Copper Anti-Seize
Why does low fluidity when hot matter for high-temperature lubricants?
One of the main properties of high-temperature lubricants is the ability to keep their consistency when heated, without thinning out or running out of the friction zone. Cheap imitations of high-temperature lubricants are made by mixing a grease (for example, Litol-24, a common Russian lithium grease) with copper powder. When heated, such lubricants quickly run out of the friction zone and stop working. DONEWELL high-temperature copper anti-seize has a specially developed base that stays viscous enough at any temperature to remain in the contact zone of the lubricated parts.
The package says the high-temperature lubricant works at temperatures from −40°C to +1100°C. But an organic base burns off at 250°C, and a synthetic one at 400°C at most. So how does the lubricant work at higher temperatures?
High-temperature copper anti-seize is a release agent. Its main job is to keep parts from seizing when heated and to keep them movable relative to each other. So it has to stay in the friction or contact zone of the parts at any temperature. Here the copper does the lubricating, and even if the base burns off, the copper remains and keeps doing its job. The main thing is that the base does not run when heated and carry the copper out of the contact zone with it, as happens with cheap imitations of high-temperature lubricants.
Why is it important that high-temperature copper anti-seize adheres well to metal?
To work effectively, a lubricant has to stick well to the rubbing surfaces. If adhesion is low, the relative movement of parts, such as the brake pad and the caliper, gradually squeezes the lubricant out of the friction zone, and the pads start squealing when braking.
You can check how well a lubricant sticks to metal with a simple test. Apply the lubricant to a smooth metal surface and wait 15–20 minutes for the solvent to evaporate. Then try to wipe the lubricant off the surface with your finger. If it wipes off down to bare metal, it is of poor quality. If your finger slides and the lubricant stays on the metal, everything is fine.
It is also important that a high-temperature lubricant does not wash off with water and resists the salt solutions contained in road de-icing chemicals.
Can you judge the quality of high-temperature copper anti-seize by its appearance? Does the color of the lubricant matter?
Once applied, high-temperature copper anti-seize should form an even layer, “coloring” the surface in shades from copper-gold to deep copper. By and large, the shade does not matter: it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and says nothing definite about high or low quality. But if the lubricant goes on unevenly and you can see it separating into fractions after application, that is a sure sign of poor quality.
Is the electrical conductivity of high-temperature copper anti-seize a good thing or a bad thing?
Because high-temperature copper anti-seize contains a lot of copper, it can conduct electricity. This makes it suitable, for example, for treating battery terminals. At the same time, be careful when treating the threads of spark plugs before installing them in the engine, especially if you are using an aerosol. If you are careless, some of the spray may get on the insulator that separates the electrodes: it will become conductive, and the spark will “leak” to the plug shell straight along the copper anti-seize, bypassing the side electrode. The spark plug will be ruined.
