Thread: Has my Greasless gone off?

I finally have some time to try out my greasless compound but I'm having issues loading the wheel.
It doesn't seem to want to stick. There is more going on the bench than the wheel, and I'm concerned it may have dried out.
I've had it for more than 6 months but it has been sealed and in the fridge. I dont know what its supposed to feel like but feels quite rubbery
I'm running at 2850 rpm but I've also tried turning the motor on and off so I'm loading at a slower speed but to no avail.
The sisal wheel has been preped with a rake. here's a couple of pics after quite a bit of trying.
Thanks boys
Grant

I may have been wrong in doing so, however the greasless stayed on the wheel. I wet the compound and dampened the wheel and just rubbed the compound on the wheel by hand. Let dry throughly.

It does go off, even when refrigerated. If you leave it out during use, it goes off quicker. You can generally tell the bit that has hardened - the cylinder of compound contracts at the died-out part. If in doubt, stick a stout pin into it at intervals - when the pin goes in easily it is still fresh and cutting off the hardened part is all you have to do.

As as aside, loading some makes of new wheels with it is hard to do - it seems to shrug it off.

Regards,
Neil

I'd have to agree with Neil, I've struggled with loading new wheels at times myself. I just let it dry, rake and apply again. I've had to repeat this 3 and 4 times until I get the wheels to load the way I like them.
I burp my motor as I load and jam the wheel with the bar. It may not be the "right" way but it's worked well for me.
You'll get it...

Grant i have run into the same problem. Keep trying and as you use it more it will start to take better. Still messy though. I keep mine in big zip lock bags and it seems to keep it fresher.

I don't go through alot of the stuff, so most of mine is pretty old. What I do is keep a section of each grit about 3 inches long in a thick plastic freezer bag with a liberal sprinkling of water. It seems to keep it working alright. You might want to let it soak up the water a day or two if its bad.

Something else you can try is melting the stuff in a microwave and stirring water into it if it seems really dried out. I did this with some of mine that wasn't working quite right, it improved it a bit. I used a paper cup to melt and add the water, then cut the cup away from the plug of compound. Obviously you want to be careful to just heat it enough to melt, and you want to be careful in general when handling a molten, sticky substance.

Sometime back someone said to spray the wheel with WD40. I tried it - didn't see much improvement, but you could try it. I've had the best luck with hard cotton wheels with tight, close stitching. Felt wheels are really good, but expensive. I'd like to figure out a way to get them cheaper - anyone have thoughts about this?