Singer lube
 

Just opened a new tube of Singer lube and it looks & smells totally different. It has a strong petroleum smell and also has a gritty feel. Any one else seen this? I am going to open a new tube when I get home tonight.


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Oh my, that does look different. There has been a lot of discussion here about singer lube. I've read about not being able to buy it in the US anymore, there seems to be a blue tube that is still available in Canada, and Joe says the white lube is only for plastic machines.

I have 2 tubes of vintage lube..... green tube. Both tubes look exactly alike on the outside. But, one tube has a yellowish oily lube and the other one is more white. .... so I don't know what the answer is. And, I'll be watching once again to see what the experts say.

That looks like what comes out of some of the tubes I've got. I don't know any more what to say about the Singer Lube. My personal opinion based on some of what I have read, is that the white colored grease is not for the motors, but for the gears.
The brown or amber colored grease should be for the motors. I wouldn't worry too much about the color from one tube to the other as it's probably been made by a zillion manufacturers over the years.

That's just my opinion and I won't swear it's right. All I know is I use the non white stuff no mater it's age in my Singer motors.

Joe

I haven't seen the Blue tube here. The one my supplier can get is the pink and red one. The lube I get looks the same as in the photo, but it's not gritty. The grittiness is what concerns me here.

I do as Joe says, non-white in the motor... with one exception. If it reeks, I chuck it out. There've been a few tubes that were either hard / chunky, or stunk like you wouldn't believe, and I didn't think I could co-exist with them.

Thanks for the replies. We have used many of the tubes that are red & white. The grease in these has a brown tint but has never been gritty when you rub some between finger & thumb. I opened another new tube and the same thing, almost feels like valve grinding paste and these tubes were sealed. If I used this stuff on the motor wicks, I don't think it would ever make it to motor bushing & shaft. I did find a full tube of the singer lube in the lead tubes and is nice opaque color. Either I got a bad batch or this is how one supplier made it for them. I will be finding a new brand & source for lube.............

I was told by my supplier that the manufacturer they deal with said they were sourcing from somewhere else.

"This item was not reformulated; however, we were having issues with cold weather so we are now purchasing the product from a new source."

What cold weather means, I don't know, but this is all of the scoop I have on it. ;)

Perhaps your tubes froze somewhere in the supply chain? Is that what it would do if it froze? I have no idea.

That would be an easy experiment. Find a tube, open it, check it, if it's smooth like it should be then freeze it. When it thaws check it out.

Joe

Doesn't look like mine.

My DH talked with a friend of his that owns a Janome & industrial machine dealership. They use (Super Lube) synthetic grease on all the vintage bushed motors & metal gear sets and has used it for several years with no issues. He said the Super-Lube never hardens and has never liquified to contaminate motor commutator & brushes. I already use this stuff on gears and will use it in our motors from now on. I ordered a dozen 1/2oz tubes. I suppose it would also work fine on plastic gears since it is not petroleum based, but you will have to do your own research to verify usage on plastic gears.

Marilynn,

If you use that synthetic grease your Singer motors will not be getting lubed. They are designed to use a grease that softens and flows. Since the synthetic grease does not do that it will not flow down the wick and get to the bearings.

It might work for a while if you put it directly on the bearings, but eventually even synthetic grease gives up and you'll either have to tear down the motors for a relube, or buy new new motors.

For gears it's not a problem so long as the chemical make up of the grease does not degrade the plastic the gears are made from.

Joe