marvkaye

I'm with sodapop. You might try BreakFree Sports Lube... they make several versions (for firearms) but their Sports Lube is an excellent all-around light lube. Recommended for ski bindings (as well as tons of other stuff) so is excellent for cold weather. Just my $0.02.

BebuLamar

How about butter? I heard it would make the slide buttery smooth?

assman Loc: Grand Rapids, MI

You might try WHITE-LIGHTNING CLEAN RIDE. It is actually Bicycle chain lube. It was recommended to me for my ball head and it is amazing stuff. It is like a powdered wax in a quick drying solvent. Goes on wet but drys fast with no oily residue.

buckbrush Loc: Texas then Southwest Oregon

Kgivens;

If you go to your nearest hunting/fishing outdoor store you should find a new group of products for guns that are totally synthetic.
I understand the military has adopted them for use on their rifles and pistols. The two you maybe interested in because of their temperature range, are a solvent and a lubricant.
The lube has a temp. range of -65 to +507 degrees F. It also has a nice small applicator tip.

The solvent is called Breakthrough Military grade solvent and the lubricant is called Breakthrough HP Pro Oil, lubricant/protectant. Both obviously made by Breakthrough.
It states that it is safe to use on all metal, plastic and polymer parts.

I used to certify new lubricants for our logging helicopters and using WD-40 was frowned upon as it allowed corrosion to occur after the lube portion washed away. We used LPS #1 and #2 as its lube segments stayed in place and didn't wash off. I wouldn't recommend using either WD-40 or LPS for your camera gear as each one is not totally synthetic.

aphelps Loc: Central Ohio

Clean out old lube. Add thin film of lithium white grease. Work it into the gears and slide. Be sure to avoid blowing dirt and dust with any lube outdoors.

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

Don't recommend grease. Grease is a soap thickened oil. Most greases are lithium based, they are cheaper. Greases come in several different grades, mainly #1,#2, two being the thicker.. the only reason for white grease is cosmetic. The mil spec gun lubricant recommended above is by far the best recommendation.

Bill P

Most home centers sell special lube for garage doors and openers. Obviously no one wants to park outside in bad weather and I can attest from experience that they work well at least down to 0 or so. And it's not terribly expensive.

buckbrush Loc: Texas then Southwest Oregon

Kgivens;
As a followup I looked on the internet and found the price of the Breakthrough lube was 30.00 at Cabelas but I only paid 11.00 at an Ace hardware that had a gun section.
Also, beware of any, all in one product, because most products that try to do too many things fail. If you want to clean something use a cleaner and if you want to lube something use a lubricant, don't use a product that claims to do both. It will not do either one well.

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

That;s that ATF thing. I still recall changing the oil and filter on a girlfriends '50s Ford trans back in the '60s. Had the sensation of feeling my nose trying to migrate off my face.

dwermske

You might want to try a product called "T9" by Boshield. The stuff was developed by Boing Aircraft to be used to lube airplane parts. It is designed to withstand extreme changes in temperature, like going from sea level to 70,000+ feet where temperatures are -70 degrees and back down to 120+ degrees. The stuff can be purchased either as a liquid or a spray. You can find it on Amazon. It goes on as a liquid and then dries to a very thin film. Have been using it for years on almost everything. I even use it on my Velbon Micro Slider focusing rail. Had to clean off all the factory grease with a solvent, then let it dry, then sprayed on a small amount of "T9", worked it into rail gearing and rails then let it dry. Have not had to reapply for almost 4 years. Runs smooth as silk.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

That sound impressive!

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

That's another one of those things that are like a lot of other things.
The 1 oz bottle at the gun section is priced about the same as the 4 oz bottle in the bicycle section at the local Wally World. BTW, it's good stuff.

baconjerry642

Tough Glide Micro-Bonding Lubricant and Protectant by Sentry Solutions is the GREATEST lube I have found for things like your device.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

No, I never had it freeze up for any reason. cold weather does not affect it at all. I also have other sliders that are of much higher quality than the cheap Velbon, and non of them has any lubrication, they are just very precisely made. Lubrication would just hinder that (its all in the gears)

Kgivens

Hey everyone. As the person who initiated this thread, I wanted to thank everyone for their help, and let you all know that a surprising solution was found for my problem.

The biggest surprise was... this turned out not to be a lubrication problem at all. The fact that no one else seems to have experienced this cold weather stiffening symptom should have tipped me off that it was not simply a case of gunked-up lube.

My brother, who did the disassembly, forensics and relubrication/repair summed up the findings this way:

First observation--- unlike speters, my Velbon mag slider definitely contained factory lubrication---a coating of a heavy, greasy, probably silicone-based lube. If anything the lube might have helped to dampen unwanted creep of the mechanism with a heavy camera mounted to it.

Second observation--- the whole problem had to do with a sort-of split-neck nylon bushing which was being compressed much too tightly against the smooth/non-threaded sliding rails. In cold weather, this bushing would be expected to shrink, and that would constrict/bind the slider rails even more. This excessive compression appeared to be the result of some retaining hex-nuts being screwed on WAY too tightly at the factory. Once those retaining nuts were properly adjusted, the nylon bushings "relaxed" and the entire mechanism moved much more easily. The acid test will be the next really cold morning I take it outside for some photography.

The mechanical issue was figured out AFTER my brother went to the trouble to clean out the old lube with special solvents and re-lube the gearing.

So hats off to poster dpullam who advised, "The best way is to sit sip coffee and play with the unit to see if things look like the problem... analysis of the unit may show the problem." We should've studied the mechanics more closely before going down the lubrication rabbit hole.

My brother concluded by saying that the Velbon is not a precision instrument in his opinion. He felt the gearing was nothing special and in general it looked cheaply made. Are there any well-made sliders out there besides the rather expensive Really Right Stuff unit?