All About Solid Film Lubricants

1. What are solid film lubricants (SFLs)? They are thin films of resin that bind lubricating powders such as MoS2 (molybdenum disulfide), graphite, or PTFE to a surface.

2. How do they work? They prevent surface-to-surface contact, reducing friction and wear between mating surfaces. Each lubricant powder has different properties. MoS2 provides higher load carrying and corrosion protection than graphite, while graphite provides higher temperature stability and better electrical conductivity. PTFE provides the highest level of corrosion protection, release, and functionality for lighter load applications.

3. How do solid film lubricants produce low friction? They have exceptional low resistance to shear and slip easily… like a deck of new cards.

4. Are these films thick? No. Most are applied to a dry film thickness of 0.0002 to 0.0005 inches.

5. How are solid film lubricants applied? They are sprayed, dipped, dip/spun, tumble sprayed, or brushed onto a properly pretreated surface. Some require thermal curing and others are ready to use after air drying.

6. Where are SFLs applied? If only one surface of mating surfaces is to be coated, it is generally best to coat the surface with the greatest area. Camshafts, bearings, guns, weapons, pistons, valves, connectors, fasteners, and slides are examples. Typical situations where solid film lubricants should be used include:

•On heavily loaded equipment susceptible to galling and seizing…particularly aluminum and titanium.

•On inaccessible or concealed components where maintenance of conventional “wet” lubes are not practical or possible.

•On equipment that may not be compatible with fuel,solvents,grease, or oils.

•In place of liquid lubricants that can migrate and contaminate adjacent parts.

•Where dust or other airborne debris may impair machine operation.

•Where operating temperatures exceed the range of fluid lubricants.

•Where fretting corrosion occurs(solid film lubricants can often delay the onset of corrosion beyond the expected life of the part).

7. What are the frictional properties of SFLs?

•As load increases,the coefficient of friction(µ)decreases(to a point), to as low as 0.02 under extreme loads on hard surfaces.

•The kinetic(ordynamic)coefficient of friction is slightly lower than the static coefficient.

•The coefficient of friction is affected by the hardness of the surface to which the lubricant is applied, decreasing for hard surfaces and increasing for soft ones.

•The coefficient of friction is lower for rotating motion than for oscillating motion.

•The purpose of the film is to prevent surface-to-surface contact. The rule is: For the lowest friction and longest wear, use the hardest metals consistent with good design.

•If it is necessary to choose between applying the lubricant to either surface in a hard/soft bearing system, the lubricant should be applied to the softer material.

•The coefficient of friction of a solid film lubricant is independent of temperature within the coating’s recommended range.

•Thecoefficientoffrictionofcrystallinelubricants,likeMoS2, WS2, and graphite, will always decrease during burnishing.

•Ingeneral,coating both surfaces will provide greater service life but may reduce load-carrying capacity due to plastic deformation of the thicker dry film thickness layer. 

8. Why you should choose Everlube® Products.

•Our courteous Customer Service Department will help make your ordering experience fast, efficient, and effective.

•Our Technical Service personnel average35 years of coating experience to assist with any questions or offer coating recommendations for your specific needs.

•Each of our solid film lubricants is subjected to careful quality testing during every manufacturing step to ensure you receive the highest quality product, along with any requested certifications or test reports. Everlube® Products continues to meetthelatestISOandAS9100certifications.

•As EPA and other regulatory restrictions tighten,Everlube®Products continues to develop new and improved solid film lubricants to meet VOC restrictions,as well as REACH and RoHScompliance.

•Our guaranteed shelf life for solid film lubricants is one year from the date of shipment when stored in a factory sealed containerbelow100?F.  This ensures you have the maximum use time.

•Our substantial product line offers a wide selection of solid film lubricants, many of which that are qualified to Military, OEM,and standard industrial specifications

Advantages Everlube Product
We meet your toughest performance specifications
Capitalize on Everlube Products expertise. We've been developing critical tolerance coatings since 1953. Our leadership in engineered coating is evidenced by our customers, approvals and specification history of accomplishments.

Engineered coating solutions can help lower manufacturing costs, increase product life, save reengineering costs and ease the manufacturing process. And by increasing component reliability, Everlube Products' coatings can even lower maintenance and warranty costs.

We take a thorough approach to service
The many variables in design, materials, environments, coatings and requirements make each solution a unique challenge. That's why we follow a design problem solving process as our approach to the application. And Everlube Products is with you every step of the way.

Our coating professionals help you define your objectives, performance improvements and/or problems; develop and evaluate alternatives; then implement the engineered coating solution to meet your objectives. From rapid prototyping to research and development and application assistance, our engineered coatings team works for you.

This team approach to design engineering helps expedite your time to market. Along the way, we'll meet the demands of changing requirements, stay flexible, and work with you to meet your schedule. One rule of thumb to keep in mind: the earlier our involvement, the better the results.

We are the single product resource
Our focus is on the development and application of engineered coatings. Because we formulate, manufacture and offer application assistance for engineered coatings, we're in a unique position to understand and control the complexities involved. 
Everlube Products' leading brand name products continue to lead the industry: Everlube®, Lube-Lok®, Lubri-Bond®, Henderlube™, Perma-Slik®, Kal-Gard®, Ecoalube®, Electrobond®, Esnalube™, Electrolube®, Everlox®, Formkote®, Henco-Phos™ and Henco-Mask™. Our knowledge of product formulation and application expertise works together for your benefit.

Because Everlube Products is the complete product resource for engineered coatings, we can help shorten your design time and ensure that you receive the best quality product. It's what you expect from a leader!

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Everlube Products is a pioneer and leader in solid film lubricant technology. 

 Market : Our market section provides information on coatings that service the aerospace, military, semiconductor, medical, mechanical components, industrial machinery, fabricated metal, automotive, Fasteners, Chemical Processing,, Elastomeric Parts, and Electronics markets. In these markets, we have a vast number of OEM specifications. Please see our specification section for listings by specific company and/or specification number.

 Product Type : In our product type section, we offer a search by PTFE Coatings, MoS2 Coatings, protective coatings, air dry solid film lubricants, water based coatings, Mil spec and aerospace approved coatings, Graphite Coatings, Tungsten Disulfide Coatings, Process Lubricants/MRO, and Electronic Control.

 Brand Family : For customers familiar with our product brand names, we have provided a section that includes many of our major product brands and allows for searching by product name. Some of our leading product brands included in this section are Everlube®, Lube-Lok®, Lubri-Bond®, Ecoalube®, Ever-Slik®, Esnalube™, Perma-Slik®, Kal-Gard®, Electrobond®, Formkote®, Henco-Mask™, Electrolube, Evershield, Henco-Phos, Insul-Cote, No-Swab and X-Coat

Design Engineering:
Many design engineering problemsare solved through the use of engineered coating technologies. In many of these applications, our products provide performance enhancements when dealing with problems associated with corrosion, wear, galling, seizing, thermal stability, friction and chemical resistance. Many of our engineered coatings are used whenever conventional wet lubricants cannot or should not be used.

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