# UK Cubing Lubricant



## Darshen (Jun 15, 2009)

This is mainly to aid UK, most probably only English, cubers.

There were not very many UK cubers posting about lubricant so the only lubricant (silicone lube) were: CRC, Liquid Wrench and Jigg-a-loo

In the UK, well England at least, you cannot find these brands. Believe me I tried very hard.

So, I eventually found a lube called Tableau Dry Lube. You cannot find this at your 'high-end' or high street department/hardware stores. You have to go to small hardware stores or 'odds and ends' stores. Luckily, I did work experience in a small hardware store.

If you go to Screwfix they will have a 3 in 1 Silicone Lube. This is horrendous and has much the same effect as some oil based lube, such as WD40.

Well, anyway that is to help the British, hope it has.

Hope I helped.

P.S. If anyone in the UK should see CRC, Liquid Wrench or Jigg-a-loo please notify me through this thread.
Thank you.
Happy Cubing


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## Darshen (Jun 15, 2009)

This is mainly to aid UK, most probably only English, cubers.

There were not very many UK cubers posting about lubricant so the only lubricant (silicone lube) were: CRC, Liquid Wrench and Jigg-a-loo.

In the UK, well England at least, you cannot find these brands. Believe me I tried very hard.

So, I eventually found a lube called Tableau Dry Lube. You cannot find this at your 'high-end' or high street department/hardware stores. You have to go to small hardware stores or 'odds and ends' stores. Luckily, I did work experience in a small hardware store.

If you go to Screwfix they will have a 3 in 1 Silicone Lube. This is horrendous and has much the same effect as some oil based lube, such as WD40.

Well, anyway that is to help the British, hope it has.

Hope I helped.

P.S. If anyone in the UK should see CRC, Liquid Wrench or Jigg-a-loo please notify me through this thread.
Thank you.
Happy Cubing


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## Robert-Y (Jun 15, 2009)

Thanks for announcing it for others. I somehow managed to find this lube in Robert Dyas around 1 or 2 years. I wonder if Breandan and other people found this by chance as well...


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## Darshen (Jun 15, 2009)

Cool no problem.


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## 04mucklowd (Jun 15, 2009)

I found the Tableau stuff
it ran out in about 4 months now i have this stroflex silicone
it works pritty well and is in a bigger bottle 
but no straw


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## Bomber (Jun 15, 2009)

A few other UK Cubers had a small discussion about lubricant here in the UK, there actually isn't a huge choice of suitable things to put in cubes but I think most are covered here. 

A few people mentioned Tableau Dry Lube, you have to either look very hard or get it cheaply off eBay. Most people said that Tableau was the best they had tried. I use one that I found at Lidl, it is very effective.


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## Escher (Jun 15, 2009)

Why did you post this twice? You know you can edit right? 
Hopefully a mod will merge this soon. 

Anyway, I've found Tableau in 'willliamsons hardware', but I know you can order it off the internet.
I've also found this:

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

but I haven't bought it yet, although it seem its just standard shock oil.
'Maplins silicone lubricant' is very good, it feels a bit thinner than Tableau and a bit faster, but not as smooth.


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## Darshen (Jun 15, 2009)

Sorry I didn't mean to pollute. Just couldn't find a thread for the UK lube. And thanks for the link.
Plus LOL I got my Tableau for £2.99...a lot cheaper than 7 quid


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## Darshen (Jun 15, 2009)

sorry about double post. Curses damn laptop mouse is wearing out. Keeps jumping.
Anyway thanks for the added lubes, I think I'll try them.
Again sorry


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## Bomber (Jun 15, 2009)

Darshen said:


> Sorry I didn't mean to pollute. Just couldn't find a thread for the UK lube. And thanks for the link.
> Plus LOL I got my Tableau for £2.99...a lot cheaper than 7 quid



No no, it's fine. The last thread was months back so I'm sure nobody remembers! We might have found something else to put in our cubes since then; it was 1/3 of a year ago!

When I was going to buy some Tableau from eBay it only cost about £2.95. It must have changed since then. I didn't order some because I found the lubricant in Lidl and that was absolutely fine. I have used a few other things though but that and my 'Shock Oil' have been the stand outs.


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## Darshen (Jun 15, 2009)

Damn my hopes and dreams of beating eBay squandered by 4 measly pence. OH the shame. LOL

hopefully this thread will last or be stickied...one can hope.


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## Edam (Jun 15, 2009)

I used to use 'silicone lubricant' from halfords, but it was a bit balls and always left stuff wet and had to be wiped off. 
since then Breandan recommended tableau to me and it kicks ass. 
so. as everyone in the uk says, it's the best. Get it off ebay. 'nuff said.


