White Lithium Grease Skateboard Bearings

white lithium grease skateboard bearings

When skating, two major factors that play a great role are wheels and bearings. Today, we have decided to talk about White Lithium Grease Skateboard Bearings. This article is about skateboard troubleshooting and skate bearings.

For bearings, white lithium grease is a brilliant lithium lube. Even though they are made to limit friction, bearings can rub against one another and wear out over time.

Generally, skate bearings are long-lasting and require minimal care. Grease is crucial for maintaining skateboards. To keep it running faster, it’s important to occasionally clean and lubricates your bearings. Let’s talk about the matter in detail.

The Difference Between Grease and Oil Lubricants

Basically, there are certain differences between grease and oil lubricants when it comes to skateboard bearings. Grease is typically made up of thickened oils. At room temperature, grease is often solid, but the oil is typically liquid. You can convert the oil into grease, but not all grease can be derived from oils.

People discover that when their skateboard wheels are oiled with oil, they move more quickly because oil is less sticky and thick and produces less resistance when the bearings are moving. However, oil-lubricated bearings frequently require maintenance and relubrication.

However, using greases such as bike, marine, silicone, lithium grease, or molybdenum grease can work well if you don’t consider cleaning the wheels and bearings.

What is White Lithium Grease?

Generally, Permatex White Lithium Grease is a white lube used in metal-to-metal and metal-to-plastic activities. This lubricant resists moisture and extreme heat while reducing corrosion, friction, and smoothing out surfaces. A lubricant called “white lithium grease” usually comes in the form of a spray. Since lithium is a sort of thickener, it serves as a sponge by absorbing oil.

This cleaner or solvent contains hexane isomers as the major component, which appears to be more harmful to one’s health than any other lubricant. It also contains a few additions to make it spray out, as well as naphthenic petroleum distillates, which are identical to the Bones Speed Cream.

The Facts About White Lithium Grease

best lubricant for skateboard bearings

Why do we use grease or lube? It protects the board bearings from corrosion and overheating, especially preserving life and improving the performance of bearings. A suitable lithium lubricant works as a strong barrier that keeps out moisture throughout various temperatures.

To prevent them from rusting too quickly, it could be a smart option to clean and regrease them after riding them in the rain or over some mud. Many people maintain a worn-out pair of bearings for sliding and skating in the rain.

It is quite normal, but keeping it clean with lube and white lithium lube is amazing! But you can use other alternatives that we are going to introduce in the next section. First, we would love to talk about the main topic, which is white lithium grease. Let’s see how beneficial it is!

High-Quality Bearing Lube

We mostly use oil as lubrication for bearings. Good quality hydraulic oil-based lube can work as high film-strength protection, can remove dirt from bearings, and offer exceptional performance. The high-speed bearing lubricant is specially designed to help you extract the maximum speed from your bearings while also extending bearing life.

Bones Speed Cream

The majority of skaters enjoy using speed cream to keep the condition of the bearings good. Bones Speed Cream is a synthetic skate lubricant with low viscosity and a high melting point that was specially created by Bones to lower friction and offer a long-lasting micro-coating of lubrication to prevent corrosion.

The majority of the ingredients in speed cream are basically made of naphtha, which is a sort of liquid wax and synthetic lube with a tiny bit of jet and synthetic esters. Use the cream and enjoy the ride.

Skanunu Cleaner or Lube

Another effective cleaner functions as a solvent element that cleans and then discards the lubricant. The lube is unique as it contains synthetic animal fat. A cleaner or lube works well on the skate for a better skating experience.

Gun Oil

Basically, gun oil is a highly refined petroleum-based lubricant.  Along with lubrication, it also includes additives that protect a gun’s metallic parts from rust and corrosion. Aloe vera and vitamin E are added to the silicone-based lubricant to provide long-lasting lubrication. So, it’s great to keep the wheel bearings protected and rust-free.

Wood Grease

Bearing maintenance can also be handled with wood grease. Applying it with the tip of a toothpick allows you to really hit the item into the bearing balls because it is so heavy and thick. In the case of lubrication, paraffinic distillates are comparable to WLG and Speed Cream. Anyway, we are suggesting some alternatives. But they are not always good, like using oil.

