Lock Lubricants: A Quick Guide
Locks become corrosive and maybe difficult to open especially when they are left locked for a long period of time, exposed to the weather and untreated with lock lubricant. There are different kinds of lubricants that can be used to unlock these locks and there are different methods of forcefully opening them but more than often, damage to the locks will be made.
There are lubricants in the market like the popular silicone lubricant spray that displaces water is made of hydrocarbons with a non-volatile viscous oil that remains in on top of the surface of the material that has been sprayed. It can be very helpful when you have locks that are difficult to open and most of the time it helps. Others use graphite powder and mostly sold in squeeze bottles that allows it to penetrate into the keyhole. It is best if you coat the key with graphite. There is also the lithium based grease that serves as a barrier to moisture, it lasts longer but the problem is that it attracts dust and in dusty environments, your lock will look dirty. The best thing to do in maintaining the functionality of lock pieces is to regularly lubricate them. Most manufacturers that produce and sell locks do not lubricate their products because those locks may end up in unwanted environments and instead of the lubricant maintaining the function of the locks, it can attract particles that can damage it. Putting penetrating oils in locks and left outdoors can cause of jamming of these locks because of accumulated oil and grit. Some use silicone dry spray that propels silicon inside the lock and when it evaporates, it leaves a thin film of silicon in the moving parts, coating them and giving extra protection from friction. Because the silicon spray is dry, there is no worry that it will attract dust and particles that may cause the lock to jam. The best recommendation when using dry and liquid lubricants is that when you have small moving parts, use dry lubricants while for large moving pieces, you can use liquid oil lubricants. There are different kinds of lock from door locks, combination locks, to finger print or biometric locks. Locks are important because they are the main line of defense for most people in the safekeeping of their valuables against theft, external environment, protection from accidents and unauthorized access such as if you are keeping a firearm inside your bedroom, you don't want that your five year old child can gain access to that firearm.
Lubricating a lock? The tips at http://www.ehow.com/how_4531367_lubricate-lock.html should prove useful so be sure to check it out.
