Silicon spray in printer maintenance 1

[ironmihai]

I’ve recently used silicon spray in cleaning the fuser roller surface from excessive toner build-up. Also, I’ve noticed that almost every plastic tooth wheel inside the printer is partially covered in toner.
I want to know if I can use silicon oil as all-around maintenance product for the moving mechanical parts inside the printer (of course, except for drum).
Any opinion ?

 

[edfair]

Would suggest the grease equivalent since it is less likely to migrate.
Carried in auto parts stores as a lubricant for distributor cams and also known as white grease if I recall correctly.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[gbaughma]

I have used silicone oil in copiers, and also in printers from time to time.

The up-side to silicone oil is that it's very slippery, has a very high flash point, and is "clean".

The down-sides is that once it gets on something, it stays on it. And bob forbid you ever spill it on a tile floor... broken legs from slipping will result.

I think that what edfair is referring to (white grease) is lithium grease. It's also good for lubing parts, it tends to be "thicker" than silicone oil, and has a high flash point.

The down-side to using lithium grease (or other greases) is that if it's in a dusty area, where toner or paper dust get into it, it can form a "paste" which gums things up worse.

With Inkjet printers, for example, I will clean the bar that the print head assembly moves on VERY well (usually with something like Lexite), then give it a thin coating of lithium grease (also called "reel lube" and can be found in tubes at sporting good stores).

For laser printers, I usually don't have to oil any assemblies, since the introduction of oil into the paper path can be a bad thing.

Of course, anything that you use you should be familiar with; read the MSDS sheets and know about possible interactions with heat, toner, and other foreign objects.



Just my 2¢

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