knowing what type of lubricant to use and where to use it can be a bit confusing so in today's
video I'll walk you through a few different types of lubricants so that you have a better idea of
what goes where to better understand lubricants it's easier to break them down into two categories
dry and wet dry lubricants are great for indoor use where water or high levels of moisture or not
presents they do help resist rust but they don't prevent it they're also great in environments
that are dusty because they do a great job at repelling dust and dirt leaving behind no oily
residue just because they're labeled dry doesn't actually mean they go on dry most get applied wet
but their solvents evaporates so quickly that they only leave behind a thin protective coat
because dry lubricants are designed for light weight applications they do wear off quickly
and need to be applied often especially if what you're putting it on gets a lot of use
so now that you know a little bit more about dry lubricants let's look at a few different types of
lubricants that fall into that category the most marketed dry lubricant for power tools is called
glide Co it's used as a top coat on all working surfaces of power tools to keep them slick so
that the tool or the material slides easily over the surface glide coat is ideal for things like
table saw tops router and circular saw bases and it's easier to apply and up to 30% slicker than
paste wax there are still plenty of woodworkers out there using paste wax as their top coats and
I totally get that because glide coat is not a cheap product and the wax still works really well
moving on the next type of lubricant is called blade coat this product is designed as the name
suggests to be applied to all blades or cutting surfaces to reduce friction and to reduce the
amount of pitch buildup one spits builds up on the blade friction increases which increases heat and
then that extra heat can lead to burning of the wood while cutting the third type of lubricant
under the dry category is a high temperature dry lubricant this type of lubricant can be used on
bearings like router bits to cut down on friction and temperature keeping both the bearings and the
tools in good working condition the last lubricant in this category worth mentioning is a product
called liquid wrench this is a dry film lubricant and it's a little bit different than the others
because it contains PTFE which is also known as Teflon and it also contains surf lawn which is a
ceramic like all the rest this dry lubricant goes on wet but dries leaving a thin coat of protective
Teflon now similar to glide coat in some ways but liquid wrench is labeled also to be used on
windows and doors hardware locks latches drawer glides and even the kids bike chains in my shop
I use it on the rails of my miter saw you know pretty much all moving sliding or pivoting points
on any of my power tools or accessories I've also been trying this product as a topcoat on my table
saw and it doesn't provide as slick of a surfaces glide coat but it does help for sure and it's a
third of the cost at this point I'm not quite sure if this product can be a true replacement
for this one but I guess it just all depends on your preferences and what you want to spend
the most important thing to remember about dry lubricants is that they leave the surface clean
with no oily residue and this is really important because oils can be transferred to your wood glues
or finishes before we move on to wet lubricants there's one more lubricant worth mentioning that
doesn't really fit into either category well enough and that's silicone spray silicone spray
acts like a dry lubricant there's no staining it dries tack free and it won't accumulate dust
or dirt but not all silicone sprays are labeled dry and when it comes to woodworking silicone is
not a good product to use on shop tools because it can interfere with certain finishes if some of the
silicone rubs off of the tools and onto the wood I only mentioned silicone in this video because it's
so popular and it does have a lot of benefits around the house it's great at preventing rust
on lawn and garden equipment because it repels water well and it can be used on plastic wood
vinyl or leather alright moving on to the second category dry lubricants for the most part can be
used indoors and out they're ideal for heavy-duty applications like metal to metal contact and they
work best in environments with low dust because they stay wet which means everything sticks to
them however sometimes wet lubricants have to be used in dirty environments and we'll talk about
that in a second the first type of lubricant in this category is white lithium grease it is a
non corrosive grease that does not freeze melt or run it's a long-lasting heavy-duty lubricant that
can be used in the home auto marine farm and shop this product is great for almost everything under
the table saw including elevation gears rods tilt gears and trunnions Mike already mentioned
sometimes wet lubricants are the best option in dirty environments just like under the table saw
therefore it's our job to take time to clean off all those areas under the saw with a wire brush as
part of a regular maintenance schedule and then reapplied your lubricant there are a plethora
of white lithium lubricants on the market today so don't be afraid to try out a few different
brands the last type of lubricant that we're going to talk about today is penetrating oils
the most common well known oil is wd-40 wd-40 has often been used as an all-purpose lubricant
but penetrating oils like any other lubricant have their limitations and they also have their
advantages for instance penetrating oils are fantastic for preventing rust cleaning tools
and helping to break free rusty nuts and bolts it performs these tasks really well because it's
made of solvents they give it a thin consistency and the ability to get into hard-to-reach places
but with that thin consistency comes the inability to stand up under heavy loads or for long periods
of use wd-40 can be used on power tool hardware that is showing signs of rust like screws bolts
or nuts and it's very handy when you need to clean off surface rust on table saws or any
other tools in the shop to clean off surface rust spray a small amount of wd-40 on the top and use
either a 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper or scotch brite pad number seventy four forty eight to
sand the rust away just note that if you want to use wd-40 to clean off surface rust and you want
to use a top coat like glide coat you're going to need to use a degreaser to remove the wd-40 first
so there's the rundown if you have questions or like to share the products that you like please
them in the comments section thanks for watching I'll see everybody next week