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Maintenance & Cleaning

Dry Graphite Coatings

10 March 2023

Most people assume that lubricants must be made of a wet oily material and come in a fluid (Oil) or paste form (Grease) which is of course generally true, and whilst wet lubricants are generally better sometimes due to the environment in which they have to perform in can be more of a hindrance than a help.

An example of this would be a dusty environment such as a quarry where an oil or grease coated chains, slides and pivot points would attract dust and grit turning the lubricant into a very effective grinding paste greatly accelerating wear. However, an application of a dry graphite coating can greatly reduce wear and would not present a wet surface for dust and grit particles to cling to.

Other uses for dry graphite coatings are the pre-coating before assembly of gasket materials whilst not acting as a lubricant it does act as parting barrier so when it comes to strip down components they easily part and hours of precious time can be saved in scraping and cleaning surfaces before reassembly can begin.

Applying dry graphite coatings to bearing housings and shafts aids assembly by lubricating the sliding motion between bearing surfaces, reducing the amount of force required to press bearings into housings and onto shafts and finally for the pre-coating of moulds and dies in the glass, aluminium, copper and forging industries.

This is by no means the definitive list of uses for dry graphite lubricants but we hope it gives you pause for thought, as to whether this type of lubricant could be a solution for you.

For advice on the application of dry graphite coatings contact New Tech Lubes.