Lanolin

[ErikFinn]

Do you use lanolin aboard your boat?
For what applications? For what rather not?

[Cheechako]

I've used it for decades.
-on the threads of anchor shackles,
-on turnbuckle screws,
-for lubing tapered bronze seacocks,
-on screws that go in the aluminum mast to prevent corrosion.

[Reefmagnet]

Ahh, the old kiwi pheromone. Very versatile stuff. It's also a great for protecting electrical connections from corrosion as a poor man's silicon grease and good for slapping on props as a poor man's prop speed antifoul solution.

[tkeithlu]

Soft wax, readily available as the sealing ring for the base of a house hold toilet, does some of the same jobs.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I've used it for decades.
-on the threads of anchor shackles,
-on turnbuckle screws,
-for lubing tapered bronze seacocks,
-on screws that go in the aluminum mast to prevent corrosion.

Also use lanolin for the same applications and a few more although I have switched to (expensive) Tefgel for things that are not easy to access (like up the mast) and things that I "hope" I will never have to take apart again but just in case. I guess time will tell if Tefgel will work better or last longer than lanolin.

Best part about lanolin, I can get all I want free.

[roverhi]

Didn't use Lanolin where SS bolts through aluminum casting. Took me nearly week of heating parts and dousing with penetrating oil before the bolts would even turn and fought me all the way out. That's just pass through not threaded into the aluminum, btw. Thought I was going to have to scrap a very expensive self steering vane if I couldn't have removed the bolts. Once out and cleaned up, coated the fasteners with Lanolin and no problem getting them out after four years in use.

I use Lanocote on any thing with dissimilar metals that's exposed to salt water that I may want to take apart sometime in the future..

[SV DestinyAscen]

It used to be my go to turnbuckle product - but discovered that when things got too hot, it liquefied and ran off. Prefer synthetic - something like a superlube.

[capt-couillon]

As above, I use Lanocote for everything from turnbuckles to keeping my carbon steel Opinel pocket knife from rusting

[HankOnthewater]

I use lanoline in two different forms: the thick gooey stuff that starts melting when in the sun:
- Mooring/anchor shackles (easily to undo even after years in and out of the water, but mousing is therefore even more important)
- SS bolts in aluminium
- Coating on my battery connectors
-
Lanoline diluted/dissolved in kero or turps as a thin liquid:
- Rigging, once a year (that is in summer after a washing with fresh water and a thorough dry)
- On my car: a liberal brushing on inside door panels, underbody etc prevents rust.
- Have a small container (with lanoline liquid) that I put bolts/nuts in before (re) assembling, I then put the hardware on a cloth to dry, thus giving it a light coating of lanoline
- As a coating of my tools, wiping with a wet lanoline cloth

I also believe at times this grease is preventing infection of skinned knuckles, or was that a myth?
The only warning is that brown lanoline grease marks are dirty and difficult to remove.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by SV DestinyAscen

It used to be my go to turnbuckle product - but discovered that when things got too hot, it liquefied and ran off.

That's a feature, not a fault. Hot days let the anhydrous lanolin flow in and fill gaps between a swage fitting and the wire etc.


All praise to Robert R. Foresman (1925-2012), orthodontist and keen recreational sailor, who wanted a telescoping whisker pole and so built a company (Forespar) to make them.


Bob Foresman wanted a supply of anhydrous lanolin, hence Lanocote (NZers and Australians have their own domestic brands, but in the US Lanocote is synonymous with anhydrous lanolin).


Bob similarly saw the advantages of glass-reinforced zytel (GRZ) for marine use. An NZ firm (Auckland Tool & Gauge Co.) had done the pioneering research and development of GRZ. Bob saw the advantages of GRZ plumbing fittings and GRZ cleats that deform just enough to fit to the curves of masts, booms, and decks, and hence Marelon.

[ErikFinn]

Silicon grease, Tefgel, dielectric grease, silicon paste... Lanolin can substitute all of these? If yes, why would I ever buy and carry those expensive branded ones anymore?

