greasing/lubing a trackball?

tron guy

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how do you guys do it?

I mean if I pull out the trackball take it apart and want to 'lube the bearings'.
Do I use 3-1 oil?

What is the recommended way of doing this?

It's for a pga golf game. Trackball works well, but could be smoother.
 
I'd recommend using a 3-in-1 type oil or a silicon-based spray. Having said that I have never owned a trackball let alone lubricated one.
 
I've always used a 3 in 1 oil. Also the rebuild kits from Bob Roberts are not expensive. You can also spin the bearings with a cordless drill to really lube them good!

Steve
 
I use a bit of Goo-Gone in the metal can (looks like a lighter fluid can) to clean out the old gunk from the bearings and once it dries (<2 minutes) I drop in some good quality lightweight oil. Sewing machine oil works well as does 3-in-1 oil.

Turbine oil works well too. ;)
 
Turbine Oil?

Where in the heck do you get SHC 636 (turbine oil) in anything other than 55 gallon drums or by the tanker load?
 
I used to have this tiny bottle labled "turbine oil" and it talked about how pure it was... Picked it up years ago at some RC hobby store. DAMN good stuff and I'd like to find more of it.
 
turns out these were shielded bearings (I should have known), and this looks like the original trackball based on how dirty it was inside.

So I took it apart cleaned the inside out well. Cleaned the bearings outer edges and the rollers to look chrome again.

Then I just took a can of spray air, and tried to blast the shielded bearings in case it had any value. After that I laid all 6 bearings in a little metal pan and dropped about 5 drops of 3 in 1 oil into each one. Let them soak for awhile, flipped them and did the same thing.

Now it rolls very very good and is not so jumpy or 'dry' feeling. It is NOT as good as new. There were some wear spots in the rollers and the bearings could probably be replaced.
but it works good now
thanks guys
 
I love this stuff for RB bearings & it can be put on moving parts in a pin. The ptfe is carried by a solvent and when it dries it leaves behind a PTFE layer. It stays clean and doesn't collect dirt. I spray it on while spinning the bearing. Give it a try, I use it in place of oil all the time. Works even better in locks.
 

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