My 7x7 V-cube is bad, how do I fix it?

windhero

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Okay, I diassembled my 7x7 v-cube a long time ago and even took the center caps off wishing to lube the core. I sprayed the whole thing with CRC and put it together. It turned out to be crap. Wohoo, I spoiled a 50€ puzzle.

Now my cube is all slippery because the CRC came on the outer layer too, on the pieces. My center caps keep popping off and I can hear the springs tick and tack when turning.

How do I clean it, how do I lube it (with what? Maru lube? Lubix/Traxxas?) and how do I get the center caps to stay on? Do I have to glue them back on? Is there no way to access the core?

All help is appreciated!
 
I personally use hot water in a pot or something with a bit of dish soap in it. The core is non adjustable so don't mess with it. You probably will have to glue the caps on. Lube it with anything really, but be careful if using CRC to point the stickers away from the spray.
 
You can also do the adjustable core mod, which will fix the spring problem.

And to fix the center cops from popping off, use a small amount of super glue to keep them on (but not too much that you can't take them off to adjust the tensions)
 
I find lubix to work best on vcubes. Although id probably have to say vcubes are more of a collectors item and not a speed cube.

Sent from my LG-L38C using Tapatalk 2
 
That with the exception of the v4, which is better than my unmodded and modded shengshou 4x4.

I'd say take the cube apart and with some warm water and soap and a cloth clean all the cubies with the cloth, cleaning said cloth in the water regularly. Don't dump the cubies in the water, you'll be waiting for ages for the excess fluid to dry.

Then reassemble. Too bad it is not tensionable. Wait and see what the center caps do after a cleaning. I glued the caps on the centerpieces on my v4. They kept flying off.. some at least. :)
 
It's weird people say that since world records are done with v-cubes, aren't they? I heard some V-cubes are awesome and some are not. Is there some trick to it? I can't believe it's just about luck of the draw here since V-cube is a quality puzzle.

Do they sell adjustable cores anywhere or do I have to make one myself (me myself and pi has a tutorial on this)
 
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I can't believe it's just about luck of the draw here since V-cube is a quality puzzle.

If they were adjustable then you would be right.
Some turn up so tight that breaking them in can be unbearable.
Once they have loosened up they can become too loose relatively quickly and become paperweights.
 
If they were adjustable then you would be right.
Some turn up so tight that breaking them in can be unbearable.
Once they have loosened up they can become too loose relatively quickly and become paperweights.

See, you say this, but my V-7 has been really good for about a year now, and is just getting better. I think its more to do with how you lube it so that you remove some of the strain from the core.

I would clean it out using paper towels, and then use a gel-type lube such as lubix / izo lube / shock oil etc.
 
My girlfriend's V5 was good for about a month before it was far too loose to use =(
There is a happy ending though. I got an Ultramorphix which was ridiculously tight because all the pieces are spray painted before stickering.
Switched the cores. Dear diary, Jackpot!
 
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My girlfriend's V5 was good for about a month before it was far too loose to use =(
There is a happy ending though. I got an Ultramorphix which was ridiculously tight because all the pieces are spray painted before stickering.
Switched the cores. Dear diary, Jackpot!

Heh, and again, my V-5 has been really good for ages, although I think it is starting to deteriorate now. ;b
 
Luck of the draw. My V7 I sold to Selkie was awesome. I've been breaking my V5 in for 3 years and it's still really tight. It's getting there though and hopefully once it finally is good it will stay like that for a while.
 
Okay, I diassembled my 7x7 v-cube a long time ago and even took the center caps off wishing to lube the core. I sprayed the whole thing with CRC and put it together. It turned out to be crap. Wohoo, I spoiled a 50€ puzzle.

Now my cube is all slippery because the CRC came on the outer layer too, on the pieces. My center caps keep popping off and I can hear the springs tick and tack when turning.

How do I clean it, how do I lube it (with what? Maru lube? Lubix/Traxxas?) and how do I get the center caps to stay on? Do I have to glue them back on? Is there no way to access the core?

All help is appreciated!
First of all, when you lube a core, you don't use spray lube, you use a high viscosity lube like Lubix or Traxxas. With a V7, all you really ever had to do was take one piece out, spray a TINY amount into the puzzle, and do the same thing on the other side. That's it. Your V7 isn't bad, they just take some breaking in. I would completely take it apart and wipe the ENTIRE thing off with a dry paper towel. Wipe the lube off of every piece, then put it together and see how it is. If it's still stiff, lube it the way I said, and just break it in. Don't go all crazy doing all these special lubing and modding tricks. Just use the cube. It will get better with use, but not right away. Oh, and the caps should stay on when the cube is assembled.
 
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