cam cleaning

I have a couple of buddies who clean their cams with WD40. I'm aware that it doesn't damage the hardware, but when crammed into a pack with other cams cleaned the same way does the residual WD40 cause damage to all the slings and draws that are also in the pack.Thanks

Don't clean it with WD-40. Soak them in hot soapy water, pull the triggers a few times, dry. If you really want to put something on them, get that Metolius lube. It is good stuff, and that little bottle will go a long ways.

ditto on the wd40. That and cams shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence.

If you don't have any Metolius lube then bike chain lube such as white lightning also works well.

Agreed.

In terms of field maintenance, try this method for short term results. In Red Rocks and J-Tree this past December, my climbing partner and I, desperately in need of cam lube, ended up using sesame oil. It made the action on even the most jammed up cams very smooth. Also, it works well in cold environments, since it won't solidify (like olive oil does). and it smells like stirfry!

Do not get that metolius cam lube!!!! I swear that shit turns to wax as soon as the temps hit 45 degrees. I could tell you a little story of a boy who cleaned all his cams with that shit to get ready for a big trip, and when he got to the base of the crag, the f-ing things didn't work. hot water, some soap, and graphite, They should stop selling that metolius crap...or have a warning label: "Warning! this product will turn your cams into useless hunks!"

White gas

I use a powdered Graphite Lubricant on mechanisms and components that I don't want to 'gum' up; normal oil based products tend to absorb/attract dirt and other debris that you don't want near your life line equipment. Any hardware store carries PGL, its' cheap and it is long lasting. Climb safe~

Luke Hanley wrote:Do not get that metolius cam lube!!!! I swear that shit turns to wax as soon as the temps hit 45 degrees. I could tell you a little story of a boy who cleaned all his cams with that shit to get ready for a big trip, and when he got to the base of the crag, the f-ing things didn't work. hot water, some soap, and graphite, They should stop selling that metolius crap...or have a warning label: "Warning! this product will turn your cams into useless hunks!"

This has not been my experience at all. I use the Metolius lube on my cams and cold temperatures (down around 30F) have had no effect on them whatsoever.

JL

Luke Hanley wrote:Do not get that metolius cam lube!!!! I swear that shit turns to wax as soon as the temps hit 45 degrees. I could tell you a little story of a boy who cleaned all his cams with that shit to get ready for a big trip, and when he got to the base of the crag, the f-ing things didn't work. hot water, some soap, and graphite, They should stop selling that metolius crap...or have a warning label: "Warning! this product will turn your cams into useless hunks!"

I had a similar experience with the Metolius lube until I realized that I hadn't cleaned the cams well enough in the first place and that I had over-lubed them. What I finally did was wash them again in hot soapy water and apply just a drop of lube to each spring. The lube seemed to act as a solvent; I pulled the triggers a bunch of times until the dirt stopped oozing out of the springs in a black streak. Then I rinsed and dried them and they worked better than ever (I didn't apply any more lube after they were dry).

Thanks for the lube and cleaning info. Your comments are appreciated, although no one has mentioned any thing about WD40 damaging slings and draws. Thanks

Here's a good trick.

Nikwax Tech Wash. Fill up a small bucket with hot water add a couple cupfulls of Tech Wash mix some and hold the cam head underwater while operating the action. Watch the junk come off and settle to the bottom. Nice thing here is that you don't have the worry of contaminating the slings like white gas or wd-40 (if you get Nikwax on your slings it's ok). An added bonus of Nikwax is that it's green!

After this I use Metolius Cam Lube for a protectant/lubricant.

John McNamee wrote:ditto on the wd40. That and cams shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence. If you don't have any Metolius lube then bike chain lube such as white lightning also works well.

Metolius cam lube is actually manufactured/bottled by the same company that makes White Lightning (used to be based out of Los Osos CA, where a couple of friends worked in the packaging end of things).

Their Race Day formula is my favorite, but one must take care to avoid over-application of the stuff, be it bike chains or climbing cams.

Cory Tanner wrote:no one has mentioned any thing about WD40 damaging slings and draws. Thanks

I would assume that WD40 does damage slings, even though I don't know that. On a personal note, I retired a couple slings that had laundry detergent spilled on them in the trunk of my car a few years ago. I was sure that he detergent wasn't going to compromise the strength of the slings in the short term--I wasn't so sure about the long term--but I went ahead and bought new ones anyway.

I, personally, would not assume that cams that were lubricated with WD40 and then crammed together in a pack exposed one another to the WD40. If the person using the lube was good with it, all of the excess should have been removed/wiped off. If you saw your partner put his/her cams in his/her pack while they were dripping with WD40, then you could probably assume that all of the slings were exposed. Otherwise, I would assume your partner did a good job of removing the excess WD40. But again, that's just what I would do.

--Marc