Sticky lock? Sticky key? Hard to turn the key? It is time for the maintenance! This is something most people forget to do, and it only takes 1 minute to take care of them all!
Ugly side of WD-40 inside of the locks
How many times have you heard suggestions to flush your lock with the WD-40 or similar products? Probably loads! And let me tell you something – that will be the worst thing you can actually do to your lock! Any lock! Bikes lock, cars or house lock, they all require the same treatment, and spraying oil is not the way to go.
The truth is, wd-40 will leave an oily surface, and dust just loves to stick to oily surfaces! Sooner or later dust will clog your lock, and it will feel worse than before – leave wd-40 for what it is meant for – rusty bolts and hated neighbours squeaky brakes (just joking, don’t do that please)…
Graphite Powder use for locks
Now another product that a lot of people love to use on their locks – Graphite Powder! And that’s the second best product to use. Yes it’s awesome, it will last, it will make your locks nice and smooth again but it can be a bit messy, it will wash off with time, it’s impossible to coat all locks internals with it, and topping up (or using too much for that matter) will only clog the lock itself.
You could give your locks a good rinse down with some cleaners / degreasers every time, dry them out and reapply, but why to use extra harsh chemicals (for cleaning) when this can be avoided? … anyway, that’s a lot of downsides of using graphite powder as a dry lubricant – Do yourself a favour and use it for something else, like pranking your friends…
What should be used to lubricate locks?
Lets just say that locksmiths use polytetrafluoroethylene based products, for us simple humans known as – PTFE or non-stick (yeah, similar stuff is used to coat pots and pans that your partner uses in the kitchen)! A spray can, can be used to flush the dirt out of the lock, as well as it coats all lock internals, it dries out and leaves a nice polymer coating behind that helps to reduce rust / corrosion and most importantly it has one of the lowest friction coefficient out there – it’s as slippery as it can be! Added bonus – it’s hydrophobic, so all the water that goes into the lock that manufacturers conveniently placed facing up – just flows straight out through the other end!
Just to be clear, I was a big fan of graphite powder and used it for some time too, however I found PTFE spray is much easier to use, it lasts longer than graphite powder, PTFE doesn’t absorb moisture and it takes less than a minute to “service” all locks too – just go around all locks, spray a good amount inside and outside, catch all the dribbles, wipe it clean, work the key in and out few times, turn it left to right, and once its dry – it never felt so good before!
Explore More!
A list of posts about Bike Maintenance and General Modifications that might be Interesting to know!
General Modifications:
- Throttle Tamer Mods (4 ways to tame your horse!)
- Projector headlight conversion from right side road traffic to left and vice versa.
- How to make your own Exhaust or how to modify an existing one.
- Power Commander (PCV) and Thoughts on it.
- Brake Snake / Pedal Anchor – why and how!
- Lighter Clutch Mods:
- How to make motorcycles Cable Clutch lighter! (Part 1/3)
- Cheap ways to make your motorcycles clutch lighter! (Part 2/3)
- How to make a Hydraulic clutch lighter on your motorcycle! (Part 3/3)
- How to make Custom Clutch or Throttle Cables – Easier than you thought!
- How to make clutch lever lighter (Yamaha XT660Z Tenere Specific)
- Rear Suspension and Drive-Train:
- How to extend the life of Cush-Drive rubbers.
- The dangers of motorcycle lowering links, Important things to know!
- How to swap rear shock spring with no special tools!
- The Best Motorcycle chain lube!
- How to set motorcycle chain slack when suspension is not standard?
- How To Remove Stubborn And Hard To Reach Chain Adjuster Bolt
- The List of Most Useless Adventure Motorcycle Mods And Bling!
- Dangers of the lowering kits (things to know before Lowering your Bike!
Bike Maintenance:
- How to pass MOT the first time – every time!
- How to Maintain your motorcycle Locks (works with all locks!)
- Best Suspension Bearing Grease!
- What grease to use on your motorcycle?
- How to shorten Life of your wheel bearings! (Or what not to do to them!)
- Why should you grease your bolts! (And not only Bearings!)
- What is the best Chain Lube for your motorcycle?
- How to buy used Motorcycle – Free Guide.
