I was just looking for a quick suggestion on lubricant for our walkman's: 1) oil for bearings and capstan; i know it has to be high quality watch oil... which one ? ebay lists several oil watch but are they all ok for walkman too ? (marian suggested link on ebay is dead) 2) grease for gears and levers with friction: i have no idea which one to look for. any ebay link is appreciated thanks
I recently used möbius 8000, seems to have done the trick. Use sparingly! https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/251991129814 Don’t know grease answer
For grease I use multipurpose lithium based and for oil, I just have some general purpose sewing machine oil. I know there is likely better out there, however I own tape decks I've serviced over 2 years ago and hardly ever use, but still the numbers are within or better then factory specs. Same with my walkmans, all drawing low current and within or better then Sony w+f spec, so I am not worried for now. I think the main thing is don't let equipment sit too long without use
I've had excellent results with bearing oil designed for high performance radio controlled cars. This was the closest formulation I could find to the oil recommended in the Nakamichi service manuals for the sintered capstan bearings. The one I got is called Trinity Royal Oil, and it comes in a small bottle with a nice needle point applicator. This has performed very well on my Nakamichi as well as multiple Walkmans. All are now operating within or better than factory W&F specs (CR-7 0.022% RMS, DC2 0.6% RMS) For grease I also use standard white lithium grease.
Thanks everybody, white lithium grease seems good to me (I need it, as an example, for the jack-screw of the optical pick-up in portable CD players) and also I will look for good quality oils like the ones you suggested. I have the sewing machine oil and it seems fine at first, but it dries pretty quickly.
@Gibraltar how do you figure that Trinity... oil has the same formulation as Nak recommended oil? If needed, I will post my oils used for Zeiss objectives (optics was my specialty) but I did learn from my son, RC cars and now drones aficionado, about differential oils. Saved me when fixing Philips bboxes cassette eject mechanisms... I use Extreme Oil Lubricant for the job, if it works to lube your guns, it should be OK for the quieter times @Gibraltar I applaud you on taking care of those sintered capstan bearings: one of those "minor" things you have to DIY to be sure it was actually done!!!!! Oil-Impregnated brass: sounds as silly as good vinyl over MQA download!
Hi @Jorge, the Trinity stuff is not exactly the same, but it's the closest I could find to the Nakamichi recommended Anderol 456 specs. Admittedly I don't have proof of the exact formulation, but according to an RC car forum thread the Trinity is re-branded MIL-L-6085D, which is a low-volatility aircraft instrumentation oil. Here's the relevant excerpt: "Originally posted by dalem Trinity's 'Royal Oil' is repackaged military spec synthetic bearing lubricant for gyros (so are many others). It is sold by many manufacturers under many names around the world. The lubricant is extremely light and attracts far less dirt than petroleum. Trinity is making a killing selling it for $5/oz but it is the best stuff out there." "Originally posted by dtm Do you have the spec?? I can then get some for free from work. MIL-L-6085D"
Apologies for bumping an old thread, not sure if you are even still active either, but would you mind sharing your technique one day? Within or better than Sony's specs is quite excellent
