RPL - The "Red Paste of Love"

[BirdMobile]

Fellow Toolheads,

I come to you with a gift that none of us are worthy of!

Introducimg... the "Red Paste of Love"!

The product of countless minutes of research and development, the RPL is the ultimate answer to your ratchet lubing needs. Here's how you make it:

2 Parts (by Volume) Superlube Grease
1 Part (by Volume) RLL (Permatex Ultra Slick Engine Assembly Lube)

Proportions are not critical. Mix thoroughly. Apply to your love starved ratchet internals.

Seems to work better (in my huge test sample of two ratchets) than Superlube alone, and doesn't weep like RLL alone. So far, I'm loving this stuff! Try it - you might be surprised!

Photo of the shizzz, next to my first victim - Snap On SF80A. Smoothest that ratchet has ever run!

 

[d.mcfarland]

Not too thick for a fine tooth ratchet like that?

 

[BirdMobile]

Not too thick for a fine tooth ratchet like that?

It's thinner than the straight Superlube that it came from the factory with.

 

[articsilber323]

i might have to try this!

 

[chipper]

I've never had the problem of super lube being to thick..I assume thats why you tried this? But I do love r.l.l!!!

 

[monomach]

My concern here is that you're mixing two compounds with additives without knowing what the long-term effects are. Like, what if there's some freaky reaction that causes it to harden prematurely? Or, god forbid, what if two of the additives way down on the list of ingredients combine to create an oxidizing agent? That would succccccck. I'd say keep it to the cheap ratchets for now until you get to see what happens over time.

 

[BirdMobile]

I've never had the problem of super lube being to thick..I assume thats why you tried this? But I do love r.l.l!!!

No... I tried this because I love RLL, it seems to make my ratchets run smoother than Superlube. Hate the mess and weeping of RLL, though... so I started thinking. Not always a good thing, but in this case it turned out great!

 

[BirdMobile]

My concern here is that you're mixing two compounds with additives without knowing what the long-term effects are. Like, what if there's some freaky reaction that causes it to harden prematurely? Or, god forbid, what if two of the additives way down on the list of ingredients combine to create an oxidizing agent? That would succccccck. I'd say keep it to the cheap ratchets for now until you get to see what happens over time.

Time will tell... but the little I know about lubricants and additives leads me to believe it will be OK. However - you bring up a good point. Use at your own risk!

 

[Wamsutta]

Those two aren't going to mix very well because one is petroleum based and the other is silicone based.

 

[BirdMobile]

Those two aren't going to mix very well because one is petroleum based and the other is silicone based.

Try it... they mixed up really easy and nice, and show no signs of separating at all. My guess is that the silicon based component of Superlube is emulsified with some sort of additive.

 

[Hiball]

Just Curious? Not trying to knock anyone's beliefs or practices but am I the only one who doesn't lube my sealed ratchets? I keep a few bottles of 3-1 laying around for my Wright/SK roundheads but other than that, I just use them.. LOL

 

[BirdMobile]

Just Curious? Not trying to knock anyone's beliefs or practices but am I the only one who doesn't lube my sealed ratchets? I keep a few bottles of 3-1 laying around for my Wright/SK roundheads but other than that, I just use them.. LOL

There's something to be said for that practice... you are probably less likely to strip your ratchet teeth (due to full prawl engagement, with no lube in between). However, you'll probably pay for it with increased wear, and higher noise and back drag.

I like mine lubed - a well oiled machine just seems right somehow!

 

[chipper]

Just Curious? Not trying to knock anyone's beliefs or practices but am I the only one who doesn't lube my sealed ratchets? I keep a few bottles of 3-1 laying around for my Wright/SK roundheads but other than that, I just use them.. LOL

I lube them every 10 years whether they need it or not...j/k I'm good for once a year

 

[Hiball]

There's something to be said for that practice... you are probably less likely to strip your ratchet teeth (due to full prawl engagement, with no lube in between). However, you'll probably pay for it with increased wear, and higher noise and back drag.

I like mine lubed - a well oiled machine just seems right somehow!

Well i'm only referencing the sealed ratchets, super lube is pretty tacky stuff so I feel pretty confident that all is well on the home front. Good luck.. Hopefully your 80 tooth ratchet wont be a 8 tooth by morning..

 

[Virgil Cain]

Those two aren't going to mix very well because one is petroleum based and the other is silicone based.

This would be my main concern.

 

[BirdMobile]

Well i'm only referencing the sealed ratchets, super lube is pretty tacky stuff so I feel pretty confident that all is well on the home front. Good luck.. Hopefully your 80 tooth ratchet wont be a 8 tooth by morning..

Meh... rebuilds are cheap.
I'm not worried about it - the ratchet is running smoother than it ever has, at this rate I might actually take a liking to it again and start using it more!

