The Gall of It: Lubricating Threads

Stainless fastener engineers and customers will both pay testament to the importance of lubricating stainless steel threads. This is to avoid the problem of ‘galling’, which is when two threads bind together and seize. It is a fairly common when using stainless steel fasteners, particularly with larger threads, say M16 and larger, and also with Nyloc Nuts.

This seizing or ‘Cold-welding’ can result in fasteners having to be cut away as unthreading is impossible.  When it comes to lubricating, it is important to use a nickel based or lanolin based lubricant, i.e. something that won’t react with the stainless steel.

We stock a range of lubricants for stainless steel threads: Chemz Nickel Anti-Seize, Prolan and Tef Gel.