Type of lube for blades on shredder?

Aug 12, 2006 8 Replies

What type of lube is best to use for the blades on a cross-cut shredder?



I have all sorts of lube in my home workshop and I don't want to go and buy some special shredder oil if it's hardly any different to what I've got.


Is a silicon/PTFE spray the sort of thing I should use? (See the last image above)


PTFE spray is what I use on mine.

We use pound shop 3in1 equiv for the work shredder, which seems quite happy on that diet

Just use any old oil or grease. I use some spray-on lithium grease - works like a charm.

For safety reasons it's to apply the lubricant to a sheet of paper (if it's a very light spray like WD40 allow it to evaporate a bit) and then shred it.

Don't do what I did the first time - and just spray the stuff into the slot - or at least, if you do, unplug it first. By the time, the little straw triggered the sensor on mine, a nice explosive mixture had developed around the motor. Left me with quite a lot less hair and eyebrows.

Says here not to use WD40.

The message from Alex Coleman contains these words:

Not surprised - it isn't a very good lubricant and was never designed as one.

There was a lomg thread about this less than a year ago.

But don't these manufacturers keep changing the formulation of their oils such that WD40 could be very different now.

One thread from 1998 found that WD40 was actually classified as a solvent back then.

But maybe it is now more than a water displacer and even does a job of lubing?

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required