It's simply astonishing how...

[JosephH]

...much better cams work after a season of use if you steep the business end in boiling hot water till it cools down, shake them out, hang them up to air-dry overnight, and then give them a proper lube. An almost shocking difference...

 

[ST cross-posted]

[selkirk]

A very good thing to do on a rainy evening in the spring

 

I usually add a little Dawn or other dishwashing detergent to the boiling water, and then run the cam action repeatedly while it's in the water, though I don't leave it in the water to cool. Not sure if the soap helps, but it makes me happy

 

So what do you use for the? I've used bike chain lube in the past (white lightning I think?), but keep contemplating the merits of powdered graphite.

[Phil K]

I've used this bike chain lubricant Dumonde Tech Lube and the s**t works. Dry- so it won't attract grit, great lubrication, lasts and lasts. It otter be great on cams as well.

 

 

[rob]

Yeah, I'm curious what people use to lube their cams, too.

 

FYI, if you're going to use a bike lube, Dumonde "liquid grease" is probably way better for this sort of thing than chain lube. It's often used for lubing pivot points on aluminum derailleurs, which is pretty similar.

 

I've used powdered graphite before for a squeak in my bed, and I find it wears off way to quickly, and it's not very "penetrating."

[cam yarder]

I've used powdered graphite before for a squeak in my bed, and I find it wears off way to quickly, and it's not very "penetrating."

 

yeah, KY Jelly is recognized as the gold standard for lubrication issues in the bedroom.

[boadman]

I use "White Lightning" for my cams. You can get it at most bike shops. It's pretty great.

[JosephH]

Have been using Metolius cam lube, which I believe is repackaged bike lube or sort or another. It's good, but seems like its waxy character is somewhat temperature dependent so in the end I ended up hitting them with some WD-40 afterwards which freed them up quite a bit and called it good.

[ivan]

what's wrong w/ good old wd-40 again? i seem to give everything a treatment a couple times a year - not probably as purty as just boiling them i'd imagine.

[JosephH]

Only that a bunch of dirt ended up in the bottom of the container that the cams soaked in. I periodically worked the action, but it seemed to take a bit for the dirt to all come out of the works. I was a bit surprised by that.

[Riley81]

Do you think WD-40 could damage webbing or a rope?

[G-spotter]

I'd imagine boiling water plus wheedwacker cord home cable replacement = fail

[pink]

http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Prod/Elmer-s-E450-Dry-Lubricant-Spray-With-Teflon/188140/Cat/1615

 

 

 

[boadman]

Have been using Metolius cam lube, which I believe is repackaged bike lube or sort or another. It's good, but seems like its waxy character is somewhat temperature dependent so in the end I ended up hitting them with some WD-40 afterwards which freed them up quite a bit and called it good.

 

Metolius cam lube is re-packaged White Lightning.

 

WD-40 can collect dirt. It's a de-greaser, not a lubricant. You could spray them with a little WD-40, boil them, and then apply the lube if you wanted to be really anal.

[rob]

White lightening is a strange choice for this application, IMO. Stranger that Metolious would repackage it. Wax-based lubes are quite gunky. White lightening especially so, because it's designed to flake off (self-cleaning) and it does not like foul weather. Wax lubes are best for dry, clean climates. Also, they are not typically long-lasting lubes.

[JosephH]

http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Prod/Elmer-s-E450-Dry-Lubricant-Spray-With-Teflon/188140/Cat/1615

Looks like the perfect solution...

 

WD-40 can collect dirt. It's a de-greaser, not a lubricant. You could spray them with a little WD-40, boil them, and then apply the lube if you wanted to be really anal.

All I know is it's waxy and sets up a bit in low temps making the cams a little slow - will have to give pink's suggestion a go.

 

Do you think WD-40 could damage webbing or a rope?

Don't know, didn't get any on the webbing.

[boadman]

White lightening is a strange choice for this application, IMO. Stranger that Metolious would repackage it. Wax-based lubes are quite gunky. White lightening especially so, because it's designed to flake off (self-cleaning) and it does not like foul weather. Wax lubes are best for dry, clean climates. Also, they are not typically long-lasting lubes.

 

How many people rock climb in wet, dirty environments?

[ivan]

White lightening is a strange choice for this application, IMO. Stranger that Metolious would repackage it. Wax-based lubes are quite gunky. White lightening especially so, because it's designed to flake off (self-cleaning) and it does not like foul weather. Wax lubes are best for dry, clean climates. Also, they are not typically long-lasting lubes.

 

How many people rock climb in wet, dirty environments?

hardly by choice

[kevbone]

 

How many people rock climb in wet, dirty environments?

 

Any Portland climber not climbing in Aug.

[meridian]

I'm a big fan of the Clean Cam. it's shocking how much crud they pick up...

Although I guess it really shouldn't be, given their use environment.

 

I use Slip 2000 EWL. I have tons of the stuff around for my rifles, so I use what's handy. Seems to work pretty good so far.

 

[The Jerk]

I use Boeshield T-9 on my gear, as well as on my guns.

 

Works well for me.

 

http://boeshield.com/

 

[Jon Nelson]

As a follow-up to Selkirk, the detergent lowers the surface tension of the water, so it might help the water flow into the tight spaces around the axle.

 

I just tried the method on several of my cams, and found a lot of small particles in the pan. I removed the cams after about 10 minutes in boiling water, let them dry out a bit (which was fast because they were still hot), and then sprayed with WD-40. The WD-40 that dripped out was pretty dark and grimy, so it does seem to help with the cleaning.

 

Jon

 

[Blake]

If you need to get a cam back in action and you are on a camping or road trip without wd-40, some olive oil will definitely work as well. Over time it gathers dust, but for a day or two, it works like a charm. Bacon grease tends to re-congeal.