The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi Again, Now that I have things working fairly decent I want to clean and lubricate both changers and I also want to lube all other moving parts...My main question is, WHAT do you spray in the changers to clean them and do you spray the changers from the bottom side of the guitar with it laying in the case (on a really thick tower of course) or do you spray the changers with it set up with the towel on the floor beneath it...I have a can of Tri-Flow to lube with but not sure what to clean the changers with...again, thanks for any and all info I can get on this topic...by the way, would anyone happen to know anyone that works on steels in the Northern NY or Vermont area...Thanks Again...Jeff

Jeff, with the guitar set up, lay newspaper on the floor and drench the changer from the top with 3 & 1 oil. Paint a little motor oil between the nut rollers. For the underside 3 n 1 works there too. Automotive grease on the pedal rod pivot points.

Wow, no offense intended but I have to disagree with Doug. I never use 3in1 oil. It collects too much dust for me.

Here is how I clean mine (in lieu of dissassembly).
I work from the top and bottom and end.

I put mineral spirits in a spray bottle and saturate the changers. Then I use an air hose and blow it dry. I do this several times until what comes out is virtually clear.

then I use a 1/2" paint brush and I saturate the changer with Automatic Transmission Fluid. It adheres to the metal parts and barely collects dust.

I let it sit until no more is dripping out and then I lightly use the air hose again to blow out just the excess.

For all other pivot points, I use a lightweight, high quality, gun oil. Once again, it sticks to the metal and barely collects dust.

Hope this helps.

Bill, I worked at Emmons with Ron Lashley Sr. This is how he taught us. The oil rinse cleans without removing the axle grease. That is permanent and should rarely need replacing. If you are removing the grease on your guitars that might be source of your problems.

I don't have any problems with my steels and I have been doing it this way for years. The axle grease over a period of time seeps up the top of the changer and gets on my hands.

I don't see how you can clean PART of the changer without cleaning it all. The old axle grease even gets gooey and the changers don't move well.

After tearing many PP changers apart these are my thoughts.

There is always a ton of grime on the axle, the spacers between the fingers, and the fingers themselves where they go around the axles. I do know that there are multiple friction points on a PP changers. I have started polishing the fingers themselves to relieve some of that friction in between the fingers. I find I have to use cleaners (carb cleaner) to really do the job right.

I know first hand this is a lot of work but to me well worth the effort. All this is just my thoughts and has nothing to do with proper lubing

I really wish I had the know how to do this on my Emmons but I know I would end up with one big mess...Love all of the comments though...and Thanks to all...

Kind of like a car enthusiast looking at a rebuilt engine, a rebuilt changer is a nice thing for this old steeler to see. Seen some pretty bad ones covered in gunk, grime and nicotene. Seen axles with grooves and fingers that just wouldn’t move.