# How to make lube **URL:** \ **Category:** Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance\ **Created:** [January 2, 2021, 12:38pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887 "2021-01-02T12:38:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omkar211](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@Omkar211](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Omkar211)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 12:38pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/1 "2021-01-02T12:38:02Z")
I wanted to make some thin yoyo lube Please suggest me how to make it without mineral spirits as I have seen it is used to make thin yoyo lube And can I use lighter fluid or acetone to make lube? ---
**Author:** ![Ne0phy73](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/ne0phy73/32/163412_2.png) [@Ne0phy73](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Ne0phy73)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 1:51pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/2 "2021-01-02T13:51:45Z")
I believe you are messing the compounds. Mineral spirits are solvents used for cleaning the bearings. Lube is a mixture of oils and aditives, mainly petroleum hydrocarbons… Nowadays it’s easy if you just buy lubes from YYE site, they have for responsive and unresponsive yoyos. Edit: you could check this for reference: [Lubricating Oil - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/lubricating-oil#:~:text=Oil%2C%20Lubricating&text=based%20lubricating%20oils.-,Lubricating%20oils%20are%20composed%20of%2080%E2%80%9390%25%20petroleum%20hydrocarbon%20distillate,are%20listed%20in%20Table%201). ---
**Author:** ![twitch77](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/twitch77/32/60219_2.png) [@twitch77](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/twitch77)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 1:58pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/3 "2021-01-02T13:58:10Z")
> [@Ne0phy73](#): > > I believe you are messing the compounds. Mineral spirits are solvents used for cleaning the bearings. Lube is a mixture of oils and aditives You can mix mineral spirits with a little bit of 3-in-one oil to make a thin lube. I’ve made some myself and it works well! [![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/a/e/1/ae113765d4e0bc06d138fa73e1ba7bd7e8a4c2c6.jpeg "How to make the best yoyo and fidget spinner thin lube.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zriKLNAnb9k) ---
**Author:** ![Ne0phy73](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/ne0phy73/32/163412_2.png) [@Ne0phy73](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Ne0phy73)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 2:01pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/4 "2021-01-02T14:01:20Z")
Hmmmmmm. I got the idea, dilute an oil to make it less viscous, but that is not making oil… But okay, probably Omkar meant this. So that’s it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Omkar211](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@Omkar211](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Omkar211)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 2:14pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/5 "2021-01-02T14:14:39Z")
So is there any substitute to thin lube because I don’t have access to any yoyo store and seller in here. ---
**Author:** ![Omkar211](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@Omkar211](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Omkar211)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/6 "2021-01-02T14:16:33Z")
Any substitute to thin lube cause you look like a yoyo pro ---
**Author:** ![Ne0phy73](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/ne0phy73/32/163412_2.png) [@Ne0phy73](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Ne0phy73)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 3:03pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/7 "2021-01-02T15:03:36Z")
No, I’m definitely not a pro. Twich77 is. 🙂 Okay, so what I would say: purchase at YYE store, if international purchase is difficult for you, try a less viscous lubricant you can find for metal application. (I tried Dynabrade pneumatic “thin” oil and that was okay) After that you can dilute with mineral spirits as told above. Since you probably dont have “3-in-one” you must experiment. I would say, go for mineral spirits, cheaper than lighter fluid (and less agressive), acetone is good but hard to find at 99,9% purity, only if you work as a Chemist, if that’s the case, you know how to handle HPLC grade Acetone, and that’s okay. Also, there are people that dont lube the bearing, just use until it cracks and replace with a new one (example, bulk Chinese bearings). ---
**Author:** ![Omkar211](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@Omkar211](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Omkar211)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/8 "2021-01-02T16:51:34Z")
What about sewing machine oil Can that be used for the same And yeah thanks for your help ---
**Author:** ![Isaac](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/isaac/32/597931_2.png) [@Isaac](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Isaac)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 5:07pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/9 "2021-01-02T17:07:45Z")
Yep, you can use sewing machine oil to lube your bearings, no dilution necessary! It’s actually specifically mentioned as a thin lube on the yoyo wiki 🙂 > **[Cleaning a Bearing](https://yoyo.fandom.com/wiki/Cleaning_a_Bearing)** > > Most bearings come lubricated, as this helps preventing rust whilst the yo-yo is in storage before it is sold. This lubricant often makes yo-yos quite responsive. In order to remove the lubricant the bearing has to be cleaned. Cleaning allows the... ---
**Author:** ![Ne0phy73](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/ne0phy73/32/163412_2.png) [@Ne0phy73](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Ne0phy73)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/10 "2021-01-02T17:18:01Z")
I dont know. You could try, but probably diluting. Sewing machine oil usually have low viscosity (the Singer oil I have at 40 degrees Celcius has 10 centistokes) that will make the bearing instantly responsive with less than one drop. But I did not make the test with mineral spirits. ---
**Author:** ![Omkar211](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@Omkar211](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Omkar211)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 5:21pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/11 "2021-01-02T17:21:42Z")
Thank you very much for this ---
**Author:** ![Omkar211](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@Omkar211](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Omkar211)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/12 "2021-01-02T17:22:34Z")
Thanks to everyone who helped me Never thought I will get my key in just 6 hours ---
**Author:** ![jhb8426](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/jhb8426/32/631_2.png) [@jhb8426](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/jhb8426)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/13 "2021-01-02T19:52:42Z")
As noted you can dilute something like 3-in-1 oil with mineral spirits. I would avoid lighter fluid or acetone. They are stronger solvents. ---
**Author:** ![Exmime](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/exmime/32/40143_2.png) [@Exmime](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Exmime)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/14 "2021-01-02T22:10:46Z")
You can also make your own [Dark Matter](https://shop.yoyoexpert.com/products/dark-matter-bearing-lube-by-yoyofactory) with a high % Isopropyl Alcohol and Graphite Powdered Lubricant. Just always remember; a little goes a long way. Apply with a needle tip to get small drops. > **[Dark Matter Bearing Lube](https://shop.yoyoexpert.com/products/dark-matter-bearing-lube-by-yoyofactory)** > > Fake News: Dateline 1933: Scientist Fritz Swicky theorizes the existence of unseen matter. He calls it “Dunkle Materie”. Scientists spend the next 85 years trying to capture this elusive substance. Dateline 2018: YoYoFactory(R) researchers announce... ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/f/6/3/f6311919852360f4c414909d28a60e38abe05024.png) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/9/1/8/918eb29b7ca4bfe4b8127630bb3a45c91de60ab8.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![jhb8426](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/jhb8426/32/631_2.png) [@jhb8426](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/jhb8426)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/15 "2021-01-03T02:30:59Z")
I’ve always found graphite based lubes to be extremely messy and not worth the effort to use them and not get any on ya… ---
**Author:** ![MattB](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/mattb/32/14529_2.png) [@MattB](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/MattB)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2021, 7:17am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-make-lube/331887/16 "2021-01-03T07:17:35Z")
I have heard of some players using trumpet valve oil.