cerakote microslick

has anybody used cerakote c-110 on any parts needing low friction? how much did it help? they say "oil shedding" so it sounds a bit weird.

anything else out there to try? i currently have fixed brass spheres running against a hardened shaft at low speed and moderate pressure, would like to coat the spheres.

(before i dish out $50 for 4 oz.)

It has the same coefficient of friction as Molybdenum disulfide. It also has the same color. The material safety disclosure lists methyl ethyl ketone and a mystery resin as the ingredients. The recommended application thickness is .00025",

As a guess it is molybdenum disulfide with a solvent based. plastic binder.

Rather than guess, you could buy a two ounce $12 bottle of molybdenum disulfide powder from Amazon and mix it with your favorite binder . The coated part would then receive a low temperature bake before being put into service. The binder could be sodium silicate. This is sold in small bottles for gluing fiberglass gaskets to wood stove doors.


Molybdenum Disulfide / 2 Ounce Bottle / 99% Pure Reagent Grade / 1.5 Micron Powder/USA - - Amazon.com

The easiest way to apply a thin film is to place the shaft in a lathe running at maximum speed and apply with a brush. The binder is then cured with a hot air gun.

There may be vendors that have a similar product in a spray can.

If this was a part made in large quantities the solid lubricant would be applied using a vacuum chamber sputter source.

Most of the solid lubricant will be lost during run in of the mechanism. The remaining lubricant will be trapped in surface defects in the raceway and balls. It is the trapped lubricant that provides the long term benefit.

i have the stuff you mention (even finer powder, ws2 also) and might try what you say. however i dont see such a coating having enough abrasion resistance. imagine a fixed ball running agains a rotating shaft. the contact area is very small (hertzian)and the coating would have to stay on there (the ball), although surviving a few 100 ft of travel would be sufficient.

surprizingly no type of lubrication had any appreciable effect in this situation, incl. some moly paste/concentrate or even my secret weapon which is 40 years old stp.

The adhesive bonded solid lubricants are used on inexpensive lightly loaded ball bearings installed in vacuum chambers where grease would not be possible.

There are much more effective abrasion resistant multi layer coatings that involve a thin (.2 micron) base coating of a metal nitride or carbide followed by the solid lubricant. The designs look similar to the coatings used on cutting tools.

There are also carbon-fluoride materials that work well at higher temperatures.

Another approach would be to replace the brass balls in the design with a ceramic ball.
Precision ceramic balls supplier | Corrosion resistant

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crome plated spheres behave much better, but the idea is not do damage the steel shaft. i would have preferred some kind of bearing bronze, but wouldnt know where to get them.