Graphite, WD-40, and KPL

We all know locks wear out. There are things we can do to limit the degradation of our locks. One of those things is regular lubrication and cleaning. There are several options when it comes to lock lubrication and cleaning. The main contenders being Graphite, WD-40, and KPL. There are some distinct differences between them, some you should use, some you should avoid at all costs.

Graphite

Right out of the gate we’re going to knock down this horrible product. Okay, it’s not THAT bad. However, in high humidity climates, like the West Coast of Canada, it’s awful. Imagine putting gritty wet sand inside your lock. That’s graphite. When used in a high humidity climate it clumps up, and gunks up your lock worse than before. Some locks have a higher tolerance for this, such as a WR5 keyway from Weiser. In something like a Weiser SmartKey though, you’ve pretty much just bricked your lock.

WD-40

Ah, good ol’ WD-40. It makes things move. It’s not a lubricant though. WD-40 is a penetrating oil, so it will make your lock move because it will remove the crap clogging up your lock. However, once it dries up you’re going to be left with metal on metal friction. You’ll need to follow up with a real lubricant.

WD-40 | The Home Depot Canada

KPL

KPL, which stands for Knife Pivot Lube, is wonderful. Originally designed to bring life back to a folding knife. We’ve discovered it also works great for your locks. Best of all, because it’s intended for use on a knife, it’s non-toxic. Which is great because just like a knife, you’ll be touching your keys a lot.

Knife Pivot Lube Oil for Knives

How We Perform Lock Maintenance

First, we take your lock apart, this means removing it from the door and entirely disassembling it. Once entirely disassembled, we clean each piece of the lock with WD-40, removing any built-up grime. We then dry the excess WD-40 with a shop towel, and apply a liberal dose of KPL. Once reassembled, we put a few more drops of KPL down the keyway and spin the lock a few times with the key. Ideally this should be done once a year.

Are you locks looking rough? Crono Lock offers professional rekey, repair, and installation services. Curious how a lock is rekeyed? Head over to our rekey page for more information.