Advice (again) for grease

[Traderbam]

Hi, I've a number of VCRs that I was checking for grease and have read multiple conflicting reports on here so really unsure what's needed.

First up a Philips VR1000 with metal/metal tape transport. Is a white lithium grease ok? I'm assuming that this one is in urgent need of some grease, unless there is a fine invisible layer already present. Do you need to do top and bottom of the rails?


[Attachment 87317 - Click to enlarge]

I've got a number of Panasonics, both of which have the black/dark grey grease around the transport rails, but on the big gear to the right-hand-side, and also on the sides of the mechanism where the tape slides in, there is one unit that has a yellowish/orange grease, but on the other it's the same black grease. My guess is that the same black grease used for the metal/plastic shouldn't be used on the plastic gearing. Can anyone confirm which of these is correct, and if there is enough grease present?

Notice the black grease on the large gear to the right and in the very bottom right on the rails where tape slides in

[Attachment 87318 - Click to enlarge]

On my other Panasonic the gear and the tape mechanism sides have the yellow grease.

[Attachment 87319 - Click to enlarge]

[Attachment 87320 - Click to enlarge]

Can someone please help me understand what I need to buy and where is good in UK, ideally amazon to buy it, and which units from the photos really need urgent attention.

Thanks!

[themaster1]

Lithium grease work just fine. Just make sure to remove all the old grease before
Black grease is graphite grease i think (i've never used any) the coefficient of friction might differ , probably ideal for metal/plastic frictions points is my guess.
for standard plastic to plastic -> lithium

[dellsam34]

The black grease lasts longer and rarely hardens, but nothing beats the white lithium grease in terms of lubricating properties, However it doesn't age well and it hardens over time, but we are talking years not months, so at the end of the day it doesn't matter what you use as long as you clean the old grease entirely. There are other variants of grease with different colors but the ones mentioned are the most common ones.

[aramkolt]

Sony specifically mentions EM-30L in some of their service manuals, so I use that. It is fully synthetic, doesn't harden, and is not known to interact poorly with any existing grease to my knowledge.