On Aug 18, 2009, at 8:53 AM, Jeff Tanner wrote: > I should add, that I've tried Pro-Tec and don't see what the hooplah > is all about. When humidity swells the bushings, how is adding a > liquid lubricant going to solve the problem? Solve the humidity > problem. Neither does it help with the plated pin problem described > earlier. It doesn't help with verdigris, and it doesn't help with > whatever those Wurlitzer bushings had in them. My first bottle > evaporated in my car, and the second bottle lost about 1/3 to > evaporation before I even took it out of the plastic (granted, I was > in no hurry), so I don't know if it will be effective at all. > What's in that stuff anyway? When humidity is the problem (ie, bushings swollen with moisture, pressing against the pin), the likelihood is that the best solution will be to shrink the bushings, using an alcohol/water solution (controlling the ambient humidity may or may not be possible, and may or may not solve the problem). If friction is the problem. Protek CLP works quite well. When it is an issue of plating, the pin needs to be replaced, and the felt reamed to remove residue - a lubricant alone won't solve the problem permanently. The same is often true of "Asian flu" centers, where there seems to be a residue in the felt, particularly on its surface. But lubrication after reaming is definitely a good thing and makes the fix more permanent in my experience. When it is an issue of verdigris, Protek CLP can often be a reasonable solution short of parts replacement, if done as follows: apply to the center, and then work the flange laterally. That is, so that the felt of the bushing is moved back and forth in the direction of the length of the pin. This procedure has helped keep a number of instruments under my care functional for many years, better than anything else short of parts replacement (though I will add that for those centers that don't respond, pin replacement and a bit of reaming is needed). Not ideal, but functional. You do need a container for Protek that avoids evaporation - not that big a deal. Those little hypo bottles from Schaff with the red caps work pretty well. It's not a good idea to keep volatile liquids in the car, where they will be exposed to high temperature. If you must, keep them in an ice chest type container. What's in it? Fluoro-polymers, an excellent lubricant similar chemically to teflon. Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico fssturm at unm.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20090818/b7eb3420/attachment.htm>
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