Grease or Anti-Sieze?
 

I'm starting this thread based on a comment on the current "Oxalic Acid or Evaporust" thread. I'm very careful about always applying grease to parts that thread together--including all nuts and bolts--as well as seatposts, stems, etc. Should I be using anti-seize compound instead, and if so when? Is anti-seize preferable to grease for seatposts, for example? Bottom bracket fixed cups? How about routine nut-and-bolt assemblies? If there's some rule of thumb about this I'd like to know what it is.

Grease is adequate 99% of the time. I use anti-seize only with more reactive metals like Ti, and even then only in difficult places like the BB which acts like a sump and can trap and hold water against the parts. If your BB has a weep hole, then grease is adequate even there.

However, understand that the extreme surface pressure on tightly threaded parts, combined with some surface roughness can still mean direct metal/metal contact even with grease. If you do routine maintenance every few years, you should be fine, but may see issues if unlike metals are left attached for a decade or so.

The only reasons not to use anti-sieze are higher cost, and that they can be messy to work with. So go ahead and use it if it makes you feel better, or if your conditions are harsh, like exposure to salt water. But the bst protection is regular and routine diassembly.

Titanium is reactive? I don't know about this. How so?

It isn't that titanium is per se reactive. It's what happens when it's paired with various metals, under conditions where galvanic corrosion can occur. Look here, and notice how far from the other metals used on bicycles Ti is. So it's not the titanium, or the other metals but the combination, that the issue is about.

I have a small tube of anti-seize that I've had around forever. You could just slap a little grease on it but why not just splurge on a small tube of anti-seize and you'll know you'll be using the right stuff.

If a part is threaded, I use anti-seize... but it's just personal preference. Anti-sieze is generally used for threaded fasteners, although some mechanics use it for sliding pins in automotive disc brake calipers (due to high temps) and the like. Different formulas for different applications (copper, nickel, moly, etc.); I use Permatex 80078.

General purpose grease works for everything else.

One benefit of antiseize is that grit doesn't tend to stick to it as well as grease (which is more tacky) so you don't pick up dirt on the exposed parts. On the other hand, you are more likely to have anti-seize get all over the place when you are applying it. If you are handy, it's just good practice to have a bottle of anti-seize in your tool bag. If you are only going to do occasional work on bikes, it's really not worth the expense. Not that $10 is all that expensive in the grand scheme of things.

http://www.ssina.com/images/corrosio...nic-series.gif

...........................SSINA: Stainless Steel: Corrosion

...hint. In terms of bicycle, always assume water will somehow be present.

I do the same as headloss, anti-seize for threaded parts, grease for everything else.

Anti seize on bottom bracelet threads 100% .

Any threads I use copper anti seize it's just the best practice.

Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process in which one metal corrodes preferentially to another when both metals are in electrical contact, in the presence of an electrolyte.
Dissimilar metals and alloys have different electrode potentials,

compatibility of two different metals may be predicted by consideration of their anodic index. For environments, such as outdoors, high humidity, and salt environments, there should be not more than 0.15 between the metals.
ANODIC INDEX
AKA Reactive
Gold, solid and plated, Gold-platinum alloy 0%
titanium Nickel, solid or plated, 0.30
Copper, brasses or bronzes nickel-chromium alloys 0.35+-
Chrome moly .85

So do the math don't mix and match

Antiseize on BB threads AND freewheel hub threads. Marine grease on everything else except the chain. Chain lube of choice (would rather NOT get into a chain lube discussion).

..........http://board.whatisfatmagulsfault.co...amethrower.gif

Agreed.

Ha! Thanks, folks!

I only use anti seize on my Auto-Speller.

I have had my big bottle of Antiseize for about 25yrs & it's just about empty & will need another soon. I mostly use it on Aluminum framed bikes around here because of the salt air, grease doesn't seem to do the trick from what I have found when tearing apart a Aluminum bike that has a few yrs on it. I haven't had much problems taking steel bikes apart that have been greased good when assembled even a few that have been submerged in salt water & sat for awhile.

Glenn

I recently changed saddles on my bad-weather Univega, which necessitated a small height adjustment. I had a moment of panic when it seemed that the post was stuck, although it came loose once I gave it a good twist with the top tube clamped between my knees.

Part of this may have had to do with the fact that it's of those stupidly long seatposts that extends about a foot or so further into the seat tube than necessary. But the grease on the post (it was thoroughly greased) looked a little rusty, even though the bike is always stored under cover.

I do intend to shorten the seatpost with a hacksaw when I get around to it, but I'm wondering if switching to anti-seize instead of grease might also be worthwhile in the case of seatposts.

In 30+ years, which includes 14 years in a shop, I never used anti-seize. Not once. Grease is all you need.

My tube of anti-seize compound, rarely used, seems to have "body" to it. The goo, that is. I wonder if anti-seize is grease with anti corrosion compounds and stuff mixed in with it.

I guess this sort of answers my question;

"Most anti-seize compounds originally contained copper and graphite or copper, aluminum, and graphite, which tended to work for most applications, in standard settings. These anti-seize compounds were well suited to high temperature applications since aluminum can withstand temperatures 1000 °F, copper to 1800 °F and graphite to over 2000°F.

However, since copper and aluminum are reactive metals, they were ill suited for some applications exposed to substances like acetylene and ammonia.

For extreme high temperature applications, or those where a non-reactive compound was needed, special anti-seize compounds such as nickel or molybdenum disulfide (Moly) were developed. Nickel can withstand temperatures to 2,600 °F and is chemically inert. Moly is non-reactive, non-metallic, almost as frictionless as PTFE and can withstand temperatures to 2,400 °F."

http://news.thomasnet.com/companysto...mpounds-613808

+1. Auto parts stores sell small tubes of anti seize grease that'll last for quite a while. It's super messy so I try to just put a few dabs on the BB cups where the threads start and let the turning of the cups spread it around. The same goes for the hub threads, a few dabs on the threads.

Anti-seize is expensive?

<$10 will buy you a bottle of it that will last most people a lifetime.

Messy? -heck yes! Expensive? -I know people who won't drink any beer that costs less than $5/bottle and in a few short minutes it is just converted to pee.

Don't do it, you'll be wiping off antisieze for weeks as it just tends to get everywhere. Stick with grease. Any grease will do if you reapply at least once every couple of years and don't ride into a lake. If you really don't intend to grease again for five years, then use a polyurea grease which is more resistant to breaking down and drying out than lithium.