I understand PB blaster to be a very good rust dissolver. What's a good non stick lube for say door latch linkages, garage door rollers and tracks? I see some negative things about silicone. I do use my woodworking shop for some auto/mechanical work, and hear silicone can linger. If not silicone, then what? WD40 seems to be more in the solvent class than lubricant.

 

No one product is optimum for all you want to do, so this should get you started for product choices, depending on what vehicle door hdw you want to service. Motorcraft® Greases

What we use to lube something, depends on what its made of & what its designed to do. Some lubes, or carrier solvents can be stress crack promoters for some plastics, or composite materials & other lubes can cause corrosion on metals, so we should be mindful to use whats specified by the equipt manufacturer.

Check your garage door manufacturer to see what they specify for their hardware.
For instance my Affina garage door doesn't specify Any lubricant be used in the track, or on the rollers. The track is powder coated & the rollers are nylon covered, with their bearings pre lubed & since they are sealed, no need to lube them, just keep the track clean. So IF you should use a lube on the garage door, will depend on how its manufactured.

If your door track & rollers aren't finished, are galvanized & you still want to lube them but you don't know who the manufacturer is, or they don't specify a product, maybe for the door track, consider a dry film spray type lube that won't attract & hold dirt.
There are moly loaded & PTFE loaded, dry spray products that would likely make a difference in noise & ease of lifting on unfinished rollers & tracks. Lubes that remain oily or greasy will attract & hold dirt & grime & that can increase wear & make the movement sticky over time.

WD-40 is a coating for repelling water, its claim to fame isn't as a lubricant, as its carrier volatiles will evaporate over time, leaving a water repelling film. We can check how much of a lubricant evaporates, by weighing some out in a container, leaving it exposed to air circulation & re-weighing a day or two later & we may find many will loose half of their weight over a short time & higher temps will typically cause them to loose more weight/volume faster.

For metal, unsealed metal garage door roller bearings, you could use a good moly loaded wheel bearing grease, injected into the bearings with a syringe & needle & that should lower friction, wear & make a noticeable difference.

Some thoughts for consideration, let us know how it goes.

 

An aerosol white lithium grease works well on a lot of applications. There are tons of sprayable greases and oils on the market. Buy a few, try them and stick with what you like.

 

WD-40 is not a lube...it's a Water Displacement agent.

 

I'm a HUGE fan of Tri-Flo those small lube jobs like that. I don't know why, what's in it, I used to but forget. All I know is the stuff just plan works better then any of the many other aerosol can lubes I've used. Works great on everything from lock cylinders to cable ****** blocks.

Smells great to, I'd go nuts for a woman that used it as a perfume, lol.

 

IF you're talking penetrants, 50/50 ATF/Acetone is even better.
Here's are report on a published test of various penetrants.
- Penetrating Oils - Which works best on Rusted Nuts & Bolts (The Garage - General) - CycleFish

If you're talking about actually dissolving rust, a dilute molasses bath is one of the best if you can completely immerse the item.

 

I Use white lithium grease for most hinges, the spray were i cant get to a can with a small painters brush for areas I can reach, I like it, its controllable, works well, last a long time, doesn't attract to much dirt and dust and is water proof. My 2 Cents