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Has anyone tried this stuff on an older Kato loco...the ones that were before the advent of pointy axles and contact strips with axle cups? These locos just have the axle itself (well, its part of the inside of the wheel) turning within a bearing opening in the (metal) truck tower that can get squeaky at times. Using oil (maybe only certain types) seems to wreak havoc on the electrical pickup as this is the only point where power is transmitted from the wheels to the loco. Conductive oil seems like it might be an issue if it migrates across the insulated portion if the axle to the other side.
It is definitely graphite suspended in alcohol, but I am "pretty" sure that there is also some sort of binder in it. The alcohol evaporates after you brush it on, but the graphite doesn't just rub off after that (although it will wear off of metal parts that wear against each other, like driver treads on rail). As for shelf life, the first bottle I ever bought was the 2 oz from Micro-Mark, and I had it for something like 10 years before I used it all up. There was no difference in its behavior or appearance that I could ever see.
It would be worth trying. By the same token, one could try some dry powdered graphite lubricant (like the stuff Micro Trains sells for lubricating coupler boxes).
I can tell you that it is much easier to apply that powdered graphite. You can dip a small brush in it and wipe it right into any tiny area (like an axle point or pickup cup), and when it dries, it leaves a perfect, smooth, even coat of graphite.But that doesn't mean it will stand up to the constant rubbing of an axle point in a pickup cup. I seriously doubt that it would, and I would also expect dirt to collect in there more readily because the remaining coating is not just graphite. It's got that resin in it and it does attract dirt more readily. Honestly, in an axle cup, I wouldn't want anything but ... well, nothing. Just clean, dry metal.
Yikes. Who runs their engines enough to wear holes through the cups? (Well, Peteski, for one! )That is something, I confess, I have never experienced because I don't run my trains for hours and hours.
Isn’t the needle point on the axle supposed to stay in the center dimple?
In theory it should, but in actuality the weight of the locomotive itself rests on the top of the cone where it meets the axle. The force necessary to keep the axle ends in the center of the dimple would probably make it run worse, I would imagine (trying to support the weight of the locomotive by squeezing the axle rather than letting it "fall" into place in the cup).
The type I sold was all #2. I bought it direct from the manufacturer in gallon jugs and then parcelled it out in 2 oz glass jars (same amount that Micro-Mark sells).The stuff is an industrial lubricant used in nuclear power plants. It isn't just for threads, but for lubricating sliding and other parts. What makes it special is that it is supposed to be resistant to radiation (which would be important for use inside a nuclear reactor).
do you have any left? I can really use some for my new/old 2-8-0