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## cookingfat (Jun 15, 2009)

I'm in England and I went to a local motor spares store called A1 and got a can of 'Wynn's Silicone Lube' for about £4.50, looks like this > 






Seems to work just fine for me, although a little wet. It makes my type c a little bit sticky, but other than that it's great. 

I may have to try this tableau dry lube though or maybe shock oil from a model shop next time.


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## Darshen (Jun 15, 2009)

Tableau is definitely worth a try and I think, somehow, I'm going to try shock oil and the rest of the suggestions.

The effect of Tableau is that my DIY is on near full tightness and moves like a dream without popping.


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## Musje (Jun 15, 2009)

I use Griffon silicone spray and it works great. 

Though I'm from the netherlands and not sure about how common it is in england (it's a very common brand for lubrication and stuff here)


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## Darshen (Jun 15, 2009)

I'll look into that.
And do you guys think I should add the lube info to speedsolving wiki page.

OR try to ask


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## panyan (Jun 16, 2009)

i use:
1) shock oil (£3 from ebay for 20wt, 50cc or something)
2) halfords own brand silicone spray
3) some berry smelling silicone spray (only use if desperate!)


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## leeho (Jun 16, 2009)

I use:
1. Maplin silicone spray
2. Tableau 
3. Shock Oil (I usually mix this with maplin silicone spray)
4. 3 in 1 Silicone spray

Other Lubes that I know of in the UK are

Halfords silicone spray
Rapide silicone spray
Wynns silicone spray

Tableau works best on its own. However, mixing Maplin silicone spray and Shock oil 20wt makes the cube much faster and smoother in my opinion.


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## MichaelErskine (Jun 16, 2009)

I'm currently using the "W5 Silicone Oil" spray from LIDL (99p). It seems to have no solvent carrier and doesn't take a long time to dry like my previous favourite, the Maplin stuff. This makes it ideal to spray directly into puzzles as the evaporation effect of the solvent can weld cubies together with some other spray lubes. I also have some 3-in-1 Silicone but I haven't really used that one yet.






(sorry for the bad photo  )

I'll be doing a "scientific" study of the various lubes for puzzles when I get my hands on some Tableau and some silicone lubricant pastes used in engineering.


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## CharlieCooper (Jun 16, 2009)

tableau is by far the best. we got some of that maybe two years ago in wilkinsons and robert dyas also have some. tesco and asda also stock this i think?!


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## Martyjuggles (Jul 29, 2009)

Hi - first post, but has anybody been down the road of 'personal lubricants' - they're sold as sex lubes in some of the more exotic shops across the country?? - Never tried any but needing something to speed up my cube . . .


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## CharlieCooper (Jul 29, 2009)

yes actually, and no, it doesn't work. you want something silicone based, not water based.


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## Kolraz (Jul 29, 2009)

I use some tableau that i got off ebay for really cheap.

I first tried 3 in 1 and halfords own brand, neither of which I'd personally recommend. I think that they both feel a little bit oily and they never actually fully dry, unlike tableau which is great.


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## Garmon (Jul 29, 2009)

I will most likely not find it in Wales, but if someone could sell me a can in UK open 09 I would be most grateful.

EDIT: No worries I found some online. Hopefully I can order and get some soon enough.


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## Martyjuggles (Jul 29, 2009)

CharlieCooper said:


> yes actually, and no, it doesn't work. you want something silicone based, not water based.



but aren't most sex lubes silicone?? - thinking of the sort that won't corrode the latex in condoms? This, for example, comes at the top of a google search for silicone lube:
http://www.britishcondoms.co.uk/silicone-lubricant/
????


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## Edam (Jul 29, 2009)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_lubricant

Most are water based i believe. You could try out a silicone based one and let us know your findings? I personally wouldn't because due to the nature of them I can't imagine it ever drying and I like my cubes feeling dry and crisp. 

I just use regular old tableau


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## Martyjuggles (Jul 29, 2009)

why not . . . as i'm still new to the whole lubing business, i'll take one for the team and try out some pure silicone sex lube - i'll let you know my findings . . .


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## kuzelnet (Jul 30, 2009)

I got Tableau ones in Robert Dyas ..


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## ph0nixe (Jul 30, 2009)

Does anyone know what the silicone oil off the same site as the shock oil is like?


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## ross mccusker (Jul 30, 2009)

Mate all you wanna do is jump along tae ur nearest B&Q and ask for heavy duty silicone spray, preferably 100%. and yes most durex sex lubes are water bases, i would not recomend anne summers message oil 

ALSO...

DONT i repeat DONT use WD40 it will totaly feck ur cube, and it melts the edges n ****.

safe


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## jambob28 (Aug 20, 2009)

Hi, on eBay there are two types of tableau dry lubricant that claim to do the same thing. The only difference i can see is that the bottle looks different, one is blue and one is red. Can anyone who owns tableau telll me what colour there bottle is so i can purchase the same one.


