Guys, Anyone here know of a home brew recipe for this stuff?? As it's colloidal graphite in alcohol, it could be made at the work bench...yes?? I ask as Neolube is not available in Aus and Micromark won't ship it overseas.
Having never heard of Neolube I was curious as to why you'd want to use it as opposed to Labelle oil or any of the other modeling lubricants. I looked it up on the web and the top references referred to its use in nuclear reactors. No wonder it can't be exported. Here is a thread on Model Railroader's forum about Neolube. Here are pages about Neolube No. 1 and Neolube No. 2. Hope this helps.
Primarily because of the blackening ability of the carbon. It acts as a lube, which is electrically conductive, and a blackener.. great for side rods, valve gear, some wheels Rob
Neolube is an excellent way to paint a smokebox "graphite". I've used it on both metal and plastic with no adverse results.
Be very careful when applying. The brush that comes with it is way too thick for N scale applications. Also, since it is a liquid, make sure that you are not bridging two things with different polarities. You will wind up with a nasty shelf queen. It blackens side rods beautifully, though.
I can't let this thread die without making the case for Neolube as the ultimate way to color your rails. Since it's a conductive, dry film lube, it won't interfere with switches (probably improves things) and it doesn't degrade conductivity on all other rails. Also, you can "paint" it onto flex track prior to installation and it won't interfere with the "flexiness." That said, I will offer that I currently have two modules in long term operation as a test bed and performance has been flawless. Back to your regularly scheduled program....
if you are considering making your own, I would suggest using Molybdenum disulfide a opposed to graphite. I use this in competitive shooting, and I can assure you that it is MANY MANY times better than graphite for lubrication. Either make your own, or use Moly grease from any of multiple gun supply companies. You may even be able to find it at your local gun shop...especially if they have reloading supplies. Just ask for "moly grease". I think that Kriol makes a spray-on moly. Oh....the moly is black too.
Try this... http://www.kanolabs.com/ select "Molyfilm". And.....the working temp is actually good up to 1750 degrees F as opposed to the conservative 600 degrees listed. When they list "severe pressure", they aren't kidding. I use it at about 55,000 atmoshperes. That's alot.... One last thing...moly is a little darker than graphite.
Rob, 55K atmospheres isn't very high in a laboratory. 3M is just starting to get up there. And molybdenum disufate is pretty cheap at $10 a spray can. Probably last forever on a railroad.
"standard" chamber pressure of a 223 Nato round. I shoot NRA High Power Service Rifle competitively. Kano Labs was one of my sponsors back in the 90's. NICE people. I got a chance to tour the plant in Nashville Tennessee. Very very impressive. http://www.odcmp.com/
I figured it was a high powered round. We're accelerating flyer plates from 0 to 76,000 MPH a fraction of a second. Yep, that 10 ^10 (10 to the tenth power) Gs. It creates a shock wave of about 15 million atmospheres. We're aiming for 50 million with an upgrade. You can read about it here: Z fires objects faster than Earth moves through space