Sewing Machine Oil

When lubricating the bearings within a sewing machine, we often recommend 3-in-1 oil. Sewing machines are specifically lubricated by using sewing machine oil. WLG and Speed Cream are similar to sewing machine oil. Compared to machine oil, Speed Cream has more paraffin but more naphthenic hydrocarbons. However, sewing machine oils can be utilized.

Lubriplate Aero

How about trying this silky, smooth lubriplate aero? It is fantastic for bearings! In terms of thickness, it is almost comparable to the Phil Wood. Your board’s bearings can be cleaned and lubricated with a toothpick.

The item contains white mineral oil, animal fats, and a small amount of zinc. The lubriplate builds up slightly and fills in microscopic scratches on your wheel bearing surfaces. It also has lithium lubricant and WLG added for good measure. However, use compressed air or brake parts cleaning to physically blow the lube off the bearings.

How to Lube the Skateboard Bearings – 5 Best Steps

how to lube skateboard bearings

We usually use two types of seals that are frequently seen on skateboard bearings: metal shields and rubber seals. Now, it’s time to share how you can lubricate the bearings so that you won’t have to run slowly with the skate. A skateboard bearing is quite simple to dismantle, clean, lubricate, and rebuild.

Things You Will Need to Clean

  • Gather skateboard wheel bearings
  • To remove the bearing shields, use a tiny pin or a staple that has been straightened
  • Use a bowl or cup
  • Use lube or any other solvent, such as white lithium grease, dry chain lube, engine oil, machine oil, or bone speed cream.

Cleaning Process

  • Step 1: Target the seal’s center. Use a short, stapled, and straightened pin to move the seals out from the other side. Press the seal out by inserting your pin between the ball cage and the outer bearing race. In the case of metal shields, a circlip around the outside edge holds them in place. When you pin to insert the pin under the edges, it will be easy to remove the circlip.
  • Step 2: For a few minutes, mix your solvents in a bowl or cup. Two drops of oil are typically sufficient. To remove grit, alternate between tapping them on the bowl’s bottom and spinning the bearings in your palm.
  • Step 3: After that, spin it dry before setting it down to dry on a new paper towel. Next, fill the tiny spaces between both balls with lubricant.
  • Step 4: Roll the bearing back and forth while spreading the oil around the bearing until you can see the balls are properly covered.
  • Step 5: Rub your oily finger around the exterior of the seal to keep the rubber seal moist. Additionally, apply oil to the metal surfaces to prevent rust issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What can we use to grease my skateboard bearings?

We advise using thin board-bearing oil such as bearing lube, dry chain lube, bones speed cream, tri-flow, sewing machine oil, or engine oil that also works great!

2. What Are The Best Skateboard Bearing Lubricant Alternatives?

We generally suggest Bones Speed Cream. But you can also try motor oil, vegetable oil, Canola Oil, Triflow Lubricant, or PAM Cooking Spray to use on your bearings to spin faster.

3. Is white lithium grease good to use on bearings for my longboard?

Yes, you can use white lithium grease on your wheel bearings, but it’s not good to use on your long bearings sometimes. It is typically used on trucks, where plastic components that are bent or twisted generate noises.
When you use lubricant, it will make a mess and pick up too much dirt. Later, if you oil the chain or try to lubricate it, all the dirt will flow within the bearings and hasten the chain’s deterioration. So, it’s better when you use lubes or engine oil that will be great for longboard bearings.

4. Is lithium grease good for Skateboard bearings?

We used to try grease based on salt or calcium for wheel bearings and chassis. We’ve discovered that the ideal lubricant is the WD-40 Specialist White Lithium Grease. Simply spraying the item lowers bearing friction and keeps it protected from rust.

5. Is white lithium grease safe for rubber?

Yes, grease works well on rubber, but it does much better on surfaces made of plastic, wood, metal, or other elements. As it has a waterproof solution, the rust issue will be maintained. Furthermore, as lithium is generated from petroleum, it has a greater rate of degradation than plastic and rubber materials.

Wrapping Up

Now, it’s time to wrap up the White Lithium Grease Skateboard Bearings topic. Well, it’s great to use on bearings, but bone speed creams are the best! Although white lithium grease or lubricants are not always recommended, you can keep the skateboard clean and spin faster by greasing it with white lithium.

Or if you prefer more alternatives, we have the options that we have mentioned above. Enjoy skating time with the help of faster spin bearings.

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