Best lubricant for hedge trimmers?

[JOEPRO]

I got this grease which is specially for hedge trimmer gearboxes. I have 2 of them now several years old (Stihl) so plan on opening up the boxes, wiping out the old grease and giving them a fill of fresh grease.



But what to use on the actual blades themselves? Stihl don't seem to make a specific oil for that.

I use lashings of WD40 before each use at present but that's likely not the best thing.

Dewalt do a liquid bottle product maybe it would be a good choice? It's spendy enough

 

[brightspark]

just spray mine with wd at start and then every 5 mins its a big hedge . no matter what you use. thick oil thin oil and hypoy gear oil.it all comes off quick and dries up

 

[8ob]

Biggest favour you can do for any stihl trimmer brush cutter/strimmer is throw away the grease plug and fit one of these grease nipples, easy to pump a bit in on a regular basis.

As far as trimmers go atf or any light oil in a hand held sprayer works just fine, again a little and often.

Bob

 

[Martin Hocking]

We’ve got some stihl stuff at work which I think is made for cutter blades. Superclean is it? Something like that. In any case it’s pants. We use loads of wd40 too.

To be honest I’d say the best thing you could use is a bit of oil from an oil can.

 

[Keithmac]

I give mine a good spray of GT85 before I start cutting and a spray before I put them away.

 

[MattF]

Either beeswax polish, GT85 or WD40 are all I ever spray on the blades.

 

[Onoff]

Anything from Lidl, silicone spray, graphite spray. Even Mr Sheen.

 

[redlig]

We’ve got some stihl stuff at work which I think is made for cutter blades. Superclean is it? Something like that. In any case it’s pants. We use loads of wd40 too.

To be honest I’d say the best thing you could use is a bit of oil from an oil can.

I use old engine oil from a squirty can. Lots of it and often.

 

[Kram]

Biggest favour you can do for any stihl trimmer brush cutter/strimmer is throw away the grease plug and fit one of these grease nipples, easy to pump a bit in on a regular basis.

As far as trimmers go atf or any light oil in a hand held sprayer works just fine, again a little and often.

Bob

Interesting I was under the impression they shouldnt be over filled and it should last long enough with the correct amount in there?

The blades I tend to use a bit of chainsaw oil.

 

[8ob]

Interesting I was under the impression they shouldnt be over filled and it should last long enough with the correct amount in there?

The blades I tend to use a bit of chainsaw oil.

Trouble is they dont last, we get a much better service life out of the ones that get greased little and often, excess goes up the drive tube or spews out so the overgreasing doesn't really apply.

Bob

 

[Hitch]

I use aerosol spray CT90 usually... more often to hand than WD40 or equivalent and a touch more 'oily'
After all its a cutting oil soooo...

 

[scottmk1]

I just use a light oil every time I use it and put it away, currently got generic 3 in 1 light oil, as @8ob says little and often is the key for the blades

 

[brightspark]

if your cutting conifers theres plenty of oil in the branches just set them on fire and they burn like hell even though there green

 

[mcostello]

Garage door tacky grease works well, unless You cannot stand dirty branches.

 

[northwest]

I have just started to use way oil on mine, it is sticky-ish so doesn't immediately fall off, you use way oil on your lathe so win win. You do have a lathe, don't you?

 

[oldbikedavey]

It's the resinous sap that causes many of the problems by building up .
Cutting yew hedges is best accompanied by scrubbing the blades frequently in a bucket of hot soapy water , each time that the cut stops being clean and becomes stringy.

 

[finyuk2005]

I have just started to use way oil on mine, it is sticky-ish so doesn't immediately fall off, you use way oil on your lathe so win win. You do have a lathe, don't you?

if he doesnt have a lathe he should probably get one... for sake of the hedge trimmer of course...

 

[JOEPRO]

Thanks all for the replies it seems like the consensus is to stay with spray oils like GT85 so I'll keep using that or WD40

Keeping them sharp is important too

 

[Turbo]

Chainsaw chain oil from an oil can is all I use, best applied after use to stop rust in storage. Apply with blades running to spread the oil.

Some trimmers come with a sleeve that you screw on the wall, fill with oil and you slide the blade into the sleeve to store it.