Lithium grease / Castrol red rubber grease

[DarrenSV650S]

Is lithium grease the same as red rubber grease?

I've got a big tub of it and I'm wondering if it's ok to use on brake seals?

[the_lone_wolf]

Is lithium grease the same as red rubber grease?

No

Don't know if you can use lithium based grease on rubber though...

[Dave20046]

No you can't.
Get some rubber grease, I got a mega pot of it off ebay for about £6 IIRC you can get little tubs/tubes for less.

[yorkie_chris]

No it's not the same. Lithium grease is oil based, rubber grease is vegetable based so it's safe on rubber.

[DarrenSV650S]

Ok cheers. I'll get some rubber grease.

[punyXpress]

Lithium grease will rot any rubber, so don't use it where rubber is involved.

[Dave20046]

Lithium grease will rot any rubber, so don't use it where rubber is involved.
I heard a good 20% of mechanic's kids are born this way.

[embee]

Not quite true, there's rubber and there's rubber, just like "plastic" and "metal".

"Rubbers" that don't like mineral oils include things like natural rubber (latex), EPDM, polyurethanes etc

Those used for oil seals, O-rings etc are things like fluorocarbon ("Viton"), nitrile (NBR), silicone is reasonably OK. There are others with greater or lesser tolerance. Fuels are another matter.

Easy to find tables of materials and tolerance to different substances, the wonders of t'internet and all.

I'm not sure what brake seals are made of, but they don't like mineral oils as said, in this case red rubber grease is your stuff.

[fastdruid]

Halfrods sell it, IIRC 5quid for a massive pot (I bought one years ago and barely touched it).

Druid

[johnnyrod]

TBH I've never used grease on the brake pistons, just lube them with fluid, push them in, and wipe off the excess. Can't say it need cleaning up that often, eveyr 2-3 years I guess, only ever done tha back once (since 1999) but I think it could do with another look soon, new pads on the way anyway.

[yorkie_chris]

How many miles you do a year?

[fastdruid]

TBH I've never used grease on the brake pistons, just lube them with fluid, push them in, and wipe off the excess. Can't say it need cleaning up that often, eveyr 2-3 years I guess, only ever done tha back once (since 1999) but I think it could do with another look soon, new pads on the way anyway.

I used to do that too, I found it worked better with some red-rubber grease.

Druid

[Dave20046]

Thanks for posting on this just reminded me to grab some red rubber grease!

[philbut]

TBH I've never used grease on the brake pistons, just lube them with fluid, push them in, and wipe off the excess. Can't say it need cleaning up that often, eveyr 2-3 years I guess, only ever done tha back once (since 1999) but I think it could do with another look soon, new pads on the way anyway.

Good god, I clean mine every few months and rebuild em once a year (although not with new seals if i can avoid it).

I find the red grease protects the pistons from road crud and makes them easier to clean. tis good stuff!

[Spiderman]

The nice man at the Castrol Helpline who i called when i couldnt find any told me i can use "anything vegetable based" and when i jokingly said "so olive oil will do too yeh?" he said "only if yo u wanna be posh. I use chip fat myself on my brake seals"
And i've been using olive oil ever since. Whenever i strip the brakes and redo it all i lube the seals with olive oil. You need so little lube that like others have said a bit tub will last forever. So i never bothered buying a tub if i already have a suitable alternative.

[Dave20046]

That's a good'n I'd thought of it but didn't think it'd stick, suppose it does have a greasy residue.

[phi-dan]

now that's what I call a tip top top tip!

[embee]

...aah, but red rubber grease adds a certain piquancy to salad dressings you just can't get with olive oil. [-(

[5hort5]

AHHHH, BBBAHAHAHAHH, gggrrrrrrr, I just bought some red grease for my fronts from evil bay and I could have used f'in olive oil, for god sake next you'll be telling me that rubbing a cucumber on the chain will do the job of a scotty.

[phi-dan]

AHHHH, BBBAHAHAHAHH, gggrrrrrrr, I just bought some red grease for my fronts from evil bay and I could have used f'in olive oil, for god sake next you'll be telling me that rubbing a cucumber on the chain will do the job of a scotty.
courgette actually, but a cucumber will do in an emergency :joker:

[Spiderman]

And of course, the perennial winter time favourite is a cuple of kumquats in the tank to help with carb icing.

Seriously tho, it sounds like a Top Tip out of Viz i know but its all you need.

Now red rubber grease in a salad? Hmmmm, is a green salad or mixed salad best?

[5hort5]

lol ;-)

[Cazza]

Now red rubber grease

Hmm... I remember a couple of years ago when I went into that shop in Walthamstow for you to try and find some red rubber grease (which I'd never seen before).

The man behind the counter looked at me and started chuckling.

So I said: "Oh please don't tell me that I'm the dozy bird who's been sent to buy the mechanical equivalent of tartan paint?!".

Fortunately he replied: "No, I've just not seen it for years - we don't sell it I'm afraid".

Phew.

[Dave20046]

"Oh please don't tell me that I'm the dozy bird who's been sent to buy the mechanical equivalent of tartan paint?!".

Cazza I think that's tyre grease :D
(or a clutch cable for a sv1000 or a chain for a buell ...etc. etc. ...)

[yorkie_chris]

Get your mate to check the antifreeze on a slabside GSXR is always a good un too.

but dave they actually do sell tyre 'grease' (soap)!

[Dave20046]

Ahh that's for rimming though (horrible terminology alert!), I mean for use on the tyres when riding; to make you faster by reducing friction.(yes I managed to get someone to enquire about trackday tyre grease )