# Non-lubricated cube(s)



## QuinnHyatt (Feb 17, 2014)

Hey guys,

I'll just get right to the point here. I cleaned out all of the Vaseline out of my Dayan Zhanchi, and re-stickered it. I got to thinking, why the hell would I just put more Vaseline in there, when I can get a good lubricant, such as Traxxas?

Well, Amazon orders take a few days to ship.

Not, instead of just putting Vaseline in there to reduce popping and times (there are no torpedos in the cube), why not just use it with no lubricant?

I haven't ordered the Traxxas yet, but here's my theory/question: Should I practice with the cube with no lubricant and no torpedos? I feel it will increase accuracy and cut my 'move count' down a little, kind of like practicing with a slow cube.

Pros, it's like practicing with a bad cube, because without lube or torpedos, it's a bad cube.

Cons, it pops. Holy hell, does it pop. I'm too scared to bring this thing into public, because I'm so scared of a huge pop. But I just got a new PB single of 25.773 today, and I feel that with lubricant (and maybe a new cube soon, fingers crossed!) I will really improve.

I guess I'm just wondering what your thoughts would be, similar practices I should take into consideration, similar situations, and maybe just general advice on the topic?


Thanks,

Quinn Hyatt


----------



## Jaysammey777 (Feb 18, 2014)

1) You ruined your zanchi with Vaseline.
2) Never put Vaseline in a cube.
3) I've never heard of traxxas, which mean it's probably a terrible lube.
4) good lubes you can get from online cube stores or something like home depot
5) It won't increase accuracy because when you put lube in a cube you will most likely overshoot for a little bit.
6) You ruined your Zanchi
7) get a Moyu Weilong


----------



## XTowncuber (Feb 18, 2014)

1) do not despair, the above post is not entirely correct.
2) I would recommend cleaning it out thoroughly to remove every bit of Vaseline
3) Just practice with torpedoes and a well lubricated cube, if anything using a bad cube will help minimally
4) traxxas is a great and common lube above post is incorrect.


----------



## kcl (Feb 18, 2014)

Jaysammey777 said:


> 1) You ruined your zanchi with Vaseline.
> 2) Never put Vaseline in a cube.
> 3) I've never heard of traxxas, which mean it's probably a terrible lube.
> 4) good lubes you can get from online cube stores or something like home depot
> ...



1. Zhanchis are excellent, you probably didn't kill yours. 
2. Traxxas is most people's lube of choice. 
3. I would tell you to hold off on a weilong for a while. Too fast for a lot of people.


----------



## Lchu613 (Feb 18, 2014)

Jaysammey777 said:


> 1) You ruined your zanchi with Vaseline.
> 2) Never put Vaseline in a cube.
> 3) I've never heard of traxxas, which mean it's probably a terrible lube.
> 4) good lubes you can get from online cube stores or something like home depot
> ...


1) Not necessarily
2) Generally true
3) Fully false. Traxxas ~= Lubix. Does that ring a bell or do I need to ring harder? Check the Lubrication Thread. Like this guy probably did, like an intelligent person would. You're making yourself sound like an uneducated donkey.
4) AKA Traxxas. Silly person
5) Perhaps. 
6) Perhaps. Probably not. 
7) Slow down. You sound like rj in a bad way.

Ok so here it is. First of all, that Vaseline did not necessarily ruin your cube. It probably did break it in quite a bit, depends on how long you left it in there. 

Make sure you get every last vestige of Vaseline out of that Zhanchi. Now. Dissassemble it fully, get at the hard-to-reach bits with a Q-tip.
Tighten your cube down some so it doesn't pop. When your lube arrives follow this tutorial to lube it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4paID_54lQ

Keep working at it. It might not be as that fantastic because of the Vaseline, I don't know how long you had it in there; I'm guessing it will be pretty much fine unless it was for like months on end. It should pretty much suit your needs though. Keep it pretty tight to avoid pops. 

If it's a really bad case, you could consider getting a new cube. Go to the "What Cube Should I Get" thread for that. Don't think about that now though.

Good luck.


----------



## QuinnHyatt (Feb 18, 2014)

I only had the Vaseline in there for a few weeks, maybe a month maximum, but probably 2-3 weeks. What I did was take the stickers off, completely submerge it and fully cleaned it. Trust me, there's no Vaseline anywhere; then I re-stickered. I was going to get a Moyu Weilong, because it's been recommended to me by several people, and honestly I'm sick of popping. SICK of popping. I'll throw the torpedos back in and I'm getting Traxxas sometime this week, but maybe I'll look at some sort of "middle man" cube between the Zhanchi and the Moyu Weilong. I was kind of worried over the first guy's post, but you guys cleared it up. Thanks for the help, and I look forward to what will result of doing this.


