Uk oil suggestions

alistair
on 23 Feb 22 (08:53)

Hello all

Apologies if this is a duplication but I don’t seem to be able to search the archives.

What oil do UK printers use to lubricate their presses?

I can’t seem to find blue 3-in-1 oil here and I understand black 3-in-1 isn’t as thick as is ideal.

Thank you

ericm
on 23 Feb 22 (09:20)

Updated 23 Feb 22 (10:23)

so, to get this discussion going, I really think any 10w to 40w motor oil will be fine. Today’s oils are so much better than when most of our presses were built. So, Here we go….I run anything from 5w-20w all the way up to 50w. (Harley oil), if i need oil, anything is better than nothing.

BillWhitley
on 23 Feb 22 (10:09)

Plain old 30W non-detergent motor oil works just fine, but a machinist friend suggested a Molybdenum oil additive for extra protection (Liqui-Moly or similar). So my mix is 95% oil, 5% moly additive.

parallel_imp
on 23 Feb 22 (11:16)

My first auto-feed press’s 1940 manual said to use “mineral oil” in the central lubrication system. My 1975 corner drug store had “Mineral Oil” which is actually a laxative.
It worked, the press survived.

ericm
on 23 Feb 22 (12:38)

As i said, I am sure Today’s oil is better than a laxative. lol.