Chris Kent Kantarjiev writes >
> I just went through this, and after rooting around in the supply room
> settled on Dow Corning High Vacuum Silicone Grease. It's clear, it's
> not petroleum based, it's nice and thick and it stays where you put it.
Check with the guys in the research department. I used to work for
Central Research at 3M. We pulled REALLY hard vacuums and needed the best
stuff. Dow Corning High Vacuum Silicone Grease is great, but it does pick
up contaminants around the lab. We never used more than fourth of one of
those little plastic jars before reaching for a new one from lab stock.
The stuff was going to be thrown out, so we took it home. Cars and
sailboats don't care about the level of contamination that would give us
fits in a hard vacuum system. When you are building your own
electron-beam lasers, you can't compromise.
I still have a bit left in two jars I got 20 years ago, one in my toolbox
at home, and one in the boat. Great stuff. Wonder where I can buy some.
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