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What Lube and Where to get it from?

Escher

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Maplin stocks "silicone grease PTFE" in a spray can. The code is 'N71AN', I think. You'll be able to find it on their website, and I'm sure most branches will stock it.
A while ago, I also found this

http://www.racingstate.com/shock-oil.html

which I may buy some of quite soon. It's pretty cheap, considering. Shock Oil is meant to make cubes feel more 'buttery', rather than really fast.
 

leeho

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You can also try Tableau dry lubricant. I am also from the UK. Ill list what lubes ive used just so you have an idea. Ive used: 3 in 1 professional silicone lubricant, Maplin silicone grease with ptfe and tableau dry lubricant. So far, id say tableau is the best ive used and maplin comes in close second. 3 in 1 silicone didnt work for me, I dont know if i did something wrong but it didnt work on my DIYs. Hope that helps.
 

Escher

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You can also try Tableau dry lubricant. I am also from the UK. Ill list what lubes ive used just so you have an idea. Ive used: 3 in 1 professional silicone lubricant, Maplin silicone grease with ptfe and tableau dry lubricant. So far, id say tableau is the best ive used and maplin comes in close second. 3 in 1 silicone didnt work for me, I dont know if i did something wrong but it didnt work on my DIYs. Hope that helps.

where do you get this 'Tableau lubricant'...? :)
 

leeho

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Escher

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ahh nice one. where did you spring up from anyway? :p
with your sub 17 average and everything :) how long've you been cubing?
Anyway, I just use maplin (i know mtgjumper does too) but i want to try the shock oil.
 

leeho

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Haha. I don't compete x] and I'm not very active on the forum. -Stay hidden- I've been cubing for about..12-13 months now I think. I might try some shock oil too. Ive heard good things about it. x]
 

leeho

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Haha. I don't think I'll get to compete unless they hold it in Leeds. I have no form of transport =X hehe. The OLLs are so long, I'm so lazyy x] How much would my time decrease if i learnt them all? =X
 

Escher

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this thread is totally hijacked.

The UK Open always seems to be in a northern city, perhaps you could get a train? How old are you btw?
knowing the OLLs really does help when you're around 20/sub20, it shaves at least 2s off my times. You can tell in every average i do when i don't get an OLL i know (53/57 atm) as its always like 18s instead of 15 or 16.
 

leeho

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Woops, Sorry PuzzleProfessor =X. I'm in Year 11 at the moment. x] I need to start learning some OLLs then Haha. x] Can you recommend any particular method? Or do I just go ahead and learn them.
 

Bomber

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I am also quite interested in what lubricant other cubers in the UK use. I currently use PuzzleProz lubricant, which coincidentally I just ran out of my last syringe yesterday! But, the problem with PuzzleProz lubricant is that it only lasts for about five minutes, almost literally. The kind of speed I want in my cube will only last for a few minutes until it starts to feel sticky, with continued use. Then, eventually it starts to make a sticky noise as if it is being unstuck from itself. Overnight it goes back to normal and then when you come to re-lube it the build up of lubricant makes it worse and it needs a clean out.

I do however have some 'pure*' (in a different respect) silicone in my store bought. Not long ago we had some plumbers at the house and overnight they left a bottle of silicone lubricant for fitting pipes, I grabbed it and lubed my store bought. Unfortunately at that point I had lubed my main speed cubes with PuzzleProz lubricant so had to pass the DIYs up. I also can't remember the brand, though it was industrial and for 'the trade'. At the moment my Rubik's 3x3 is relatively fast although could do with more lubricant so it's a shame it doesn't get used, hopefully I can get down to Halfords or some other place to get some more! I don't really favour living in the North, although we get the competitions here we don't get the lube!

*clear, not creamy like PuzzleProz.

Thinking about silicone, I find it amusing that the British people on this forum know and talk about CRC and Jig-a-Loo yet have just about no access to it. The when we have our own thread about it we're like "Wow, that lube might be good".
It's a pity we don't have one standard lube available to us all, like CRC.
 
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Escher

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Bomber, the one we mentioned and linked are all very good, you should order one (or more) of those. I think there are a few more obscure ones, but we've listed the main ones.

If i were you, leeho, I'd learn them as they are arranged in badmephisto's site,

http://badmephisto.dyndns.org/site/oll.php

because you get a good chunk out of the way so quickly. The first 19 you could learn in less than a week, as you'll know a few of them anyway. Learn them consistently, no matter how fast or slow you do it. Also, every time you get a case you learn recently, do it, no matter how much it makes your time suffer.

hope that helps a bit :)
 

Bomber

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Maplin is all well and good but the only one that I have been in is in Shrewsbury, they unfortunately didn't stock it. Then, the closest Maplin to me is nearly 2 hours away in Carlisle or Preston!
I'll order some Tableau and hope it's super special awesome.
 

Bomber

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I just realised I have some of that shock oil, I used to run an R/C Car so it is quite stupid of me not to think or even use it.
I'm not sure what grade it is but I'll go and check and possibly report back!...

5 minutes later...
It doesn't appear to say what grade it is. It reads "Silicone oil for hydraulic shock absorbers" so I'm guessing that they are similar and should be okay to use in a cube! I guess I'll try it, if your interested in the result just post back and I'll give you the run down!
 
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