Grease for the knobs

[orange_hand]

Hi Guys,

I would like to buy some grease for the knobs. I need to apply some grease between the knobs and the poti shaft in order to get them smoothly removed without a lot of pressure.

Any recommendations are welcome !

Cheers

orange

[nebula]

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.

[orange_hand]

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

[nebula]

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.

[orange_hand]

Vaseline is petroleum jelly, right?

that's correct. I will try it before I apply it to all encoders :-)

Cheers

orange

[Hawkeye]

Don´t grease, use Smithies powerful knob removal tool. Hot!

[orange_hand]

Hi,

where can I get this magic tool from ?

Cheers

orange

[Hawkeye]

Smithy-express.com only 999USD. Or DIY :-)

[Davo]

It looks like something you'd find holding a bag of bread closed.

[orange_hand]

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

[Screaming_Rabbit]

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

[Hawkeye]

not too much though or the knobs will slip on the encoder axis while turning :-)

ah no, d-shaft to the rescue :-)

[orange_hand]

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

[julianf]

I use silicon greese. As you know, petroleum rots some things, but i dont know about pot shafts etc.

[JRock]

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'

[vortura]

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.