Grease/Lubricants

This may be a silly question but what type of grease can one use on plastic
components behind the dashboard. Is general purpose grease or petroleum
jelly okay? I need to apply some grease on the heating control unit where
the temperature slider slides across indentations on the underside of the
unit. It needs to be a grease type lubricant and not a spray.

In addition, what can one do to reduce the amount of effort required to move
the temperature slider on a '94 Civic.

 

Honda Parts departments have a great lubricant for this. It's called "Super
High Temp Urea Grease" and works great for lubing metal/plastic pivot
points. Use this on the under dash heater-lever pivot. Also loosen the pivot
screw and put some under the washer there.

Also a terrific Honda only product (as far as I know) is a silcone paste
product called "Shin-it-su". It is awsome on window channels, door seals
etc.

Often techs have extra and if you catch one in a friendly mood, they may
give you enough to try out.

 

is that for attaching those rubber parts to the body or for
lubricating them when they squeak?

Ron

 

I have a 2002 Civic and I don't know about in the dash, but on the door
hinges I use Marine grease, because I figure if it can stand up to the ocean
its good for the road! I put it on the door hinges and door, hood and trunk
latches.

 

If the plastic is vinyl (PVC) or if you're not sure what it is, then
use only silicone oil or grease since other kinds will damage it.
Silicone should also be used on natural rubber and EPDM (water hoses,
weatherstrips). Nylon and polyethylene are OK with most greases, but
I'd use lithium grease on them since that's what's most common. I
think that your slider uses lithium grease, but Radio Shack transistor
heatsink grease would also be OK.

Cole-Parmer, www.coleparmer.com/techinfo/ChemComp.asp?from=home , has
a chemical compatibility guide for many materials, including rubber
and plastics.