Have a look at this video please at t=10:58

https://youtu.be/Zu3TYBs65FM

I used to use liquid electrical tape, 20 bucks a tiny little pop, to do that. If lanolin can do the same (it's not corrosive at all, right? ) then why not just stick to one extremely versatile stuff that work just about everywhere?? (please enlighten me, seriously)

Only place where I wouldn't use lanolin are the small parts in winches as I reckon lanolin is too rigid for something small and fine tuned that needs to be moving freely.

But great for the big one on the bow I reckon..

Mechanical bolts, electrical connections? No drawbacks?

[SV DestinyAscen]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

That's a feature, not a fault. Hot days let the anhydrous lanolin flow in and fill gaps between a swage fitting and the wire etc.


All praise to Robert R. Foresman (1925-2012), orthodontist and keen recreational sailor, who wanted a telescoping whisker pole and so built a company (Forespar) to make them.


Bob Foresman wanted a supply of anhydrous lanolin, hence Lanocote (NZers and Australians have their own domestic brands, but in the US Lanocote is synonymous with anhydrous lanolin).


Bob similarly saw the advantages of glass-reinforced zytel (GRZ) for marine use. An NZ firm (Auckland Tool & Gauge Co.) had done the pioneering research and development of GRZ. Bob saw the advantages of GRZ plumbing fittings and GRZ cleats that deform just enough to fit to the curves of masts, booms, and decks, and hence Marelon.

I grew up in Browns Bay in the north shore area and I gravitate to kiwi solutions, but when lubricant is running off the upper and lower turnbuckle at the equator, it isn't doing its job. I recommend a synthetic like suberlube for all environments. Lanolin for the body.

[Reefmagnet]

The simple answer is that speciality products work that bit better. For example, silicon grease has a high melting point. High enough in fact to be suitable for disk brake slider pin lubrication. Obviously a better choice in a high temperature environment as lanolin grease melts like lard which may (as stated above) or may not offer an advantage in specific applications. Tefgel also has a higher melting point, is stickier and forms a thicker barrier. Want the absolute best and longest lasting solution then use the higher priced specially products. Want to carry a single multi-purpose product on board that can substitute for both in 99% of applications and also has a swag of other uses? Then lanolin makes a pretty good candidate. Fwiw, however, I think there's confusion between tefgel and it's anti galvanic corrosion properties vs lanolin and it's anti galling / anti seize properties. Tefgel is much better for the former application and ditto lanolin for the latter.

I also wouldn't put too much faith in that video either. There's no need to use silicon grease under heat shrink tubing when the much less messy and more simpler to use dual walled version of the product is available. If a little dab is needed to help the heat shrink slide into place, lanolin would substitute perfectly fine though.

Sent from my SGP521 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[barnakiel]

It is excellent where two metals meet and the elements are not fixed up. Reduces corrosion (e.g. aluminum white death) by a fair amount. Rivets, screws, bolts, etc. Non-conducting. The opposite of vaseline.

Does not wash down. Does not sag. Stains. Smells.

Think of a Duralac alternative that does not dry out.

Does not work to well as a rust inhibitor on already rusty metal.

Does not work a prop antifouling.

We started using it in NZ and since then I always keep a box at hand.

Decent stuff but VERY expensive in the EU.

Same toolbox with Tef-Gel and Duralac. Tef-Gel is easier to work with but washes away. Lanoline (Lanocote) stays put.

b.

[Cheechako]

I think in an application where lanolin gets hot it doesn't really run completely out. I've never actually seen it run out at all on things like turnbuckles in the sun, but one thing I know, you can try to wash it off your hands with hot water and it still wont come off... you have to use a cleanser of some sort.
It's not my favorite thing for turnbuckles, it does turn a bit crusty over time in that use, but does work.
As Roverhi said, coating pins or screws going into aluminum it's a godsaver. It's good for many things, better on some, worse in other applications, but does keep you from having a barrel of different goos a bit.
As an experiment on my catamaran, at haulout I coated one prop with a whole can of silicone spray in multiple coats. The other prop I rubbed lanolin on the prop. Neither was a great thing but the lanolin lasted longer than the silicone spray.