----------



## Lchu613 (Feb 18, 2014)

Yeah, I don't think the Vaseline should have been too bad, but you shouldn't be having that bad of a popping issue. Make sure to check your tensions. And get that thing lubed pronto, then it'll be a lot better. Trust me my Zhanchi was horrible before lubing unless it was so loose that it popped like mad. It got a lot better afterwards.
Although you can definitely go a bit looser than that tutorial I suggested.


----------



## GV2 (Feb 18, 2014)

Gotta have torpedos. Zhanchi is the way to go. The Weilong is almost identical but the Zhanchi has better plastic+ feel IMO.


----------



## JKNK (Feb 18, 2014)

I think weilong is way better than zhanchi, especially mini weilong


----------



## GV2 (Feb 18, 2014)

I think the weilong and zhanchi are pretty much the same exact cube but with different plastic...


----------



## Lchu613 (Feb 18, 2014)

Patently false. Have you ever looked at their pieces?
If you have both cubes look inside each of them. COMPLETELY different mechanisms. Completely different feels.


----------



## kcl (Feb 18, 2014)

GV2 said:


> I think the weilong and zhanchi are pretty much the same exact cube but with different plastic...



They're the same cube except for everything but the fact that they're 3x3s. They are entirely different.


----------



## GV2 (Feb 18, 2014)

To me at least, the feel is very similar, however I don't care for the plastic of the weilong it has a very very sleight fansgshi type thing going on and you know how I feel about that cube


----------



## patrickcuber (Feb 18, 2014)

JKNK said:


> I think weilong is way better than zhanchi, especially mini weilong



Yeah.


----------



## Soren333 (Feb 18, 2014)

QuinnHyatt said:


> I only had the Vaseline in there for a few weeks, maybe a month maximum, but probably 2-3 weeks. What I did was take the stickers off, completely submerge it and fully cleaned it. Trust me, there's no Vaseline anywhere; then I re-stickered. I was going to get a Moyu Weilong, because it's been recommended to me by several people, and honestly I'm sick of popping. SICK of popping. I'll throw the torpedos back in and I'm getting Traxxas sometime this week, but maybe I'll look at some sort of "middle man" cube between the Zhanchi and the Moyu Weilong. I was kind of worried over the first guy's post, but you guys cleared it up. Thanks for the help, and I look forward to what will result of doing this.



No idea why you would take the torpedoes out since you're sick of popping, torpedoes help with anti popping. Also tension your cube tighter to prevent pops.


----------



## kcl (Feb 19, 2014)

patrickcuber said:


> Yeah.



False. Mini zhanchi (55mm) is one of the top 3 cubes on the market. Easily.


----------



## ILMZS20 (Feb 19, 2014)

Jaysammey777 said:


> 1) You ruined your zanchi with Vaseline.
> 2) Never put Vaseline in a cube.
> 3) I've never heard of traxxas, which mean it's probably a terrible lube.
> 4) good lubes you can get from online cube stores or something like home depot
> ...



the fact that you never heard of traxxas makes you look like a noob with an invalid opinion


----------



## creativecuber15 (Feb 19, 2014)

QuinnHyatt said:


> I feel it will increase accuracy and cut my 'move count' down a little, kind of like practicing with a slow cube.



Well, my Zhanchi literally was uncontrollable when I didn't lube it, and my times increased by about 3 seconds ...


----------



## guysensei1 (Feb 19, 2014)

My Zhanchi was super slow when unlubed. Barely any corner cutting, and attempts to loosen the tensions to improve performance result in popping.


----------



## ~Adam~ (Feb 19, 2014)

Jaysammey777 said:


> 3) I've never heard of traxxas, which mean it's probably a terrible lube.



Just wow.

Practice with cubes how you want them for comp.


----------



## QuinnHyatt (Mar 2, 2014)

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I have some traxxas coming in the mail either tomorrow or Tuesday, and I'll finally be able to practice on a lubricated, tightened cube.


----------



## UB (Mar 3, 2014)

Personally, I use non lubricated cubed for practice and before comp, I use maru lube whi lasta for 2 days max and then again have non lubricated cube


----------

