Sticky keyhole

[Sis]

Can't believe that this thread is still on track and hasn't been hijacked

[ManDownUnder]

use less KY or a condom then

Thought you'd never offer... c'mere big boy...

[bell]

This might be a tad late, as useful advice is not often found after post #4....

I had a bike that lived outside in the rain and cold/heat, all that sunny Nelson weather. The lock got more fiddly to use. It was on a diet of weekly WD40 before I sold it.

Best 'seal' over the keyhole was the lid off a film canister. Fits a lot of bike locks pretty well I imagine as they all look about the same.

[Madness]

I would like to clarify the CRC thing. CRC 5.56 is absolute crap, 90% kerosene & 10% perfume. The kerosene dries out, leaving a residue behind that is perfect for attracting & retaining dust & shit. It was the Bee's knee's 25 years ago when there was SFA else on the market. CRC now have around 30 different products and around 10 lubricant sprays for different applications. WD-40 has much better lubrication properties, smells delicious, and those who use that kind of stuff on expensive gear like printing presses etc. usually stipulate WD-40 when looking for a general purpose lubricant spray.

For the lock I'd also reccomend Graphite Powder, a small puffer pack will set you back between $5 - $10 and is perfect for jammy locks.

[Flyingpony]

... It's kinda hard to explain, but it's like it's catching on something sharp, and I have to fiddle with it a bit to get it to go in. Once it's in, it generally turns OK and works fine

A virgin?

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Back on topic.

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Just put some engine/gearbox/differential oil on your key and then put this in/out several times and like wise turn it on/off. Repeat until the lock motion feels smooth. Works really good and you just need to reapply once a year. My magic weapon is SAE 50 Differential Oil.

Just don't forget to clean your key properly before putting it back in your pocket and she'll smell of oil for a few days too ... surely you don't mind that?

[rainman]

Thanks for all the advice. I tried a wee drop of 3 in 1 (sad to say I don't have any WD40 about me... yet) and it's just like a bought one again. Will get some wd40/graphite for next time I like the film canister idea (if you can find one in this age of digital cameras) though the bike doesn't spend a huge amount of time in the rain.... other than when I'm riding it. Garaged at all three ends of my commute.

So... at the risk of fully morphing this into a "CRC is crap" thread: when I was given advice to spray CRC on all the nice shiny chinese chrome on the GN for its long term preservation and rust avoidance, this would have been partially shit advice? Is it good for anything? Are there better chrome protectoring, rust discouraging, shiny-making things I should use instead? I know kero is good for getting off those burnt on bits of road shit that accumulate on the front of the pipes, and CRC isn't (funny, that, if CRC is mostly kero)...