Sealed Tuners

[430pm]

hello, can anyone tell me what kind of grease to use when servicing sealed tuners? i bought a 12 string that has a little friction on a few of the tuners and they seem pretty easy to take apart. i'm just not sure what type of oil/grease would be best.

thanks!

[FireFly]

You can use petroleum jelly, or cork grease. Vasceline works just fine. Stay away from silicon based lubricants, as they can cause discoloration in woods if they leak into the bare wood of the machine head cavities!

[Workingman]

Try cleaning them before you take them apart. Most sealed tuners are not very repairable. That said some have a plastic washer under the button that can get crushed and make them turn unevenly.

[Akula]

I use multi-purpose household oil, the runny stuff you use to stop doors from creaking and etc. Definately clean the tuners before you oil them, usually its all the crap stuck to the gears that makes the difference.

[430pm]

yes, they have a plastic washer between the thumbscrew and the unit. on the lower ones (closest to the nut) they are a little stiff when the string is up to tension. i have the same problem on both my 12-string and 6-string acoustics, although, these are both 'new' guitars.

waiting on a new set of bridgepins and saddle before this project is complete. i was planning on using vaseline, packing it like a set of bearings on a car. perhaps even using a grease gun to get it in there. currently, they seem to be oiled, and the plastic washer seems to be in good shape. my guess is that in storage perhaps the lower tuners were more exposed to some type of environmental element that depleted the lube.

thanks for the good ideas! will try and post pics when complete.