Don't use this to lube your VPI Classic bearing

Thanks all.

Doug, I don't know what "functionally equivalent to the OEM lubricant" means in this case. As the poster directly below kindly cited, the manual simply speaks of "white lithium grease." White lithium grease does not sell for $26 for a small tube. If a VPI uses a different blend on their end, and it's superior to white lithium grease they recommend, they should say so. Otherwise, what do you use if a gourmet recipe calls for "butter"? I used white lithium grease I got at a Home Depot last year and it was fine. With this particular grease from Ace, there was no indication whether it was mineral or synthetic based. I now find out there is white lithium grease and then there is white lithium grease.

Frustrating to say the least.

Stringreen,
This is news to me. I'm pretty sure my Classic was factory greased with white lithium grease (or an equivalent) as I saw some of it seep down the shaft with gravity.

VPI has an excellent customer service, but their manuals are often subpar. A lot of times, it seems VPI owners learn by trial and error, which is frustrating. The oiling of the motor is another example - people had no clue exactly where and how to apply oil to the motor. I read some of the threads discussing this and to my horror, some owners actually dismantled the motor assembly thinking that "below the brass piece" meant literally that since there was virtually no space between the pulley and the brass plate. This should have been made much clearer in the manual. Btw, VPI now makes their motors with a much wider space between the pulley and the plate, doubtless in response to owners' inquiries and confusion regarding this issue.

I'm very weary of sprays since it's next to impossible to control the spray pattern.

"Below the brass piece" means the base of the pulley shaft that is below the brass plate surrounding the pulley. The space between the two is so narrow that you'd never think you should try to apply the oil through that space, and many people actually were unscrewing the plate to lubricate the motor. The best way to do it is to use a syringe since it will allow you to apply the oil with precision and as little mess as possible. A less precise option is to use a dropper, but the space is too narrow to do it cleanly. The gravity will get the oil down the shaft, but you'll have to clean whatever oil residue is left on the pulley above the brass plate and on the plate. The latter is essentially a variation of the method you use. Of course, you can't put the Classic's motor on its side like you can with the Scoutmaster.

To add to Dover's post, I vaguely recall reading an old post where someone mentioned VPI did not recommend Teflon based lubricants.

Captain Winters,
Please let us know how this Super Lube works. It looks like it should work quite well, and saw they also sell 1 oz tubes for $3.

Atmashpere,
The Classic has an inverted bearing so would transmission fluid work? I don't know its viscosity, but anything thinner than peanut butter in room temperature would most likely not work. Or to put it differently, I don't think any "fluid" would work.

Swanny,

"Magic Lube" is a registered trade name so I certainly hope it's the same product for VPI's sake.

I used this last year and it worked great. I got it at Home Depot. I just hate wasting things. Same with motor oil for the motor. I had to buy a quart of it last year, and you just need a drop!!! Maybe I'll get a Harley when I go through my mid-life crisis instead of upgrading...

I passed both the grease and the oil to a buddy of mine who also has a Classic, but still. Considering how little and how infrequently you need to use it, it'd be great if VPI or VPI dealers simply provided a small packet of VPI-approved grease with the purchase. They do provide damping fluid after all. Would make things so much easier.

Let me close my post by emphasizing that this is just a very minor quibble in light of the great customer service VPI provides.

Ahoy Captain,

The manual states that you need to put only a little bit of grease on top of the bearing. This makes sense to me as the tight (pun intended :) specs for the bearing make anything more simply excessive, which your experience seems to confirm.

As you lower the platter onto the shaft, you will invariably spread some of the grease down the shaft. The first spin will do the rest. So greasing the shaft in addition to the bearing seems rather unnecessary and redundant. Both times I lubricated the bearing, in addition to the original factory job, the excess would simply make its way down the shaft with gravity.

Really, all you need to do is to put a small amount of grease on top of the bearing and carefully lower the platter. The grease has nowhere else to go but to the right places. I'd think one should avoid removing and reinstalling the platter back and forth due to a simple grease job, which really should just be a quick maintenance job once a year.

But it sounds like the VPI grease is the way to go. Duh, one might say. But $26? Really?

So I finally lubricated my Classic with this particular grease that was ok'ed by VPI. I found it quite thick and not slippery, almost like toothpaste. But what do I know; after all, it has Teflon in it, which is one of the most slippery substances known to man...

Well, I started listening earlier today and actually heard the pitch was off on a U2 album. My SDS was set to 60.20 Hz. When I checked the speed with the KAB strobe, the platter was spinning way too slow. I had to go up to 61.85 Hz to get the speed dead on. So what the hell? That can't be right. If I didn't have the SDS, I could not listen to without removing the grease. I find this extremely frustrating as this should be a simple maintenance job that turned into a major headache.