Teflon lube shelf life?
04-21-09, 01:17 PM
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Teflon lube shelf life?
After quite a while, I've finally been able to bring out my "nice" bike to ride. First, I decided to lube my chain with a bottle of Finish Line Dry teflon lube. It usually comes out of the bottle easily, but this time was different. Instead of being clear and runny, it was thick, white and gooey. It looked like melted wax as it begins to harden. I've had this bottle for several years and the stuff is expensive, so I use it conservatively. I have a third of the bottle left, but is this stuff any good now? Is there a certain amount of time in which it goes bad and has to be thrown away?
04-21-09, 01:41 PM
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Did you make sure to thoroughly agitate the lube before applying it? If the lube uses suspension or a thinning agent (to enhance penetration) it is possible that evaporated.
I'm curious too, I've never had a lubricant long enough to have this become a concern.
I'm curious too, I've never had a lubricant long enough to have this become a concern.
04-21-09, 02:15 PM
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My tubes of Finish Line Teflon are always thick and off-white. As for shelf-life - I've seen it do it's job after 25 years in a bottom-bracket! The thin stuff was just setting. Forget it.
04-21-09, 02:31 PM
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If by agitating, you mean shaking it--yes, I did that a little bit, but maybe not enough. At first, I couldn't get anything to come out of the bottle, so I stuck a pin in the end of the nozzle to try to dislodge any obstruction that may have been there. Then the gooey stuff started coming out.
04-21-09, 02:37 PM
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I'm just now finishing off a bottle I bought back in the mid-'90s. Seems to be working well.
04-21-09, 03:01 PM
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Teflon itself is inert for all intents and purposes, so that won't break down. That's why Teflon is widely used in chemical synthesis work - where you're boiling super-nasty corrosive acids and what not. It will break down into nasty things if heated to 450 or so Fahrenheit.
Last edited by Panthers007; 04-21-09 at 03:57 PM. Reason: Sp.
04-21-09, 03:24 PM
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Just thinning and suspension agents thickening or evaporating... if they were emulsifying it would be worrisome, but I can't imagine that they would use anything which would be susceptible to that. Like panthers007 said though, the teflon itself will be fine and the rest of it shouldn't matter, just make sure to work it in well as it's not going to be drawn into the tight spaces on its own via capillary action.
