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I'm assembling a few models with movable joints and moving parts and want to lubricate the joints before I seal up the structures with plastic cement. I know I can't use oil-based lubricant (such as vaseline) because it melts plastic since it is also oil based.

What alternatives are available to me, in terms of plastic joint lubricants?


My father (who was a master modeller in his time) suggested graphite , but I was wondering if there is something nice and easy in a tube that I can use.

Well, Graphite is nice, but also, if you are careful, veggie oil will do in a pinch and will not harm plastic.

This isn't quite lubricating, but what about gloss varnishing the surfaces that come in contact with each other?

Varnish makes for friction, it would lock the parts up a bit

grab a pencil (graphite) and draw all over the moving bits. Easy peasy.

Actually, graphite does come in a tube, already powdered for use as a lubricant. Back in the Scouts, we used to always have some on hand during Pinewood Derbies to lube the cheap nail axles and plastic wheels of our cars.

I use it for lubricating stuck locks and window tracks.
Comes in a 'puffer' bottle.

@severedblue: Why do you need it anyway?

Bum_Fluff wrote:grab a pencil (graphite) and draw all over the moving bits. Easy peasy.

that simply wouldnt work...plastic is too smooth for the graphite in the pencil to flake off...
like everyone else suggested: graphite, it comes in a tube and (if you have a shred of knowledge of what you are doing, doesnt make too much of a mess)

shasolenzabi wrote:Well, Graphite is nice, but also, if you are careful, veggie oil will do in a pinch and will not harm plastic.

Won't vegetable oil go rancid after a while?

Tamiya do a plastic-safe grease for their R/C cars, should be easy to find in a regular model shop.

Silicone grease.

Silicone or teflon. you can get both in a spray that should be virtually invisible.

if nothing sticks to teflon... how does teflon stick to the plastic? ;-;

Graphite.

works for toy cars.

it'll work for little plastic men.

Spaceman gives you thumbs up.

chromedog wrote:@severedblue: Why do you need it anyway?

I'm assembling a few Gundams and other odds and ends with polycap joints. Some are a little tight so I want to lubricate the joints before sealing the models up... especially the knock-off sand cast kits. Avoid those... not worth saving the money because you lose a lot of time hacking it into shape.

http://iamotaku.wordpress.com/2007/11/18/model-kit-124-translucent-tachikoma/

Bloodquest. A very small amount won't be that smelly if it does.

Very small amount of graphite powder will do the job (even helps metallic parts look metallic with the sheen it adds) then.

It's already a fine powder. A small puffer pack doesn't cost much and has so many other uses around the house.

as an aside I'm building a knock-off Gundam Wing HG 1:144 scale. It's a cheap chinese copy from the sand cast.

My advice would be
1) Don't buy knock-offs... the money you save use lose in time with parts that don't fit and have to be trimmed, and are made with cheap plastic that break easily.

It makes so much difference compared to a genunie model which you clip off the sprue and use the knife to trim... and that's it. I have to faff around with sanding it, cutting off lots of flash and poor fit.


2) Letting a layer of Superglue dry in joints can help tighten them if the fit is poor. Looking for a better alternative than this though because the superglue seems to wear out after extensive articulation.



Thanks for sharing guys; still need to go to the hardware store to get that puffer...