Bicycle Mechanics - spoke prep alternative

I am building up a wheel and I have read that linseed oil is a good substitute for spoke prep. Now I don't have any linseed oil but I do have some hemp oil. Any idea if that stuff will work? I understand that the linseed oil is good because it gets tacky after a while. My (maybe faulted) logic is that since hemp oil comes from a seed just like linseed oil, then it will work just as well, LOL.

Any other ideas? I have some blue loctite but that stuff is brutal.

yes, hemp and linseed oil have the same characteristics! it will work just the same. good luck!

Lets see now. You've heard that linseed oil is a good substitute for spoke prep and you want to know if hemp oil would be a good substitute for linseed oil. A substitute for a substitute. Sounds crazy to me but I really don't have any experience with hemp oil. Actually, until a few minutes ago I'd never even heard of such a thing as hemp oil.

On the other hand, I used to build wheels using linseed oil all the time. If nothing else, it's cheaper and faster to use then spoke prep. The biggest drawback that I can see is that you have to let your newly built wheels age for a few days to allow the linseed oil to set up. considering the cost of components and the time you will have invested in the wheel build, I'd go ahead and splurge a couple of bucks on real linseed oil and not take a chance on using a substitute for a substitute.

I've researched hemp oil, it's very similar to linseed, so I wouldnt consider it a substitute, just an alternative...

I use grease. My problem is not as much with wheels "untightening" themselves, but with spokes frozen solid after 2-3 years of year-round cycling.

My wheels stay under tension without problems and I usually wait 2-3 years and a couple of major potholes before I have to true them again.

Thanks for the replies. I'll either use Moly grease or the oil. Come to think of it, I'll probably just use the oil.

BTW, it is getting tougher and tougher to get hemp seed oil in the States b/c of the stupid war on drugs. The Govt. is cracking down on all kinds of hemp products even though you can't get high on them. I had to get my oil from Canada.