Lubrication

From Wiki

A lubricant (or lube) is a material which can be put in a puzzle to make it easier to turn or smoother. This page contains descriptions of different lubricants and specific suggestions for how to use them. In general, to lube a cube, you should apply the lubricant either by removing one piece and spraying it in, or by disassembling the cube completely and coating the pieces in lubricant. After lube is applied, it is usually best to not time a solve immediately, but rather give the lube a few minutes to work in. It is also recommended that you do not apply lube to very stiff cubes, as this can sometimes make them even harder to turn.

Contents 1 Silicon-Based 1.1 Pure Silicone 1.2 Jig-A-Loo 1.3 Rubik's Lube 1.4 CRC Silicon Spray 1.5 Cubelube.com 1.6 Maplin Electronics Silicone Grease with PTFE 1.7 Armour All original protectant 1.8 Other silicone lubricants 2 Petroleum-Based 2.1 Vaseline 2.2 WD-40 2.3 Liquid Wrench 3 Miscellaneous Other Lubricants 3.1 Cooking No-stick Spray 3.2 White Lithium Grease

Silicon-Based

Silicon-based lubricants are a highly popular and effective way to lubricate cubes.

Pure Silicone

Several brands sell silicone spray, but to tell if it is pure you have to check the ingredients. Pure silicone spray will not melt the cube's plastic or wear it in at all, just make it smoother, so this is a good lube to use on cubes that are already very loose and worn in.

Jig-A-Loo

Used by many cubers, this lubricant works very well. However, it can melt plastic temporarily, so it is recommended that you completely disassemble your cube to lubricate it, and that you let the pieces dry well before reassembly. Take a look at this thread for detailed discussion on Jig-a-loo

Rubik's Lube

This is the lube that comes in a syringe-like container when you order from Rubiks.com. It can be found at rubiks.com.

CRC Silicon Spray

CRC silicon spray has been used by many cubers. This is a very good lubricant to use. It will dry out soon, but works well. It is known to eat cubes too, so use with caution.

Cubelube.com

This is the exact same lube as sold on Rubiks.com, only with different packaging and a different site. The price is also cheaper than Rubiks.com; this particular lube is found at cubelube.com.

Maplin Electronics Silicone Grease with PTFE

Works well on DIY cubes, and is easy to find in the UK. Comes in a spray can with extension tube for lazy lubing.

Armour All original protectant

It is silicone based, and pretty good, but sometimes causes the cube to gunk up when overlubed. It is recomended that you wipe off excess lubricant after using.

Other silicone lubricants

This includes most brands of lubricants, like 3 in 1 silicone spray, Prestone, Sprayway. The results are different for every type of lube. For example, 3 in 1 takes too long to dry, and Prestone makes cubes smooth (sometimes too smooth.)

Petroleum-Based

These include lubricants such as vaseline, WD-40, or Liquid Wrench. It is strongly recommended that you use these with caution, as petroleum and petroleum distillates speed the aging of plastic, and may dissolve the plastic resulting in destruction of the pieces and the internal mechanism. Excessive uses of these lubricants often lead to the center mechanism breaking apart completely.

Vaseline

Goopy and well known, this is not the best lube. Being a petroleum based lubricant it will speed the deterioration of the pieces as well as the internal mechanism. Some people recommend using vaseline for a while to wear down the inside of the cube (almost like breaking in the cube) before using other lubricants.

WD-40

Known for damaging cubes by wearing the pieces in and making them harder to turn, this does not actually act as a lubricant for the plastic at all. However, there have been some success stories of WD-40 being used on cubes and making them smoother. It is recommended you do not use this. If you must, however, you should wash or wipe it off after about half an hour.

Liquid Wrench

Even though Liquid Wrench says Silicone Spray on the can, it still contains petroleum distillates. The lubricant also has a very petroleum-like smell and will stay there. Liquid Wrench is not odorless. Do not use this. It contains less than 5% of silicone.

Miscellaneous Other Lubricants

Cooking No-stick Spray

Yes, PAM. Not necessarily the cleanest or best thing to use, it works nonetheless. It will slowly eat the plastic but not nearly as fast as petroleum based products. It is recommended you clean out your cube frequently if you use this.

White Lithium Grease

There are some mixed results of this lubricant, but it does work fairly well. The cube will have a sticky feeling after using it, though it wears off after some breaking-in.