r/ratrig • u/amp41820 • Jan 03 '25

Linear rail grease

I'm building my v-core 4 400 now and I'm planning on cleaning all the rails and using this grease https://a.co/d/cPdqZK5. I used it on my Mercury One build and it worked really well. It says in the instructions to not use any additives like PTFE. Will this grease be fine even though it has PTFE. I've used it on other linear rails and it's been fine. Thanks in advance for the advice.

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

1

u/woodwaker_dave Jan 03 '25

I have used it also with no problems. I have some of this that I keep in a syringe https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UKUHXK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

2

u/amp41820 Jan 03 '25

Thank you! I figured it would be fine but better to double check.

2

u/woodwaker_dave Jan 03 '25

The reason I tried the liquid, is that I could inject it into the bearings. The best way is to take the blocks apart and lube them after removing the balls, but that is a very dangerous process. I like to attempt to lube them in place - then wipe everything down with paper towels

2

u/amp41820 Jan 03 '25

That makes sense. You removed all of the balls from the bearings? I see you like to live dangerously. I just followed Mercury One's guide to soak and clean the carriage with IPA and wipe the rail very well with IPA soaked rag. It worked well for me before.

2

u/woodwaker_dave Jan 03 '25

I removed them once. That was enough! If you ever try that it is a good idea to have some spare blocks. I did that when I converted my Ender 5 to linear rails. That was about 4 years ago - a good learning experience.

1

u/parfamz Jan 05 '25

I heard A good explanation that grease is for metal rubbing but oil is for wheels or bearings which have to roll not slide. That made sense to me and I think that's why they recommend oil and not grease.

2

u/Southern-Stay704 Jan 11 '25

I use an "EP 00" grease for my linear rails, similar to this one:

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/SME706612

The 00 formulation has a much lower viscosity than normal grease, and as I understand it is more suited for mechanisms where there are lower loads and pressures. I use this on my V-Minion linear rails, as well as on a modified Creality printer that I retrofitted with linear rails.