r/Luthier • u/BeenAway4tooLong • 1d ago
HELP Lubricating vintage tuners?
Hey, folks. I’ve heard that vintage tuners of this type should be lubricated occasionally. I’ve heard Triflow is good. Just wanna check before I muck anything up.
So you just put a drop of lubricant in the holes in the middle of each tuner?
I assume you probably wanna loosen up the strings, put the lubricant in and then re-tighten the strings so the lubricant can work around a bit.
For reference, these are the original Kluson tuners on a 1967 SG Standard.
Any advice would be appreciated.
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u/foreverfabfour Guitar Tech 1d ago
The proper way to do this is to remove them from the headstock and flush out the old, dried-up grease. I use a syringe, or sometimes soak the bodies, then flush them. I use naphtha, previously used lighter fluid. Soaking will break it down better.
Important to note, do NOT soak the buttons. Do not expose them to chemicals; only the metal can be soaked/flushed.
Once flushed and clean, allow them to dry before lubriating with new grease. I do not recommend oil. It leaks out of the body over time and doesn’t lubriate well long-term.