Joystick Stiction (Static Friction) Fix

[Matt-357]

I struggled with stiction on my AV8R joystick. Took it apart and rubbed candle wax on the plastic friction points. Much better. Has a smooth feel now and can make small, controlled movements with the stick. As always, your mileage may vary. Worked for me. 

[1Sascha]

Errr... candle wax? Seriously?

 

I would recommend this:

 

 

... if you can get your hands on a small amount of it. 50 gr tube is a bit expensive if you'll only ever need to lubricate a single device. IIRC around 20, to 25 USD in the States, more like €30 in the EU.

 

Well worth it though - I tried my Gunfighter with its clutches completely dry and then with a little 767A applied. The difference that stuff makes is quite incredible.

 

 

S.

[firdimigdi]

1 hour ago, 1Sascha said:

Errr... candle wax? Seriously?

 

Probably was out of cod liver.

Jokes apart, wax is actually a good choice for the specific joystick's mechanism.

 

IIRC I got an AV8R for less than 30 euros about 15 years ago, gave it to a friend and he passed it down to his 6 y/o son who also got infected by flightsimitis, and it's still working great.

[Matt-357]

11 hours ago, 1Sascha said:

Errr... candle wax? Seriously?

 

I would recommend this:

 

 

... if you can get your hands on a small amount of it. 50 gr tube is a bit expensive if you'll only ever need to lubricate a single device. IIRC around 20, to 25 USD in the States, more like €30 in the EU.

 

Well worth it though - I tried my Gunfighter with its clutches completely dry and then with a little 767A applied. The difference that stuff makes is quite incredible.

 

 

S.

 

Interesting. Not sure why you are shocked at the use of wax as a lubricant. It was a cheap Xbox360 joystick that I just wanted to improve a little. It thought others may be interested.  If I had dropped $300+ dollars on a joystick, I probably would have looked for a more highbrow solution. 

 

I looked up the lube you show in the photo. Says on amazon that it is specifically for joysticks, microscopes, tripods, etc where you want a viscous lubrication. If I ever upgrade, I will need to pick some up. Thanks for the tip. Got a friend with a better set up than me that might be able to use it.  

 

I searched the forum, and this will be the first mention of "Nyogel". Maybe Nyogel is common knowledge here. It might be worth adding this info to an FAQ page or something for the new folks. Here is the name for future searchers...  Nyogel 767a Synthetic Damping Grease from Nye Lubricants.

 

[1Sascha]

12 hours ago, Matt-357 said:

Not sure why you are shocked at the use of wax as a lubricant.

I'm not shocked... just didn't expect candle wax to be useful in this role.

 

12 hours ago, Matt-357 said:

I searched the forum, and this will be the first mention of "Nyogel". Maybe Nyogel is common knowledge here. It might be worth adding this info to an FAQ page or something for the new folks. Here is the name for future searchers...  Nyogel 767a Synthetic Damping Grease from Nye Lubricants.

I'd be surprised if there weren't any folks on this board who know about Nyogel ... it's pretty much all people will talk about WRT lubrication/dampening over on the HOTAS/HOSAS discord. You'll also find whole blogs/web-sites and YT-vids by people who tried to use Nyogel to polish the "turdy" throttle action of the TM TWCS. I tried and only half succeeded ... ?

 

It's not really a lubricant per se - or not *just* a lubricant - at least not in the way that I had thought about lubrication before I got a hold of this stuff. It's very thick and a bit hard to work with - although not as "hard" as the thicker Nyogel 44 PG-44A variety, which is even stronger/more dampening than 767A. It almost feels like glue in its consistency - only that it doesn't set like glue.

 

Here's a short comparison video from YT that demonstrates the effects of different lubricants and dampening greases quite brilliantly:

 

 

 

Since I used my current stick both with and without dampening grease, and short of re-posting my demonstration-vids yet again, I guess I could describe the difference like this:

 

Without dampening, the stick will wobble on release of the grip once it snatches back to center. All the Saitek sticks I've ever tried were prime examples of this behavior.

 

With dampening, the motion of the grip traveling back to center on release is much more "controlled" and smooth. There's no wobble when the grip reaches center. If you've ever used one of those more modern, soft-close door-hinges they put into kitchens these days ... or a "soft-close" toilet seat, ... it's a bit like those.

 

Or, if we're going with a car analogy:

Without dampening is a bit like an old school glove compartment lid where the whole thing will just snap down and wobble if you simply press the button and let it open on its own. With dampening it's like a lid on a more modern and/or premium car where you can just push the button and the lid will lower itself slowly and controlled without wobbling or "crashing" once it reaches its fully down/open position.

 

Aww... heck... a pic says more than a thousand words, right?

 

^ Gladiator  (first stick shown) with dampening grease and clutches applied - Gunfighter (2nd stick) with no dampening grease and clutches off.

 

 

 

^ Gunfighter with clutches on and Nyogel 767A applied.

 

 

S.

Edited October 16, 2022 by 1Sascha