Posted 31 December 2009 - 18:37

Not to be the contrarian, but I've never seen anything at my local Lowe's or hardware store that I would want to put on a pen.



Maybe I'm being cautious, but I have always recommended 100% food safe silicone grease.



I've always bought from Clearco.



http://www.clearcopr...ade_grease.html



However, your minimum order will be a lot. Since I manufacture pens, it's worth it to me.



Any Edison owner can always send me a quick email, and I'll send over a little tub.



I have also used Dow Corning High Pressure grease. I'm not sure about the food-safe qualities, of this, but I know that it's safe on pens.



http://secure.scienc...P16100C692.aspx



Also not cheap, and you'll get a lot more than what you will ever need.



Dive shops will usually stock this stuff, and sell it in small quantities.



I'm not saying that something from Lowe's won't work, or will not be safe, but I'm not going to try it on my pens when I can get this stuff.



I have obtained the materials safety data sheets for quite a few products in trying to determine the best bang for the buck and to find what I can use that is locally available to me. Both the High Vacuum grease and the 111 Valve lubricant and sealant are essentially the same thing. There are minor differences in the stiffening agent. The High Vacuum grease contains Boron and the 111 contains aluminum. Both are safe for food applications in normal usage. Both will cause reproductive problems if ingested in large amounts of long periods. The Clearco Silicone Grease 3005 (food grade) is exactly the same as Dow Corning 111. The Superlube 91003 product contains a small amount of PTFE (Poly tetraflouro ethylene) in addition to the siloxane, which is the principal ingredient of all the greases. PTFE is what makes non-stick frying pans non-stick (Teflon) and is regarded as safe for food. This makes it a bit more slippery than the Dow Corning/Clearco product. Novagard G662 is food grade and is intended for use in drinking water systems and is indistinguishable from the Dow Corning High Vacuum Grease.The Permatex product will work under all normal conditions, but is not regarded as "food grade" because it contains amorphous silicon dioxide, which if you ingest will cause irritation. Although it will probably work fine, I would not personally use it, because of the potential for abrasion of soft surfaces. This should be regarded as an "emergency only" solution. MG Chemicals Translucent Silicone Grease (8462) contains more amorphous silicone dioxide than the Permatex Tune up grease so is the last thing that will do the job that you should consider. So in order from the best to the not so good for this application it looks like this:1) Clearco Silicone Grease 3005 (food grade) / Dow Corning 1112) Dow Corning High Vacuum Grease / Novagard G6623) Superlube 91003 / Intova SILICONE GREASE O RING LUBRICANT4) Permatex # 197515) MG Chemicals 8462In my location number 3 is the cheapest in dollar cost. So after all this research I suggest that if you value your pen, want a warm and fuzzy feeling that you are doing no harm, or do not know exactly what your pen is made of go for either Clearco 3005 or Dow Corning 111 (which ever you can get cheaper). If you pen is not of great value and you want to spend the least money go for any 91003 product. If it is an emergency and you cannot get anything else get Permatex 19751 or MG 8462.I have looked at all sorts of potential solutions that are commonly available, and my advice on them is DON'T. If it has Lithium in it, do not touch it. If it has solvents in it, leave it on the shelf.

Edited by Scrawler, 31 December 2009 - 18:48.