Lubing - what is dangerous to plastic?

[ChrisD]

It's time to lube the cube! I went to Home Depot but they didn't have any silicon sprays. I got one, called Jig-A-Loo Super Grease (lithium based?). Don't ask, it's something canadian

Anyway, on the back it says safe for "most plastics". Anyone know what that might mean? It contains "petroleum distillates, isobutone and propane."

Will this destroy my cube?

 

[ChrisD]

Followup, since I got tired of a stiff cube. The lube works out ok but it's not the best. Even after breaking it in for an hour or so, it's a little slow. There's less "snap" to it meaning to start a turn takes less effort, but there's more rolling friction so turning it is slow and a little hard.

For you physics people, the coefficient of static friction is now lower but the coefficient of kinetic friction is higher.

 

[ExoCorsair]

I've heard of people using Jig-A-Loo and not having any problems... But they didn't use the Super Grease version.

 

[ChrisD]

I was kind of afraid to use the regular version because it said it had alcohols in it (butane and propane?) and ... stretching back to chemistry, I seem to remember that some alcohols dissolved plastics.

Anyway, it might be fixed by loosening my springs but I am kind of living out of a suitcase at the moment and don't have any tools handy.

 

[ExoCorsair]

Running a quick check on the MSDS of both products (regular and Super Grease), they both contain isobutane and propane.

 

[blindfold cube]

The only thing i have heard that is bad to lube a cube with is WD-40.

 

[AlexandertheGreat]

The only thing i have heard that is bad to lube a cube with is WD-40.

Yeah, I did that with my first cube. It made it smoother, and at the time I thought that my cube was "fast". How little I knew back then...

It helps, but not nearly as much as silicone-based stuff.

 

[TigerTom]

I just bought some of this silicone spray from Amazon.co.uk and applied it to a standard Rubik Cube, that I had worn in a little.

Now I find turning the cube, once it is moving, is easier -- but starting a turn is harder. I'm hoping it gets better with more use.

However - I also bought a pre-built pre-lubricated DIY cube from cubefans on ebay and that cube opened my eyes o what a lubricated cube should be like. It turns so so easily, I didn't realise it could be this way. It will take some readjustment to get used to just how easy it is to use. I might buy another and just abandon my own attempts at lubricating.

 

[I dream of rubik's cubes]

I just bought some of this silicone spray from Amazon.co.uk and applied it to a standard Rubik Cube, that I had worn in a little.

Now I find turning the cube, once it is moving, is easier -- but starting a turn is harder. I'm hoping it gets better with more use.

I just used some of that stuff on a drummond park official cube, and it seems to have slowed it down. I sprayed it on yesterday, disassembling the entire cube, and left each side to dry. However, it's not as smooth in some directions as others, despite that I sprayed all parts thoroughly, like on Roux's page. Do I just need to let it dry for a few days?

 

[lphoenixl]

Yes. Just let it dry for a day and a half to 2 days. Drying seems to take time. Also putting it outside in the hot weather might also help dry it faster.

 

[Lotsofsloths]

With all lubricants, after I lubricate my cube, I carefully move each face of the cube to make sure its on each side and each bottom of the edge pieces, and my friend Payton, who also cubes, uses a petroleum based lubricant for his cube, and he's better than me