 

[BirdMobile]

This would be my main concern.

It's not a concern. They mix up great, don't separate, and work beautifully!
I lubed 4 more of my ratchets with RPL before leaving the shop this evening. All 4 had either RLL or Superlube to start with, and ALL of them seemed smoother after the RPL treatment. Two of them (my Carlyle Roto Heads) liked it so much they almost seemed to purr afterward!

I'm telling you guys... this stuff is great! All the benefits of RLL, without the horrible weeping mess. I'm going to stop at the 6 ratchets I've lubed so far, wait a few weeks to see if there are any ill effects (I'm 99% certain there won't be any...), then I'm cleaning and lubing the rest of my ratchets with RPL. I'm that pleased with it!

 

[SawtoothJL]

Subscribed

 

[Virgil Cain]

It's not a concern. They mix up great, don't separate, and work beautifully!
I lubed 4 more of my ratchets with RPL before leaving the shop this evening. All 4 had either RLL or Superlube to start with, and ALL of them seemed smoother after the RPL treatment. Two of them (my Carlyle Roto Heads) liked it so much they almost seemed to purr afterward!

I'm telling you guys... this stuff is great! All the benefits of RLL, without the horrible weeping mess. I'm going to stop at the 6 ratchets I've lubed so far, wait a few weeks to see if there are any ill effects (I'm 99% certain there won't be any...), then I'm cleaning and lubing the rest of my ratchets with RPL. I'm that pleased with it!

How long have you had these things mixed together? Hours, days, weeks, years? Unless you've had them mixed for awhile you can not say they don't separate.

In any case, I don't think this is going to hurt your ratchet. But you certainly can't say that your homebrew mixture is going to be stable long term either.

 

[BirdMobile]

How long have you had these things mixed together? Hours, days, weeks, years? Unless you've had them mixed for awhile you can not say they don't separate.

In any case, I don't think this is going to hurt your ratchet. But you certainly can't say that your homebrew mixture is going to be stable long term either.

I can't say they won't separate... only that so far (about 15 hours after first mixing experiments), they show no signs of separation.

I'll keep everyone updated.

 

[BFHtime]

Highball you may want to try to lube one. I bet if you do, you might want to lube a few more. I have lubed some brand new ratchets dual 80s and have noticed smoother action and less back drag. It makes a difference when a bolt is already broken free and you are using the ratchet to be able to reach it, while it is almost at zero friction as you try to run the bolt the rest of the way out quickly. I use Lucas engine oil additive because it is sticky, but thin. It does run if I when I put too much, but it works great in my opinion.

I have not lubed all my ratchets, but I can tell which ones have been lubed and which ones haven't. I think of it like lubing almost anything else. You can maybe get by not lubing something for a long time, with minimal lube; but things can work a little better, a little smoother, if you lube them. Almost like a preventive maintenance type thing.

Lubing a dual 80 IMO, is like tuning a good running engine from the factory, and getting it run a little better, with minor changes. I think if you try it, you will like it. Just try it once.

 

[rtole]

I think its getting a bit super technical here......its lube for a ratchet. If he likes it, it will be fine. If you work on anything in the real world, ratchets are going to get dirty. Sealed ratchets are not truely sealed. Thats why they say do not imurse in fluids. Dirt and grime gets in there. Teeth wear, making the inside dirty. Weather or not the mixture stays mixed is of no issue. Good god, he is taking care of his ratchet better than most people do.

 

[rtole]

I lube and clean mine all once a month, for the record. I have used many different types. All lubes have been better than none. Except my snap on round head. That one only likes a touch of dry graphite. Super lube, royal purple gun oil, super lube spray, all made my round head snap ons almost lock up untill I cleaned off the lube

 

[bonneyman]

I just got a rebuild kit in from Snap-On - and it included a SuperLube grease packet.

 

[Fedwrench]

Merk has been banned for more than awhile now but, I think since he coined the Red Lube of Love name for the Permatex engine lube, and became a legacy at least in his own mind, you need to come up with a completely different name for the goo you created to avoid confusion and misrepresentation.

Like Birdmobile's improved ratchet lube goo

 

[BirdMobile]

Merk has been banned for more than awhile now but, I think since he coined the Red Lube of Love name for the Permatex engine lube, and became a legacy at least in his own mind, you need to come up with a completely different name for the goo you created to avoid confusion and misrepresentation.

Like Birdmobile's improved ratchet lube goo

I thought about "Pink Grease of Lust"... but the RPL stuck in my mind due to a love for older HP calculators

Maybe "BirdLube"?

 

[SawtoothJL]

I thought about "Pink Grease of Lust"... but the RPL stuck in my mind due to a love for older HP calculators

Maybe "BirdLube"?

