[ARSCLIST] Tape Lubrication - Silicones

["Richard L. Hess" <arclists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

More on Silicones for tape lubrication.

They are still making me nervous. They are very hard to remove...and now
I see this from the Tek Scopes list talking about contact
cleaners...

> ... I was looking around the
> Electrolube site at 
> http://www.echeloninc.com/contactlubrication.htm
> and interestingly, came 
> across this: "Silicone contamination poses particular problems which can also be overcome  by contact lubricants. Silicones are found in lubricants, sealants, polishes  and mould release agents. As silicones can "creep" great distances, these  products should not be used in switch assembly areas. When silicones are present between moving or vibrating contacts, they react under arcing conditions to form silicon carbide. These crystals abrade the contact surface and cause electrical breakdown. Silicone contamination is very difficult to remove, particularly after the formation of silicon carbide. It cannot be removed by solvents. There are certain contact lubricants that can prevent the damage caused by silicones and can even restore damaged contacts. One such treatment from Electrolube reacts with the silicon carbide to form volatile silicon tetrafluoride gas, thus slowly breaking down the hard 
> particles."

While this apparently focuses on high-current automotive switches, it gives one pause before placing this on your clients' tapes as well as all over your machines. 

Hmmm...Marie's solution (pun intended) worked for me. I'm still wanting to experiment with graphite...Silicones are making more nervous. It didn't help that the links the GE rep provided today didn't work. More later.

Cheers,

Richard