Lubricant for Glass Sliding door tracks ?

What is a good lubricant for glass sliding door tracks? I suppose I need something that will lube the tracks for at least a few weeks, without attracting too much dirt and grime to the lubricant itself. I have tried a soap bar which works well, but only for a week or so.

WD40 works intitially, but doesn't last, and attracts dirt.

Any good ideas ?

Thank you !!

James

Reply to
James
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Lubricating the tracks is like oiling the skating rink hoping for longer coast times. You need to oil the bearing that are riding on the tracks.

Rich

Reply to
Rich

I haven't tried it, but what about graphite. Seems that it would be OK....

Reply to
timbirr

Sounds good. How do you get to them? Aerosol?

Reply to
C & E

Hi, I wonder why people think WD-40 is lubricant? It's a cleaning solvent. I'd try little bit of white grease(Luriplate) or squirt of liquid wrench (Teflon).

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Graphite will make a gunky mess. Any lubricant is the wrong approach. The door needs to be fixed properly meaning it must be removed from the track the rollers replaced. It should be done soon as more wear can ruin the track completely.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Thanks for all the ideas. I have in fact tried liquid wrench, but it wears off after a week or two.

I have not yet tried graphite, and had not thought of it. I think that I will give that a try. I wonder if the powder or liquid graphite would do best ?

Keep the comments coming !!

James

Reply to
James

I've used powdered graphite on a couple of similar things. I got a 12 ounce squeeze bottle at the local True Value. Pretty cheap as I remember. Don't know why a previous poster mentioned that it would make a goopy mess. It's dry. Unless your door is really exposed to the weather, the graphite should stay dry too....

Reply to
timbirr

ditto,

If the rollers stall and tear up the track your problems are just starting.

Reply to
gfretwell

If the door is scraping the track, you may be able to just raise it up higher by adjusting the rollers. There's a hidden screw in the hole at the bottom at aach end. CW is up, iirc.

Reply to
mm

My parents had a sliding glass door at their house - when they bought the house it was in really bad shape and would barely slide. The eventual fix was not only replacement of any suspect rollers but renewing the lower track. Somewhere my dad found a stainless U-channel for just this purpose, it would snap over the existing track and provide a new, smooth (and harder than the original aluminum) surface for the rollers to ride on. The original track was so badly worn that we had to fill the stainless U-channel with something - I don't remember what, but possibly silicone? - to make up the difference in areas where the rollers actually rode. Worked beautifully with no maintenance until maybe 10-15 years later when they decided to replace the sliding door with new french doors.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

Liquid wrench is made with teflon? Are you sure?

Reply to
mm

They make a version with a hint of teflon... It's all just marketing hype though.

It's still not a lubricant.

Reply to
Noozer

Silicon Spray. It doesn't attract dirt and has no chemical residue. Much the same as powdered graphite. & on that note, make sure your door rollers are properly adjusted. #1 cause of hanging sliders. #2 is dirt/foreign objects in the tracks. Never ever use oil based products, such as WD-40. They attract & HOLD dirt particles.

Dan

Reply to
Dan Deckert

Silicone.

Just what is in your imagination about this stuff?

It's a type of oil, you know, just not a mineral, animal, or vegetable oil. Certainly it attracts dirt. And if you don't have any residue of it, then what exactly is the point?

Many "silicone" sprays are 99 percent mineral spirits and other hydrocarbon stuff with a whiff of actual silicone oil. That's why it doesn't attract dirt or leave a residue: it just evaporates after making you feel better.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

Sorry, what was I thinking. A door exposed to weather? How silly of me. (head hanging with shame)

Besides, that graphite will add a nice sheen to the floors as it gets tracked in.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

YMMV, but all my silders are under a VERY big "eve," I know I spelled that wrong/. Anyway, they get no moisture, really, and I am in Oregon's Rain Forest. Again, as I say, it may be different for you, that's why i made my disclaimer, but in this area all exterior doors in any quality built place are quite protected....

Reply to
timbirr

Remove the door from the track and frame. Clean the track with liquid soap and water. Use a toothbrush or similar to get all the debris out. Lay the door on its side. Place something under it to catch any liquid and solid debris. Clean with petroleum distillate. Air dry. Lube the wheel centers with light oil or graphite. Hang the door. Do similar procedure with screen door if you have one. Repeat the procedure as needed when door starts sticking again. If anything is found damaged, replace it. If the door is not adjusted properly, too low or misaligned, correct it. Dave

Reply to
Dave

As some other posters have stated, lubricating the track is a band-aid approach and should be avoided. The rollers need to be replaced and/ or lubricated. Personally I would replace them since the work to access them for lubrication is the same as accessing them for replacement. There should be an adjustment at the end of the slider near the rollers. Adjust the rollers to retract them in so the slider can be removed from the frame. Once the slider is out remove and replace or lubricate the rollers. Applying lubricants to the tracks will just attract more dust and debris which will create gunk that makes the situation worse. Have fun.

Reply to
Eric9822

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