# PTFE Dry Lubrication... anyone else tried this stuff?



## wongxiao (Nov 29, 2008)

Okay so I realize I was gone for a while and now I'm spamming new threads... sorry!!!

Anyway, I'm back home for Thanksgiving and my folks didn't have any CRC laying around... but they did have this stuff called "Blaster TDL Dry Lube." It uses Polytetrafluoroethylene--PTFE (also known by the brand name Teflon) and contains no silicone. The can advertises the product as being okay for use on plastics, so I gave it a test spray into a disposable plastic cup. I then scratched the affected area with the end of an unsharpened pencil (the closest blunt object I had). There was only slightly more damage than scratching an unaffected area.

I didn't want to risk ruining my brand new 4- and 5-Cubes, so I sprayed some into my already broken-in Type D, first taking it apart and clearing out all of the gunk and whatnot caused by the silicone I'd used earlier.

I've been amazed by the results so far. I think the solvent in this stuff is much gentler than that of CRC--the "initial stickiness" characteristic of CRC was very slight, and I've yet to see any gunk building up in my cube (with CRC it's pretty visible even after a few minutes). It's on its maximum tension and moves incredibly well (almost as nicely as CRC on a looser, more pop-prone tension). However, it is worth noting that the cube I tested it on has already been broken in and had taken a few doses of silicone in the past. I'll have to do more testing...

So has anyone else tried PTFE-based lubricants? If I can find this stuff up in Reno I think it'll be my new standard issue... and I used to swear by CRC!


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## tikva (Nov 29, 2008)

I had been using some german teflon spray for a while. In my experience it isn't very good. Although the dynamic friction was very low, the static friction was huge. So it wasn't not that bad for high-speed turning. But when you needed a slow turn, like aligning the face for the next turn, it was impossible. You tried to push gently, and it would stay still. You pushed harder and harder and then it spinned like 500 degrees. 

That could have been specific for that german teflon spray.

Yes... I tried a lot of stuff for lubricating my cube because there's no silicone spray where I live. (candle wax, "White grease", some "Dewatering & penetrant", silicone grease for water-sealing, soap,...). Now, i'm using puzzleproz lube and it's OK for me.


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## ImNOTnoob (Nov 29, 2008)

Woah.. Never heard of such lube before..


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## somerandomkidmike (Nov 29, 2008)

I'll have to try it sometime.


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## wongxiao (Nov 29, 2008)

tikva said:


> I had been using some german teflon spray for a while. In my experience it isn't very good. Although the dynamic friction was very low, the static friction was huge. So it wasn't not that bad for high-speed turning. But when you needed a slow turn, like aligning the face for the next turn, it was impossible. You tried to push gently, and it would stay still. You pushed harder and harder and then it spinned like 500 degrees.
> 
> That could have been specific for that german teflon spray.
> 
> Yes... I tried a lot of stuff for lubricating my cube because there's no silicone spray where I live. (candle wax, "White grease", some "Dewatering & penetrant", silicone grease for water-sealing, soap,...). Now, i'm using puzzleproz lube and it's OK for me.



Interesting... I didn't find the static coefficient to be prohibitively high. Of course, I'm probably not at the level were such nuances make a huge difference either--it would be really nice to see a comparison from someone who can sub-15...

You can't get silicone? Oh wow! That's harsh man, I'm sorry. I'm thinking silicone may be a best for the break-in period--the harsher solvent probably softens the plastic enough so that it'll break in faster. The PTFE had only a slight effect on my fresh cubes.


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