Do I need to lubricate drawer slides to preserve the life of the furniture?
I finally bought a (flat pack) dresser recently. I love it, but when sliding the drawers in and out there is some minor sticking/resistance and some very slight misalignment. I am perfectly fine with this and actually kind of prefer it (it's nice that the cat can't open them), but I am wondering if over the long term, the resistance will damage the drawer slides in some way ? They're telescoping metal slides, on the side of each drawer, attached with tiny screws. I really like this thing and want to keep it in good shape as long as possible.
@PotentiallyAnApricot depending on where you live, drawer slides are probably not going to be the first thing to go. But they'll be nicer with some lube. A nice option is graphite powder because it is dry - so dust and dirt won't stick. You can get it at many hardware stores. It is a little messy to apply, black dust. But once it is applied it will last a long time
The slides actually came with a little bit of grease on them so I did buy some extra grease (white lithium) In case I needed it, but I haven't done anything with it yet. Do dry lubricants play nicely with things that already have grease in them?
I asked a locksmith once and he told me to not mix it, ever.
Well then in that case I'm glad I asked you
@PotentiallyAnApricot well if you already have some "wet" grease, I would not go look for graphite. They will work together, but since there is already some wet grease there, a little more is just as good as adding something else, imho.
Maybe I'm overcomplicating but... I'm assuming I just dab some on and open and close it a few times?
@PotentiallyAnApricot yes, where one part disappears inside another, dab a little along the part that "disappears" - the grease will get spread out over time.
Correct. You can also use graphite for lubrication in high temperature environments, such as a stove. I use it to lubricate the sliding racks in my oven. Wet grease won’t work well here, so graphite is a great option.
No, don't put graphite on grease!
If there already is some grease, it will last for a loooong time.
PTFE (Teflon) dry lube works great for drawer slides and doesn't become gritty over time. You may need to wipe off the existing grease.
Mr. Humphries from Are You Being Served puffs french chalk on his drawers. I don't see why that wouldn't work for yours.