Possible DIY tool coating

Grant Lamontagne · **on:** February 19, 2016, 08:15:12 PM

After discussing the benefits of powdered graphite in this thread I started thinking about the aerosol powdered graphite that I have been using lately. The stuff stains pretty good, but what if that was a good thing?

So, I took the Leatherman Brewzer copy from the Two Dollar Challenge to see how evenly I could coat it. The first attempt did not go well.

Still, the stuff dries in less than a minute so I flipped the tool and decided to try again on the othr side and I'm pretty pleased with the results.

It actually came out pretty nice, with a beautiful slate grey color. I'm going to carry this one for a while and see how tough the coat turns out to be. Bear in mind, it is on a pretty polished tool with no surface prep, so if it's going to fail, this is where it will likely happen.

I've tried to clean off some of the blowback on other things and it seems pretty impervious, so I have fairly high hopes for this. If it works, I think I am going to disassemble a PowerLock and spray all of the components and see how that performs. Since this is a lubricant I really don't need to worry about it getting trapped in the corners like with other coatings so I don't have to worry about the riveted plier head and gears on the PowerLock.

This should be interesting.

Def

SteveC · **Reply #1 on:** February 19, 2016, 08:20:06 PM

eamo · **Reply #2 on:** February 19, 2016, 08:24:22 PM

Sparky415 · **Reply #3 on:** February 19, 2016, 08:29:16 PM

I'm with those two

sLaughterMed · **Reply #4 on:** February 19, 2016, 09:39:54 PM

At the risk of being derivative....

SteveC · **Reply #5 on:** February 19, 2016, 09:47:05 PM

Doesn't look like that stuff is available here in the States.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #6 on:** February 19, 2016, 10:13:08 PM

Quote from: SteveC on February 19, 2016, 09:47:05 PM

Doesn't look like that stuff is available here in the States.

I got it at Home Depot while looking for a tube of dry graphite lubricant like this:

It was only because that stuff wasn't available that I decided to try the spray can.

I had a few minutes this afternoon and decided to simulate some pocket carry, so I took a handful of coins and loose keys and shook them all together in my hands for a bit. Then I took a couple of coins and tried to gouge the coating.

As you can see, the deliberate gouging caused some damage to the finish, and the coins and keys seem to have chipped some of the finish off, but for the most part it is pretty undamaged.

Now, let's keep two things in mind:

1- This is not meant to be a protective coating, although it doesn't seem to be doing a bad job overall.

2- At roughly $10/can the coating can be applied to a tool hundreds of times for a very minimal cost.

Also remember that this surface was not prepped for any coating- it was mirror polished.

So the fact that it is retaining any coating is pretty impressive. If I proceed to the SOG portion of the test I'll be sure to scuff the metal up somewhat prior to coating. And, as the SOG lives in a sheath it won't come in contact with coins as much.

Def

Toolslinger · **Reply #7 on:** February 20, 2016, 01:05:01 AM

Watching with interest.

parnass · **Reply #8 on:** February 21, 2016, 05:23:00 PM

Does the coating leave any residue on your fingers after using the tool?

I've used powered graphite to lubricate locks and it creates a mess.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #9 on:** February 21, 2016, 05:26:02 PM

Once it is dry it doesn't seem to leave any stuff on your fingers. The graphite in this is suspended in some liquid (maybe some kind of alcohol?) that allows it to be propelled by the aerosol. Once it dries it's pretty solid.

Def

kmanct3 · **Reply #10 on:** February 21, 2016, 05:30:00 PM

I don't recall seeing that at my HD , I am going there shortly and I will check. Looks like good stuff

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #11 on:** February 21, 2016, 08:55:27 PM

It has lubricated a few locks very nicely- and the fact that it adheres to stuff means that I don't have to reapply it every few weeks/months like I did with the dry graphite.

The drawback is that it is highly pressurized and you end up with some serious blowback. Don't use it when you have a nice white shirt on.

Def

tattoosteve99 · **Reply #12 on:** February 22, 2016, 03:06:14 AM

It is available here in the states. I have a can here at my house. I got it where I used to work so just check around. I will have to try this. Never thought it would actually stay on something. FYI graphite is used in extreme pressure lubricates

kmanct3 · **Reply #13 on:** February 22, 2016, 01:46:15 PM

Not the same but I'm going to try it , I needed it anyway for a bunch of locks I need to take care of

dks · **Reply #14 on:** February 22, 2016, 02:18:17 PM

I used it on car aerials
It lubricates, does not collect dust and it is a conductor.

SteveC · **Reply #15 on:** April 27, 2016, 12:24:59 AM

So I just got a BO ST300 back from Leatherman warranty. They replaced both handles and tools but fixed the loose pivot on the CC plier head. The BO coating was kind of smurfed up on the pliers and stood out against the new handles. Well I remembered that I had picked up a can of this Graphite spray lube after reding this thread. I thought this would be a good test to see how it would work. Well I can tell you that it turned out really well. Looks great and time will tell how it will hold up.

Before

After

ducttapetech · **Reply #16 on:** April 27, 2016, 12:29:12 AM

Looks good. Although, you ruined your chance to make the handles match the plier head. LOL!

That's us mobile

SteveC · **Reply #17 on:** April 27, 2016, 01:20:17 AM

I'm sure they will catch up eventually

Wanimator · **Reply #18 on:** April 27, 2016, 06:10:37 PM

Not a big fan of graphite personally, don't ever use it in your SAK pivots or most any aluminium for that matter it corrodes it. Have fun with it I guess. Better than running the tool dry.

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