this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2023
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Squirt/apply lubircant, open and close the hinge to work the lube in.
WD40 works as a lazyman's option, for a short time. However really WD40 is more of a solvent and not a lubricant - it will dissolve out any real lubricant, then dry out much more quickly than a proper grease and also possibly attract more dirt.
You can get plenty of other lubricant sprays. A quick search suggests things with PTFE (teflon) in them can be good. WD40 do a teflon spray can, that was the recommended lube for my crosstrainer.
Other, possibly better lubricants are silicone or lithium based.
Petroleum jelly can work also. Any lube is better than none, but this website suggests petroleum jelly < PTFE < silicone or lithium. However I'd defer to some proper science to decide which is really best.
Thanks! I found some old "Liquid Wrench Powerful Penetrating Oil" in the toolbox. Looks like it has a spray nozzle. Do you think that would be good? I don't mind buying a new oil, or even using something from the kitchen (coconut?) as long as it's a good solution.
Thanks again!
“Penetrating oil” sounds like a WD 40 competitor, meaning a solvent rather than a lubricant. A lithium grease is what I use for that sort of thing, which I happen to use the WD40 version of (it’s a yellow and gray there, rather than red and blue).
As jrbaconcheese said, penetrating oil is likely a solvent, designed to clean stuck joints rather than add lubricant. The greases are pretty good, however it may be difficult to work it into the hinge without disassembling it. PTFE sprays come with the nozzle though and are very thin liquids, so you might have better luck getting them in just by aiming in the gaps and working the hinge.