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LPS-1 is a light-duty lubricant. LPS-2 is a heavy-duty lubricant. Both are aviation grade and I'm sure most A/P mechanics are familiar with them. They are called out for specifically in the maintenance manuals in many certificated aircraft. I however am not an mechanic. After a brief discussion with a local (former airline) mechanic, these 2 lubricants seem well suited for a lot of needs in the Sonex. Piano hinges for instance, on certificated aircraft, are lubricated with LPS-2.

I have a question for any actual mechanics out there... how would you use these lubricants in a Sonex if you had them? For example, the plans for the aileron bell-cranks in the wings call for white lithium grease (which is pretty messy), would LPS-2 be suitable or even better in this application? I asked Kerry about it but he wasn't familiar with LPS-2.

Hey Ryan, I'm an A&P, but have not worked extensively in GA for some years. Airlines and OEM for the past ten years. I've used LPS 1 extensively for many rod end bearings on GA aircraft. It's a really light lubricant and easily penetrates tighter tolerance surfaces. The after affects of LPS 1 can be just as messy as the heavier grease though. Just my personal opinion, but if the plans call for white lithium grease on the bellcrank (and you are not going to use what is called out) then you will probably want to use the heavier/thicker lubricant, LPS 2. The bellcrank will be hidden away thus receiving less attention over the long-term so going with something that doesn't dry out as quickly would probably be a good call.

As John Monnett puts it "we are not building a Swiss watch," so a good quality lubricant and routine inspections will go a long way to keeping things working properly.

Thanks for the reply. Basically I was faced with the dilemma of having to literally reach over my can of Lps2 to reach my can of white lithium grease. I did end up using the grease but am left wondering if some of the lubricant call outs in the plans (such as using wd40 on the spars when attaching them) fall under the mentality of using what works and is readily available (ie not a Swiss watch). Since I have the top shelf stuff on hand (though not experienced in using it) I'm just wondering where it'll be appropriate to "upgrade" to my fancy lubes. LPS-1 instead of wd40, etc.

I came across this article while researching the answer to my own question. It helped put things into perspective a bit, but goes a bit beyond the scope of the Sonex.

http://www.kitplanes.com/issues/30_10/b ... 839-1.html

I think one of the most enlightening things I learned from that article is to use rubbing alcohol to remove sharpie marks (haven't tried it yet.) I had been using carb cleaner (which I believe is mostly acetone) to remove all labels and marks, which works well but comes quite a bit of vapor.

Rynoth wrote:I came across this article while researching the answer to my own question. It helped put things into perspective a bit, but goes a bit beyond the scope of the Sonex.

http://www.kitplanes.com/issues/30_10/b ... 839-1.html

I think one of the most enlightening things I learned from that article is to use rubbing alcohol to remove sharpie marks (haven't tried it yet.) I had been using carb cleaner (which I believe is mostly acetone) to remove all labels and marks, which works well but comes quite a bit of vapor.

A low impact method for removing labels.Keep a sprayer bottle of Windex close by and spray it on the labels .It removes the paper label pronto but you will still need a dab of paint thinner or ? to remove the glue.

Rynoth wrote:I came across this article while researching the answer to my own question. It helped put things into perspective a bit, but goes a bit beyond the scope of the Sonex.

http://www.kitplanes.com/issues/30_10/b ... 839-1.html

I think one of the most enlightening things I learned from that article is to use rubbing alcohol to remove sharpie marks (haven't tried it yet.) I had been using carb cleaner (which I believe is mostly acetone) to remove all labels and marks, which works well but comes quite a bit of vapor.

I use 100% Acetone in bottles. Acetone smells good (compared to thinners) and dissolves just about anything and evaporates very fast. It is also relatively non-toxic.

Found this hints for homebuilders on EAA site talking about lubricants. He does suggest LPS-2 for things like rod ends and piano hinge.

http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=2678611053001