The major down side of graphite is that it is highly corrosive to most metals, especially in the presence of any moisture. Think of a carbon zinc battery where carbon sets up a 1.5 volt electrolytic potential and the zinc is the sacrificial cathode.
The military has had so much trouble and repair expense due to it that it is banned in most military lubrication applications. Back when they still stocked it, I personally had a MIL-SPC graphite grease cause corrosion pits over .02 inches deep in critical steel bolts on an aircraft in less than 10 months! Kyle -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Tom Hawley ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob Werre . . . . . . I've been seeing the on-line ads for Nano type lubricants. . . . . . . . .reluctant to use a typical oil in my metal truck journals because eventually the dirt will gum things up. This might be a better product! > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Better than good old graphite? This just came thru on Delancey Place a few days ago. "The strange thing about graphite is that it is a form of pure carbon that is one of the softest solids known, and one of the best lubricants because the six carbon atoms that link to form a ring can slide easily over adjacent rings. Yet, if the atomic structure is changed, there is another crystalline form of pure carbon, diamond, that is one of the hardest solids known." Tom Hawley -- Lansing Mich
