What, in your opinion, is the best lubricant for VEX? I’m looking for a good lubricant for shafts and 3-hole bearings. Any thoughts?
We use lithium grease. Seems to work well for about everything.
I second the lithium grease, works very well.
We also use white lithium grease, if you use to much though, it is a pain to clean up
I’ve found that white lithium grease and light machine oil (like 3-in-1 type) work well. Some people also use graphite.
Our team have used graphite lube before and I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s a pain to apply, and it gets everywhere. Currently we use silicone lube on our flywheel, and its been working great.
Most WD-40 is illegal due to it being an aerosol lubricant. Yours looks to be also.
Would white lithium grease work for lubricating the linear slides and slide trucks?
We used a non aersol based lubricant, I got the brands mixed up. Here’s what we use http://www.amazon.com/CRC-Grade-Silicone-Lubricant-Non-Aerosol/dp/B000LDFURY
I’ve had good success with PTFE based Super Lube: http://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-21030-Synthetic-Grease/dp/B000XBH9HI
I second PTFE lube, but you want the drippy kind. It is legal because the grease dries to form a low friction coating on whatever you apply it to and it works great on flywheels. Apply small drops to major gear connections, then run the flywheel for about 30 seconds to work the grease through. No mess, drips, or even visible residue if you get the correct kind. After you apply it, you shouldn’t have to reapply for many days because of the coating it creates. Otherwise, white lithium is a good choice and it seemed to work on the bearings for our flywheel.
I have used PTFE as well, but the brand that I used was a bit of a pain to apply and leaves a clear white film on everything when it dries. Do you have a specific brand that you have found works well? I can’t determine from your description (“drippy kind”).
Yes, this works well.
I’m a little lost here also. All of my PTFE sprays are dry sprays and they leave a white residue. Which makes sense since PTFE (aka Teflon) is white at the primary point of it’s manufacture. So Frog2345 a better reference would help.
If you use a grease like substance you need to watch for buildup of fibers (carpet, hair, fabric) and crud (ummm gross) across heavy use. Less is always more for these lubricants.
Yikes it is $300 a can!?! It also had some interesting reviews about what the ingredients are.
CRC PTFE spray lube is what I use. A little cheaper at under $10. YMMV.
The $300 price is just what can happen on Amz Marketplace sometimes, I don’t feel like looking, but I’m sure it’s available for a reasonable price elsewhere.
Just keep in mind that the link you posted is illegal for use on VEX robots, as only non-aerosol lubricants are allowed.
Right, sorry. I was off on a tangent about PTFE lubes ending up with some other color that white. And I pulled my can of PTFE lube out, sprayed some on some blue paper and it was white. Check on my Amazon purchase list and pulled the link.
For VEX I use graphite. I think it’s still the same tube that I had since our Pinewood Derby days. It shows up black on the spots its on so you can tell if it’s an even coating.
Sorry for the confusion.
As a last resort, you can always use Crisco 
I’ve found white lithium grease to work well. Don’t use Vaseline, as it will eventually dry out on non porous surfaces like metal and plastic, leaving a hard crusty white residue that adds friction. A thinner oil like musical instrument valve oil or shredder oil might also work well.
link text this is close to what I use. It leaves some residue, but if your launcher doesnt shred balls it should be fine.
we’ve used lard, just colect it whenever you eat bacon. And you get the plus of a bacon scented robot =)