Benro head lubricant

[Cpt Buggernuts]

Hi guys,
I have a really nice sturdy Benro tripod from a friend with the HD-38 head. When I received it it had amazing smooth movements, which were facilitated by this gray thick lubricant. After a servicing at a photographic shop, the lubricant was replaced with white lithium, which gives less than desirable results. The movements are much jerkier, and their speed isn't limited as it was with the previous one. This means that precise adjustments are near impossible with any type of gear attached to the head.

I have tried and tried to no avail to find a substitute. One of my tutors suggested liquid graphite, but I can't seem to find it anywhere.

What are your thoughts? What could the substance have been, and what can I replace it with? It was really thick and near the color of a gray card.

-Rado

[Jim Noel]

That sounds like it might have been molybdenum.

[E. von Hoegh]

It sounds like some sort of damping grease. http://www.rocol.com/products/kilopo...damping-grease

[Cpt Buggernuts]

Jim, are you talking about molybdenum disulfide?

E. von Hoegh, I think you hit the nail on the head. I hope it's not as expensive as the single example on amazon/ebay, which is £100. Reading more about it, it is used to add a smoother feel to the movements of different pieces of equipment, which is precisely what I am looking for! Thank you!

-Rado

[E. von Hoegh]

Jim, are you talking about molybdenum disulfide?

E. von Hoegh, I think you hit the nail on the head. I hope it's not as expensive as the single example on amazon/ebay, which is £100. Reading more about it, it is used to add a smoother feel to the movements of different pieces of equipment, which is precisely what I am looking for! Thank you!

-Rado

See if you can get a (hopefully free) sample. Rocol is based in Leeds, UK.

[Bob Salomon]

A properly made head is not greased packed, some are lubricant free.

[Cpt Buggernuts]

Upon further research, and discovering that the head movements are called fluid, I found some information on a camera operators' forum:
Note that you can often turn a non-fluid head into a fluid-like head by disassembling it, degreasing the collars and posts, and then re-greasing with damping grease (try Nye Nyogel 767A or Nye Flourocarbon Gel 868VH).

I will email them for a sample, but I have also found a retailer for a Fluorocarbon Gel 868VH, which is only £15 for a 10g tube.
I am uncertain of the amount that I will need, does anyone have a guideline of how much I should expect to use? (I have literally zero experience with this side of tinkering) I might end up purchasing this lubricant, and would like to do it in one shop, rather than use up a tube and have to order another one.

[Cpt Buggernuts]

A properly made head is not greased packed, some are lubricant free.

I am no expert on tripods, but I am 100% certain that the one that I am in possession with had some sort of lubricant between its movements. Up until this point the only matching softness of movement I am looking for was in video tripods, which we got to use briefly during my first year in university.

[E. von Hoegh]

Upon further research, and discovering that the head movements are called fluid, I found some information on a camera operators' forum:
Note that you can often turn a non-fluid head into a fluid-like head by disassembling it, degreasing the collars and posts, and then re-greasing with damping grease (try Nye Nyogel 767A or Nye Flourocarbon Gel 868VH).

I will email them for a sample, but I have also found a retailer for a Fluorocarbon Gel 868VH, which is only £15 for a 10g tube.
I am uncertain of the amount that I will need, does anyone have a guideline of how much I should expect to use? (I have literally zero experience with this side of tinkering) I might end up purchasing this lubricant, and would like to do it in one shop, rather than use up a tube and have to order another one.

Clean out all of whatever grease is in it now, regrease with the new grease. You might be best off bringing it back to the shop which installed the wrong grease, it will doubless need tools to disassemble and reassemble.