[Help Thread] Lubrication Thread

Lubing made 5x5x5 worse

I have a small collection of cubes from various sources, mostly christmas gifts collected over many years, and someone told me I should lube them with silicone spray. So I went and bought a can of "3-in-1 professional" silicone spray from the WD-40 company (so not the actual classic WD-40 fluid, but a silicone spray from the same brand). The actual compound is "(R)-p-mentha-1,8-diene" whatever that might be.

My old 3x3x3 got better pretty much right away. My 4x4x4, which used to be quite stiff, first got even worse but then after a few solves got better than it was before. Quite smooth now, even.

But then the 5x5x5... Even though it wasn't bad at all, I thought I might make it even better by lubing it like the others. I popped a piece out, sprayed, put the piece back in, started turning, and it almost immediately got very hard to turn. I sprayed some more, did a few solves (getting sore hands), then sprayed some more until the fluid was literally dripping out, but it just wouldn't get any better. I kept turning it, then left it for a few days, then tried some more, the inners improved a bit but the outers were still very stiff.

So I thought, maybe this is not the right fluid for this cube (for whatever reason), so I put it under water and kept scrambling it to try and get a decent amount of lube out of the cube. Of course the moist cube, once out of the water, was even worse but once it dried, it got back to more or less what it was like after lubing and before putting it underwater. Still no improvement.

Then I thought, maybe it's not quite dry yet, I'll put it into the freezer, take it out, scramble it and the ice will fall right out. That did indeed work, I did see some ice falling on the floor, and the cube was quite smooth for a few seconds thanks to the ice layer inside, but then of course it started condensing and got worse again. Then I thought, hey, maybe this trick can get more dirt and/or lube out of the cube, so I scrambled it under water again, put it into the freezer just long enough for the water to freeze but without it being impossible to turn, then took it out and watched all the ice fall out as I turned it. Silky smooth until the ice was gone, then back to sticky. After drying up over the course of several days, it's still quite stiff, maybe not quite as bad as after the initial lube but certainly worse than before the whole thing.

So what do I try now? Lube it again? (expecting different results after repeating the same thing...). Use a different lube? Or just give up and buy a new cube? I'm not sure what brand it is, I seem to remember the family member giving it to me proudly proclaiming it was a real Rubik's brand ;-)

I'm not sure whether it might have been lubed before with some kind of household product that might not play nice with the new lube?

Does this sort of thing happen often, cubes getting (and staying) worse after lubing? I'd like to spray my brand new 7x7x7 but now I don't know whether I should.

Thanks,

Michel
 
It could either be your method of lubing. I would say take out every piece, set them out, spray and leave overnight before putting the puzzle back together.
Or the spray itself. I would suggest using lubix or some other brand like that, if that's available to you. I'm no pro, but that's my input. Also to get rid of the stiffness you could try to disassemble and washing it in warm water and soap.
 
I think you had a Rubik's 5x5. Those are bad with lube :) I recommend getting a cube name Shengshou 5x5 and just lube NOT TO MUCH. If you put the lube to much it will make the cube worse. It's call overlube :) I don't have a rubik's 5x5 but those are just regular cube you can get from retail stores. You can buy some cubes online which good for speedcubing :) For cleaning you cube, Take apart your cube completely and put it into a water with some soap or dishwasher and clean it all out. And let it dry then :) Hope i'm help some, I'm bad at english so please forgive my poor english. Hope i help :)
 
My rubik's 5x5 is ultra stiff anyway and I never solve it. 5x5 is no fun on that cube, shengshou on the other hand makes it one of the most fun puzzles out there, and it's thrice cheaper than a rubik's, I'd certainly go shengshou: it doesn't even need lubing to be good; with lube it's better yet but not necessary.
 
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If you can afford to pay a decent amount get a v-cube 5 they are very good quality cubes apart from the 'clicking' mechanism they have to make it easy to use, they come with lube and after mods they are extremely good for speed solving. Also with your method of lubing did you take the cube apart and spray it or just pop a few pieces out and spray inside?

And if you did only take a few pieces out did you work the lube around or just let it dry? Because some lubes tend to glue the pieces together if just left to dry between two surfaces.

Also dont use 3in1 silicone spray use only pure silicone as some 3in1 have petroleum based stuff inside and petroleum makes the plastic of the cube age faster ( for example one of my rubiks 3x3s is extremely loose after have vaseline inside it for a few months)

I hope I helped and good luck with your cube :D
 
A speed cube is a thing of beauty. It is a precision device. Treat it like you would a fine sword. If you don't know how that is, try watching the latest Hobbit movie.

I can't imagine taking a speed cube and scrambling it under water in order to get rid of the lube. Instead, take it apart and lovingly wipe each individual surface of each individual part with a clean lint-free cloth. Use a new part of the cloth for each part.

This is how you should handle your cube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3EZcKsiYRU

(I bet he doesn't get pops.)
 
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Solve/Turn the cube several times and work it in until it feels less sluggish. Cubes usually feel a bit slower after lubing, but working the lube in should make it better.

EDIT: If it still feels slow after awhile, it's possible that you put too much in. Just wash/wipe some of the lube out.
 
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Is Liquid Wrench a good lubricant?

im a fairly new cuber i never actualy went out to buy some lubricant because i just found some liquid wrench silicone spray (not liquid wrench heavy duty silicone)
and im starting to think it may not be a very good lubricant. Should i go buy some jig-a-loo or some crc or should i just stick with liquid wrench
 
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