[Help Thread] Basic questions about lubing

[HommeViande]

Hi !
I looked for informations about lubing, have found a lot about lubricants but couldn't find anything about the way to lube. I'm sorry if there is already a thread about that, but if it exists I can't find it :/

So here are my questions :

• How often to lube a cube ? I feel like my main, a stickerless Valk 3, needs to be lubed every ~100 solves, but I think that's a really few amount of solves. Is it possible that I do something wrong ?
• I read about "lubing the core", but how do I even do that ? At the moment I lube my cube by taking off a corner and drop one or two drops of lube between the two edges. Does "lubing the core" mean taking apart every piece of the cube and lubing the root of the centers, or something like that ? Or am I already lubing the core and I don't do the "normal" lubing ?
• Can overlubing my cube mess it up ? If it can, is it by putting two drops a day during for two months, or by filling the cube with the full 10cc syringe (in which case I should not worry) ?

 

[Dash Lambda]

-Lubricate the cube whenever it feels dry, slow, whatever it is that the lubrication is supposed to change. I use thicker silicone lubricant only occasionally, in fact I usually reapply it when I clean the cube long before it wears out, and I usually put a drop or two of Maru in it every day or so. (Just put the Maru in the Florian cuts, you don't need to take a piece out.)

-Lubricating the core is more specifically lubricating the centers. You put some silicone lubricant in the center on the contact points for the spring, both to cut down on friction from the spring and to fix spring noise.

-You can always clean excess lubricant out, but it can be a right pain. The only long-lasting issue I've had with over-lubricating is on my Aolong, I was applying a bit Lubicle Speedy but the plunger was sticking, so I ended up putting about ten times the amount I intended to into it and it bled all over the outside. I guess it screwed with the stickers because now they're just inherently gunky and slippery no-matter how much I clean them. I suspect I'd just need to swap the stickers, but I don't have a spare set yet.
You shouldn't run into any problems if you just put a line of silicone on a corner whenever you clean it (CrazyBad has a video showing how much that is) and a couple drops a Maru (or Silk) in it whenever it feels slow.

Here's the lubrication thread, not sure if it extends to how to lubricate a cube, but still might be worth reading: https://www.speedsolving.com/forum/threads/lubrication-thread.21212/

 

[HommeViande]

Thanks for the answer

CrazyBad has a video showing how much that is

I can't find this video, do you have any idea of what its title can be, or when he posted it ?

Here's the lubrication thread, not sure if it extends to how to lubricate a cube, but still might be worth reading: https://www.speedsolving.com/forum/threads/lubrication-thread.21212/

I read some of the messages but coudn't browse the whole 141 pages of it, and since there is no search tool that allows to search for keywords in a single thread (or if there is one I didn't find it), it was impossible to find the answers to my questions there.

 

[Dash Lambda]

I can't find this video, do you have any idea of what its title can be, or when he posted it?

Right around the 9:15 mark he applies the lubricant to the pieces.
He also shows about how much you should put in the core a little earlier.

I read some of the messages but couldn't browse the whole 141 pages of it, and since there is no search tool that allows to search for keywords in a single thread (or if there is one I didn't find it), it was impossible to find the answers to my questions there.

It is a bit daunting isn't it XP
Well, I can't say I've read it all, so I guess its contents will remain a mystery~

 

[Loiloiloi]

needs to be lubed every ~100 solves

Probably more like 10,000 solves. Silicone based lubricant lasts a very long time.

Dash answers everything else pretty well

 

[HommeViande]

Probably more like 10,000 solves. Silicone based lubricant lasts a very long time.

I have "Maru" lube at the moment, so from what I read on the lubricant thread it's normal of it doesn't last long. The question was more like "what's the scale of 'not lasting long' here".

Right around the 9:15 mark he applies the lubricant to the pieces.
He also shows about how much you should put in the core a little earlier.

Thanks for the video