MOLYKOTE Frequent Questions

How to grease a _____ bearing (wheel, sealed, etc.)

What is a grease gun?
A grease gun is a tool used for lubrication that applies lubricant through a small tube or opening so it can be applied to a specific point.  It provides an easy to use and portable method to quickly addressing lubricant requirements while monitoring equipment throughout a facility. 

How to Load it? 
The most common way to load a grease gun is with a grease cartridge. It is very important that you avoid air locks or entrainment. 

• Use the leftover grease from the spent cartridge to pack into the grease gun head. 
• Insert the new cartridge and screw down until it’s securely against the grease gun head.
• Unscrew the new cartridge 1 ½ to 2 turns and release the spring tension to allow any remaining air to escape. Then re-tighten the cartridge.

Is there such a thing as too much grease? 
Yes! Over lubricating can cause a variety of problems including overheating, seal leakage, rapid oxidation and more. Not to mention the wasted cost of repairing or replacing a failed bearing. Over-greasing can lead to the rotating components or a bearing churning the grease itself and forcefully pushing the excess lubricant away. This leads to overall increases to the total friction of the system, the power required and the heat generated. 

How do I remove or clean grease? 
The removal or cleaning of a grease is different depending on the circumstance. Here are a few options for removing silicone compound lubricants:

Scenario – removal of grease for future re-application

• Remove as much of the lubricant as possible with a dry cloth, being careful not to spread the material further
• Then use a cloth dampened with a solvent such as toluene, xylene, perchloroethylene, or mineral spirits to remove any remaining material. A vapor degreaser may be used for this step if desired.
• Allow solvent to evaporate before applying a new coating of lubricant

Scenario – removal of grease for a smooth no-slip surface – depends on substrate

• Glass/Porcelain/Ceramics
• Remove as much of the lubricant as possible with a dry cloth
• Immerse part for 5 minutes and no longer than 10 minutes in warm solution of 100 parts denatured ethanol, 10-15 parts of 50% potassium hydroxide. 
• Rinse surface with mineral spirits
• Clean with warm chromic acid solution
• Rinse with fresh chromic acid solution
• Rinse with water
• Tin/Aluminum/Zinc
• Remove as much of the lubricant as possible with a dry cloth
• Immerse part for 5-10 minutes in warm solution of 50 parts Dowanol DPM, 50 parts mineral spirits with a flash point over 140F, one part sodium hydroxide, and one part cresylic acid 
• Rinse with solvent (Dowanol DPM or EB) and then rinse with water
• Wipe off excess water and let dry
• Steel, copper, brass, iron, & other metals
• Remove as much of the lubricant as possible with a dry cloth
• Immerse part for 5-10 minutes in warm solution of 100 parts Dowanol DPM, 100 parts mineral spirits with a flash point over 140F, one part sodium hydroxide 
• Rinse with solvent (Dowanol DPM or EB) and then rinse with water
• Wipe off excess water and let dry

How to Make Sure I Select the right grease? 
LETS breakdown pertaining to greases:

What role does Temperature play in Grease Performance? 
Temperature is critical in selecting the ideal grease for a system.  If a grease isn’t stable at any point throughout the operating temp range it can lead to oxidation of the fluid.  Oxidized grease can create undesired deposit formation, loss of overall efficiency and eventually can lead to the mechanical failure of the equipment itself.  For every 18F increase in temperature lubrication life reduces by approximately half. It is important to ensure the lubricant you choose can operate within your temperature range. 

What role does environment play in grease performance? 
Environmental conditions such as humidity, exposure to corrosive elements, high or low oxygen, etc. drastically change the type of lubricant characteristics needed to perform. 

What role does Speed play in grease performance? 
The oil in grease does the lubrication and is dependent on speed, Motion to generate an oil film.  Grease works well in many applications as long as speed application speed allows for fluid film formation.

What role does Load play in grease performance? 
There are three main types of friction that greases are used to counteract. Hydrodynamic (light), Mixed (medium), and boundary (heavy).  Depending on the application load being experienced, greases need to be designed with different base components and additives to properly perform.  A grease designed for heavy loads would not perform as well in a light load environment.

What is Preventative Maintenance, is it important? 
Preventative maintenance when it comes to lubrication is knowing your lubricants useful life and ensuring you replace or reapply the lubricant prior to it losing its efficacy. Because lubricants reduce friction and wear, carry heat away from your parts, and help control contaminants it is important to replace/refill/reapply at the appropriate intervals. If you do not your moving parts will not be properly lubricated and could fail to work or even be irreparably damaged.

How do I create a PM Schedule?  
Identify the useful life of your lubricant. This will depend on many factors including, type of lubrication, parts being lubricated, part load, part environment, temperature, and speed. If you need help determining the useful life of your lubricant reach out to a lubricant specialist or the lubricant manufacturer. Once the useful life is determined, ensure you replace or reapply the lubricant prior to it losing its efficacy.

Why Should I Use Molykote Grease?
Molykote offers six different product family technologies with different chemistry technologies. Therefore, there is a solution to nearly every lubrication problem.

How important is the base oil chemistry in my grease? 

Role of thickener vs Oil 
The base oil in a grease is what actually does the lubrication during motion.  The thickener is used to carry and hold the oil in place where needed.  Depending on the technology of the finished grease, various soaps or complex thickeners can be used to provide a range of thermal stability options. 

Role of Solid Lubricant Additives 
Grease additive types typically fall under the anti-wear or extreme pressure category of performance enhancements.  These additives are typically used to protect parts from wear and loss of metal in boundary lubrication for extreme load environments.

What is the purpose of a grease (or lubricant)? 
A lubricant separates the surface of two moving parts to reduce and control friction. Unless an adequate lubricant is present between the moving parts friction and wear will be excessive and the apparatus/machine/part will cease to operate and may even cause irreparable damage. Grease is a semi-solid lubricant consisting of a base oil, thickener and may contain additional performance additives or solid lubricants.  The MOLYKOTE® greases are highly engineered and offer a range of specialized performance levels.  Select from a variety of grease types from mineral oil to PAO based chemistries.  

How do I reduce contamination in my machinery? 
Greases and lubricants can help manage contamination in machinery and moving parts. The lubricant can trap the contaminant to prevent it from interfering with mechanical operation.  Proper monitoring and frequent visual inspection can help determine relubrication requirements and if further disassembly and cleaning is required.  Proper lubricant selection can address contamination concerns based on base oil and additive composition.  MOLYKOTE® greases provide high quality lubrication to provide longer life cycle and cleaner operation.  

My machine? Joints? Bearings? is running hot, how do I reduce the temperature? 
Greases and lubricants can help control machine temps because they carry away heat and reduce heat causing friction.  Ensuring that you are using the appropriate amount of Lubricant is important, using to little or even too much can cause elevated temperatures.  You should also be checking the condition of your equipment, parts that are starting to wear out may be causing the elevated temperatures and could need replacement.

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