Anti Gall/Seize for Plastic?

[Chip Monkey]

Off beat question, but I'll be surprised if you guys don't have good answers.

I fly all things RC. One of my foam Sailplanes has precision plastic cladding at each wing root and same for the female receptacles in the fuselage. In other words, a plug-in setup. The surface areas are large and the tolerances are lean, so it's very nerve wracking to wiggle them together and apart. Any suggestions for a lubricant that is "usually" safe for what appears to be polystyrene plastic? I've tried powdered graphite but it didn't help much to ease the stiction. Have also waxed the surfaces with carnuba.

 

[matthewsx]

Have you tried silicon spray?

John

 

[pontiac428]

Are they assembly sockets, or servo wire plugs? Silicone or dielectric grease might be worth a try for molded plugs. It'll also keep water out if you get weather or belly land in the grass. If they're strictly for assembly, then give powdered mica a try. It's slick and less messy than graphite. If it's a tolerance issue, maybe dress the parts with some 800 grit sandpaper for a better fit.

 

[David2011]

Mica just might be what you need. I’m not a big fan of foamies but do have a few so I understand the problem.

 

[whitmore]

One wouldn't want to use greases, and maybe not even wax, but white graphite (hexagonal
boron nitride) as is used for lock lube is a less-messy-than-graphite possibility.

 

[mmcmdl]

Silicone spray or mold release for plastic . Works great on snow shovels as well .

 

[ChazzC]

One wouldn't want to use greases, and maybe not even wax, but white graphite (hexagonal
boron nitride) as is used for lock lube is a less-messy-than-graphite possibility.

Why not a light coating of grease? Super Lube® has Silicone & Synthetic greases that are compatible with polystyrene. Other dielectric greases or even white Teflon pipe sealant.

 

[whitmore]

Why not a light coating of grease? Super Lube® has Silicone & Synthetic greases that are compatible with polystyrene. Other dielectric greases or even white Teflon pipe sealant.

It's the 'compatible with polystyrene' that gets me. It's true that silicones and a wide range of rubbers and plastics are
compatible, but nowadays... there's lots of plastic and resin formulations that aren't pure
(ABS :== acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene in some mixture, for example). I'm averse to being bit by
the incompatibilities I didn't expect. Mostly, dealing with polymers or glues, I don't know the composition.

 

[DAT510]

I've found good old Ivory Bar soap to works well on galling plastics. Just used it on the Dyson Vac.

These guys use it to move houses!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/12/15/construction-move-building-soap-canada-halifax/

 

[ChazzC]

It's the 'compatible with polystyrene' that gets me. It's true that silicones and a wide range of rubbers and plastics are
compatible, but nowadays... there's lots of plastic and resin formulations that aren't pure
(ABS :== acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene in some mixture, for example). I'm averse to being bit by
the incompatibilities I didn't expect. Mostly, dealing with polymers or glues, I don't know the composition.

That’s why my first recommendation was Super Lube: the link to their compatibility chart shows “good” for their synthetic & “excellent” for the Silicone with polystyrene. Couldn’t get the Permatex page to load, and the Oatey page says “and many more” piping materials.

@Chip Monkey was asking for suggestions (as any of us would), and I assume would further investigate any products that look reasonable by contacting the manufacturer if the available data doesn’t specifically state Polystyrene.