Lubrication of airsoft internals question

[SCAR_Jester]

So I'm planning to open my gearbox up for the first time (don't fret I'm not doing anything stupid) and want to know if I need to, once cleaned of factory crap:

Should I use grease or some spray oil thing? and if so can I get a list of brands/types of either?

Thanks all

-Corky

 

[Lozart]

Gears need grease (a little - not loads) I'd recommend Abbey LT2 gun grease. Piston will need a little grease on the runners, again either Abbey LT2 or Abbey silicone gun grease.

I have used 3-in-1 Lithium spray grease with good effect when I put a gearbox back together having forgotten to re-lube the gears. Bit messy but it seems to have done the job.

 

[SCAR_Jester]

Gears need grease (a little - not loads) I'd recommend Abbey LT2 gun grease. Piston will need a little grease on the runners, again either Abbey LT2 or Abbey silicone gun grease.

I have used 3-in-1 Lithium spray grease with good effect when I put a gearbox back together having forgotten to re-lube the gears. Bit messy but it seems to have done the job.

So either or should be fine? That's good to know, and thanks for the specific kind.

I can never find a forum that says "use X thing" instead they say "this is okay, that's not, don't use that and also look for these ingredients..."

Out of curiosity, what's the difference between the two greases you listed?

 

[sp00n]

I use silicone grease on nozzle/piston (plastics/rubbers) etc

then lithium grease on gears and bushings etc

 

[TheGrover]

As sp00n said, wherever there is a chance that the lube you apply could find its way to something plastic or rubber, use silicone oil.

Remember that high speed parts like pistons and gears will do their best to hurl (excess) lube where it dont belong

I also avoid spray applied silicone, as it gets everywhere. Give me a dropper bottle and a tissue any day for delicate work

 

[Sitting Duck]

White high temp lithium grease for gears/bushings - higher temp/melting point

also I dab a bit on the teeth of gears/piston - but don't go nutz ffs

(used at work on big machine gears etc....)

Silicone grease (clear like jelly) on other parts like piston rail/guides

have used a mix of both when I put lithium on piston tappet plate and was a bit sluggish

so put on the usual silicone grease - might not be chemically wise but wtf....

yup that operates better.

Almost anything is gonna be better than a dried up gearbox

but careful of oil - some cheapo guns either have a tiny scrape of grease

or they are flooded with oil everywhere inside cylinder/piston which propells into the hop-up

and contaminates the rubber bucking = crap performance/control.

Then you gotta strip hop-up unit and wash the rubber in warm soapy washing up liquid water

and clean hop unit/barrel etc....

Hence the only thing to use quite a bit of when working on your gearbox is lots of common sense

and not the whole tube of grease/oil - coz it just will get everywhere and attract dust/dirt/crap too

We might all do things slightly different - what/where we use stuff & how we clean barrels etc....

but that is what I do - well it seems to work for me but I break my guns too quickly from abuse

(they don't last too long to dry out)

 

[BrightCandle]

You have different grease needs for different things. You need gear grease for the metal to metal contact between the gears. That should ideally be quite a thick grease. Then you have the bear oil which is a lot thinner due to the way bearings roll past each other. Then you have a thicker silicon for the plastic to metal contact such as the runners for the piston to the gear box. Then you have the thin silicon grease for sealing such as the nozzle and inside the cylinder for the piston head. Using the wrong one in the wrong place could increase the wear on the parts.

 

[Mr Monkey Nuts]

I would consider opening a gearbox simply to lube it as a stupid thing to do.

 

[Shizbazki]

Hi

If you're opening your gearbox for the first time i would recommend that you do so carefully.

Once you have prised the gearbox from the upper and lower reciever, before doing anything else to it I would strongly advise you decompress the main spring by popping the anti reversal latch (ARL) See here for a guide on how to do this: http://www.airsoftforum.com/board/topic/220903-how-to-pop-the-anti-reversal-latch-necro-exempt/

Follow what ever youtube video to open your gearbox and hey presto you are done.

As for lubrication the first thing i would do is take everything out (shims included), i would then use a degreaser (essentially washing up liquid on steroids) and a toothbrush and get rid of all the old grease and gunk. Let it all dry before regreasing.

Here is a sample of the degreaser i use, you dont have to buy from Halfrauds though: http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel/engine-oils-fluids/lubricating-penetrating-oil/3-in-one-professional-heavy-duty-cleaner-degreaser-500ml

Now i have had experience with a few different greases and have found some to be better than others, i have used RC Car gear grease with PTFE, Abbey LT2 grease and 3 in 1 White lithium grease (in a spray can), from that i noted that the RC car grease and LT2 grease were very thick and goopy slowing my rate of fire down. However i found the 3 in 1 lithium grease to be much better at improving my ROF, it is in spray can form and quite powerful to pray into a gearbox so what i do is spray a little onto a plastic sheet and use a hobby brush to literally paint the grease on the gears, anything moving and piston rails.

Heres the grease i use: http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel/engine-oils-fluids/grease/3-in-one-professional-white-lithium-grease-400ml

As for rubber o-rings i have found that Abbey Silicone grease (both dropper type and thick goopy type) to be pretty good