les_saucier Posted August 11, 1997 Share Posted August 11, 1997 When you guys make all those great trips to the ends of the earth, have you ever got a lot of grit and dirt in your Gitzo tripod threads? Don't you just hate it when that happens? When you clean those expense tripods, what kind of grease do you put back of your threads? I emailed Gitzo, but no response. Does anyone know the french word for grease? Oh yeah, did ya'll know that the same company owns both Gitzo and Manfrotto (Bogen tripods)? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_wilson2 Posted August 11, 1997 Share Posted August 11, 1997 Pretty much any light grease should do fine. You could even use axle grease but the collars will probably make the collars difficult to turn. I'd recommend a light lithium grease. I actually used motorcycle chain lube which goes on oily but dries to a greasy film. It was all I had around at the time but it's worked well. It does have an advantage in that it doesn't attract dirt. <p> Bogen doesn't actually own Gitzo or Manfrotto. Bogen is merely the US distributor for both. A UK company called Vitec actually owns Manfrotto and Gitzo. This is not a great thing IMO but at least Manfrotto and Gitzo seem to operate independently of each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_smith Posted August 11, 1997 Share Posted August 11, 1997 I use spray on silocon lube. It seems to work fine & cold doesn't seem to have any affect with it. Don't use WD 40 or the water dispersant types of lube as they have a corrosive effect after a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie Posted August 12, 1997 Share Posted August 12, 1997 The french word for grease is"graisse". You might try using graphite powder instead of grease to lubricate the screw threads on your tripod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_wilson2 Posted August 12, 1997 Share Posted August 12, 1997 Graphite powder would probably do a good job as a lubrication, but be careful. It could leak out of the collars onto your hands and will then get deposited on your cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_baccus Posted August 13, 1997 Share Posted August 13, 1997 Since graphite is cheap, and since Gitzo ships from the factory with grease rather than graphite as the lubricant, I'd vote against switching to graphite. <p> Gitzo seems to know what they're doing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_hallett Posted August 14, 1997 Share Posted August 14, 1997 don,t laugh but some guy said to try PREPARATION H and by god it works...on the tripod and my arca swiss ball head. i have been using it for awhile now and it is non toxic and lubricates better than any grease or graphite i have ever used. <p> jeff hallett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_brabec Posted August 14, 1997 Share Posted August 14, 1997 "Prep H" will also ease the pain/transition when an irate grizzly decides what he is going to do with the tripod. :') Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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