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## CharlieCooper (Aug 20, 2009)

jambob28 said:


> Hi, on eBay there are two types of tableau dry lubricant that claim to do the same thing. The only difference i can see is that the bottle looks different, one is blue and one is red. Can anyone who owns tableau telll me what colour there bottle is so i can purchase the same one.



reddy/maroon kinda colour


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## jambob28 (Sep 19, 2009)

Hey, i bought the tableau and its good/ok. whats the best way of applying it for the best results


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## Toad (Sep 19, 2009)

I use 3-in-1 and it really isn't that bad. It just takes ages to dry. I normally lube a cube with it then don't touch it for a week and after that it's brilliant!


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## MichaelErskine (Sep 19, 2009)

jambob28 said:


> Hey, i bought the tableau and its good/ok. whats the best way of applying it for the best results




Dismantle puzzle
Lay out pieces on newspaper
Lightly spray all sliding surfaces
Leave to dry (I leave Tableau for about 20 mins)
Reassemble puzzle
Feel the difference!



randomtoad said:


> I use 3-in-1 and it really isn't that bad. It just takes ages to dry. I normally lube a cube with it then don't touch it for a week and after that it's brilliant!



A week  - that's a long time to wait. Half an hour should do it.


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## 04mucklowd (Sep 19, 2009)

randomtoad said:


> I use 3-in-1 and it really isn't that bad. It just takes ages to dry. I normally lube a cube with it then don't touch it for a week and after that it's brilliant!



You probs sprayed too much in
Not a problem it just means that it takes longer to dry
So I think


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## channy (Oct 13, 2009)

I'm fairly new to cubing, been going for about 2 months. Averaging about a minute with a best of 54 seconds. 2Look OLL and half way through the PLLs...

Anyway, I've just got the 'Maplin Silicone Grease PTFE' as my first lubricant.

My cube is a black Cube4You brand cube, and I used it pretty solidly for about 2-3 weeks before lubing as I errr didn't have any. But it might be a good idea to do this anyway to even out any rough surfaces.

Thought I'd post what I did as lots of people ask questions, this was just my approach though and I'm a beginner so take it how you will 

I watched badmephisto's lubrication experiment and since I'm lazy and couldn't be bothered to disassemble the cube and put it back together, I went for the following:


Popped 6 edges
Tried to distribute the popped edges evenly (Yellow-Orange, Yellow-Red, Green-Orange, Blue-Red, White-Green, White-Blue)
For each popped edge, two or three squirts inside (without the straw attachment), one to the left one to the right and one for luck. 
Put each edge back in after spraying
Wiped any excess off the stickers
Worked in for 2-3 minutes
Left for over an hour 

And the result? Well it wasn't dry for starters. I think the Maplin stuff takes about 3 hours or more to dry. It was pretty smooth, but I wasn't quite satisfied... so I went through the process again, but sprayed in a lot more second time around.

After about 3 hours I tried the cube and WOW, it was smooth, I've got nothing to compare it to but all those annoying little glitches and locking up occasions just seem to go away.

It's been a couple of days now and I've been using it a fair bit. Although it's still very very smooth, I get the feeling it's not quite what it was just after lubing, but we'll see how it goes.


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## amostay2004 (Mar 31, 2010)

Bump:

So I just got a can of Maplin Silicone Grease PTFE the other day since there's a Maplin store near my school, but it doesnt seem to have that much of an effect on my A-V. When I used CRC I usually just pop 1 or 2 edges out and spray and it usually becomes a lot smoother. I tried the same with the Maplin but it doesnt seem to have much effect. So I popped like 4-5 edges out and sprayed 3-4 times each time and am now waiting for it to dry.

Anyway my question to those who use this lube: does it require a lot of spraying to lube your cube? How long will it take to dry?

(of course I've read the above post, I just wanted more opinions )


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## HsilgnE RelyT (Apr 2, 2010)

Lol this is a bit of an old thread but i thought i would just add that GT85 is a very good cube lube, and is also quite easy to get hold of in the UK.


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## Nothing (May 20, 2010)

*Halfords UK GT-85 deal*

Sorry for reviving an already revived old thread and I hope this does not break any forum rules, I did check.
In case it’s of any use to anyone I went into my local high street Halfords for a 400ml can of GT-85 which was going for £4.99, at the checkout there was a stand with it displayed at 50% off and then the guy at the till sold me 3 for £5.00....total.
It might just have been that particular branch trying to get rid of an overstock but possibly worth it even at the 50% off nationwide.
I use it for a lot of other stuff as well as cube lubing so....bargain! 
My mum would be so proud.


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