. I think professional manufacturers of electronic devices apply a special grease on the knobs in order to be able to remove them some day if the device has to be serviced... I don't want to use oil :-)

If nobody has an idea, I will start with industry vaseline, as I have no grease handy at the moment :-) ....

Cheers

orange

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At work I use clear silicone grease for weatherproofing antenna connections, and that stuff is messy, so I wouldn't recommend it.

Lithium grease is a little less annoying to work with, but it leaves nasty white residue behind.

K-Y jelly might be good because it is water-based, but it may leak down the shaft into the pot or encoder, potentially breaking down its internal lubricants. And I think it dries up after a while.

Vaseline is petroleum jelly, right? You may want to test a little on an inconspicuous bit of surface to make sure it cleans up easily.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi,

I think that won't work for the encoders and knobs I use. They really stick together like hell :-) I have to apply something ...

Cheers

orange

Why don't you try, what we call in Switzerland "Sewing machine oil" - It's some kind of "clean, transparent oil"? Apply a bit onto a cloth (just moisturize, not dripping) and rub the encoder/pot shaft with it. This leaves a thin, non dripping film of oil, which might just be enough but not too much loss of friction. - Looks like you have to experiment a bit :-)

Greets, Roger

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Guys,

I could try this, although I am not sure where to buy this here in London…. Anyway I was more thinking about something not so liquid, that’s why I asked for some kind of grease rather than oil .. I think I will start with petroleum jelly (Vaseline), as it is not liquid. I will also consider to put a little bit of it on the surface of the knobs for a smoother feeling ïŠ I will let you know the result of my experiment.

Cheers

orange

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I would use lithium grease. It's the stuff you grease Bushings on Power tools and lube the collet for an electric chipping gun with. It's white and like a paste. It wouldn't spread around as much as light machine oil, and it should (I haven't tried it though) clean right up with a little isopropyl. You could probably pick it up at any hardware store. I might try it myself :thumbsup:

A little dab'll do ya'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could try this, although I am not sure where to buy this here in London…

Give John Lewis a try if you've got one near you. My wife bought a sewing machine there recently, so it's a reasonable bet that they'll have sewing machine oil.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...