If You start calling it papas pink magic you'll be My hero forever [emoji23]

 

[BFHtime]

I use the Lucas engine oil additive non-synthetic, in my 100 tooth Snap-On round head, which works better than new.

 

[IFMJohn]

If You start calling it papas pink magic you'll be My hero forever [emoji23]

papa's pink magic wins in my book.

 

[slyonedoofy]

I thought about "Pink Grease of Lust"... but the RPL stuck in my mind due to a love for older HP calculators

Maybe "BirdLube"?

RPN, lol

 

[BirdMobile]

RPN, lol

Reverse Polish Notation (RPN), also called Reverse Polish Logic (RPL). Any other old HP calculatorheads on this forum?

 

[slyonedoofy]

Reverse Polish Notation (RPN), also called Reverse Polish Logic (RPL). Any other old HP calculatorheads on this forum?

Sorry, never heard it called RPL.

The RPL programming language (RPL meaning ROM-based procedural language following Hewlett-Packard or, alternatively, Reverse Polish LISP) is a handheld calculator system and application programming language used on Hewlett-Packard's engineering graphing RPN calculators of the HP-28, HP-48, HP-49 and HP-50 series, but it is also usable on non-RPN calculators, such as the HP-39 series.

My father is an engineer and that's all we ever had at home and it's what I used for my engineering classes. I use an HP48. It's great because there is an Android app called "Droid48" that perfectly emulates this calculator and it's free.

 

[BirdMobile]

Sorry, never heard it called RPL.

The RPL programming language (RPL meaning ROM-based procedural language following Hewlett-Packard or, alternatively, Reverse Polish LISP) is a handheld calculator system and application programming language used on Hewlett-Packard's engineering graphing RPN calculators of the HP-28, HP-48, HP-49 and HP-50 series, but it is also usable on non-RPN calculators, such as the HP-39 series.

My father is an engineer and that's all we ever had at home and it's what I used for my engineering classes. I use an HP48. It's great because there is an Android app called "Droid48" that perfectly emulates this calculator and it's free.

Yeah... I use an iPhone based app (i48) that emulates an HP48 perfectly. Uses the same ROM dump file as the actual calculator. I also have an actual real-world HP48 and a HP49, don't care for the HP49, I think the 48 was the last great calculator they made.

 

[slyonedoofy]

Yeah... I use an iPhone based app (i48) that emulates an HP48 perfectly. Uses the same ROM dump file as the actual calculator. I also have an actual real-world HP48 and a HP49, don't care for the HP49, I think the 48 was the last great calculator they made.

I agree!!! I have a real world HP48 too. I just hate taking it out of the house because I lose everything at job sites.

 

[2oolhound]

Maybe "BirdLube"?

That's getting close to "Goose Grease"

 

[BirdMobile]

That's getting close to "Goose Grease"

Loon Lube?

 

[byoungblood]

Reverse Polish Notation (RPN), also called Reverse Polish Logic (RPL). Any other old HP calculatorheads on this forum?

Yeah, I had an 48GX my senior year of HS and into college calculus. At some point it grew feet on me though.

 

[BirdMobile]

Yeah, I had an 48GX my senior year of HS and into college calculus. At some point it grew feet on me though.

As your user name says, you really are young, aren't you!
In my senior year of high school, one of the math geeks in Calculus class had something none of us had ever dreamed if - a HP calculator with a glowing red LED display! Battery life was dismal, he was lucky to get a day's usage out of it, it probably cost him or his parents a small fortune, and it only had a few basic sci functions like cos and sqrt. In any case, I was in my mid 20's before I could afford/own my first HP - a 20 or 28 or some such model with *gasp* LCD display! Loved it.

Edit: Looked up old HP calculators on a HP website. Dude in marh class had a HP25, my first HP was a HP31E. They're both obsolete antiques at this point, but back then they were the Shizzzzle!

 

[johninct]

Yeah... I use an iPhone based app (i48) that emulates an HP48 perfectly. Uses the same ROM dump file as the actual calculator. I also have an actual real-world HP48 and a HP49, don't care for the HP49, I think the 48 was the last great calculator they made.

I have been using my HP 41CX since 1984.

 

[Jeff95TA]

I think its getting a bit super technical here......its lube for a ratchet. If he likes it, it will be fine.

We can take it even further. Here's an article from Machinery Lubrication magazine (no I don't subscribe!).

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/1012/synthetic-greases

Grease Compatibility
When two grease types are mixed, the resulting combination will likely have a softer consistency than either of its component greases, potentially leading to lubricant failure. It is advisable not to mix greases, especially those with different thickeners.

Lubricant suppliers also recommend purging the old grease and cleaning the machines and lubrication systems before introducing a new grease. This helps prevent problems associated with mixing incompatible greases.

But yeah, it's a ratchet, not an expensive piece of machinery with high speed bearings!