# spray for my knitting machine



## Patti110654 (Jun 8, 2011)

I have an LK-150 and am wondering what others use to spray on the needles so they glide a little easier, if anything at all. Right now I'm make 12 hats for a soccer team and it seems that the needles are sticking just a little bit. Once this project is done I plan to completely clean the machine, but is there anything I can spray on now. . . I have 4 more hats to go. 

thanks in advance for your responses


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## gdhavens (Jul 21, 2011)

If you wax your yarn, it will glide more easily through the machine, and I would think it would also lubricate the needles. This was advised years ago when I first got my machine. I used to buy a spray that was a wax and spray my cone yarns with it before knitting. I think I remember that letting your yarn run across a piece of canning wax or a candle, would also work. I hope others have some advise for you also.

When I first got my machine, a Studio SK700, the company had a product called Metal Lube. It was banana oil, a very nice scent and wasn't supposed to build up on the working parts of your machine. It was also safe for electronics, so you could use it on computerized machines. I have been looking for this for years and have not been able to find any. I sure would like to find out more information on this.


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## GrammaAnn (Dec 16, 2011)

I have an LK 150 and I was using it a lot and it got tough to run carriage. I used a Knitting Machine spray from Newtons http://newtons.com/ and it works smoothly and easily now. His phone number is on the site - he ships quickly.  Ann


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## oldhaus (Oct 21, 2013)

If you read the label on that "spray" it is NASTY STUFF! I keep my Singer 700 lubed with a Teflon based liquid lubricant. Just a wipe here/there & on the needles with a rag that has a little of this on it. WD40 just came out with a Teflon based product. I know my bottle of "oil" is about out. I'm going to try it next. But still wipe it not spray it! 

I tossed out that can of "yarn conditioner" long ago. Bad nasty stuff in it!


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## GrammaAnn (Dec 16, 2011)

This is not a yarn conditioner, but a teflon based lubricant and I spray it on a rag and wipe on.


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## ValT (Aug 15, 2012)

Try using a conditioning sheet - the type that you use in the tumble dryer - just wipe it across the needle bed.

Val


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## Patti110654 (Jun 8, 2011)

thank you all soooo much for the replies. . . I particularly like Val's idea of a conditioning sheet and will try that tonight when I get home from work. I hate spraying chemicals if I can avoid it. . . but all of your suggestions are good ones. . .thank you again


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## Entity (Sep 13, 2011)

The dryer sheets is powdery. It will help with the static but I would think that the powder being a bit sticky will eventually build up inside the machine.

The other suggestions is simply a light oil formulated for knitting machine. You would need to spray or put a few drops on a no-lint rag and apply to the metal areas such as the needles. Do not apply oil directly on your machine because your model is mostly plastic. You can also use gun oil. I used to use Singer All Purpose Machine Oil. You can find it at sewing supply shops such as JoAnn. Make sure it stated that it is "formulated for sewing/*knitting machine*" on the back. I now use Ballistol (gun & machine oil) since it's even cheaper.

Keep in mind that your knitting machine bed is blastic and often, plastic against metal would not run as smooth as metal against metal. As already been advised, using wax over the yarn or using yarn spray will help you most in your case.

When I had my Brother KH-400, also a plastic bed knitting machine, I found out that wool yarn especially didn't run as smooth as when it ran with my metal bed knitting machine. I had to use a very lose tension and yet, the needles were larger on the kh-400. Needless to say, I got rid of the Kh-400 and replaced it with a true metal bed bulky machine.

On a metal bed, we can apply oil a bit more generously since the needles are also metal running against a metal bed. The carriage slides through it more smoothly.


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## ksojerio (Aug 2, 2011)

I use plastic safe silicone lubricant on my Bond. You buy it at Home Depot.


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## 30Knitter (Apr 9, 2012)

If you don't oil the track your carriage runs on, you will eventually accumulate a fine white powder. This is from the plastic rubbing against plastic.


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## Hobbiknits (Jul 2, 2012)

You can get silicone spray which you could use on metal bed or under carriage.


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## julie.n (Nov 7, 2012)

Wait! I am confused! I have heard that you should never use silicone spray or WD40 on the machine or spray directly onto needle bed.... yet reading all these comments it seems that is what many of you experienced knitters do!
I am trying hard to learn what the correct way to look after my machine is, especially as I only have ONE machine, but as soon as I get it into my head that I shouldn't do something, someone will put up a comment stating that they do that very thing with good results! (not just on this particular conversation). It is so hard to find the products needed here in Australia that I am always looking for new ways to oil and clean the machine!


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## sewlee (Feb 18, 2011)

Could you use one of those spray lubricants that machine embroiderer's use, or what a seamstress uses?



Patti110654 said:


> I have an LK-150 and am wondering what others use to spray on the needles so they glide a little easier, if anything at all. Right now I'm make 12 hats for a soccer team and it seems that the needles are sticking just a little bit. Once this project is done I plan to completely clean the machine, but is there anything I can spray on now. . . I have 4 more hats to go.
> 
> thanks in advance for your responses


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## KnitPicker (Jan 19, 2011)

Patti110654 said:


> thank you all soooo much for the replies. . . I particularly like Val's idea of a conditioning sheet and will try that tonight when I get hF
> 
> Fabric softening sheets will build up. Beware. Better to use something else.


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## coemarg (Jun 24, 2011)

Patti there are several sprays that I use

For my plastic beds - Lori Lynn 
For my metal beds - Metal Lube or Balastol oils
For Yarn - Lori Lynn Yarn Spray 

For all machines I never spray any part of the machine or carriages etc.

Just generously spray a clean cloth, clean the rails the carriage rides on, the needle butts. On the carriages I spray oil on a toothbrush (soft) and run it along the section that runs on the back rail and also through the tracks that the needles are controlled by. 

Finally I do this at the beginning of every new project and sometimes had had to do the rails and needle butts throughout a long knitting project. The carriage will just gilde if you are maintaining your machine parts properly.


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## Alandgirl (May 23, 2011)

I have used Liquid Wrench without a problem.


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## gdhavens (Jul 21, 2011)

Coemarg, where do you buy "metal lube" and what is Balastol oil?


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## maggieandrews (Jan 21, 2013)

I use Ballistol gun oil on all my machines.

Have done for the past 10 years.

Maggie Andrews. Harlow. Essex. England.


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## julie.n (Nov 7, 2012)

maggieandrews said:


> I use Ballistol gun oil on all my machines.
> 
> Have done for the past 10 years.
> 
> Maggie Andrews. Harlow. Essex. England.


I have been looking for Ballistol oil in Melbourne, just can't find it anywhere.


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## jbbh12 (Nov 14, 2011)

You only need to use machine oil on the runners of your carriage and perhaps a little on the needles. But only do this every so often or you end up clogging your machine. The best way is use a wax were the wool runs through. Years ago it was suggested you use a silicone spray but this ruined the machine. Hope it helps and happy knitting


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## Beetytwird (Jan 19, 2011)

Yep, Ballistol Multi purpose spray. Works very well on metal or plastic. Cleans a little too.


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## Hobbiknits (Jul 2, 2012)

WD 40 is a definite no no. I am a believer of the old oily rag system.


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## JCF (Aug 3, 2012)

I have a Bond and use a silicone spray, but only on the key plates. The plates are easy to clean. Spraying on the bed you eventually have to clean the entire machine. Just my opinion......


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## euvid (Apr 2, 2011)

oldhaus said:


> If you read the label on that "spray" it is NASTY STUFF! I keep my Singer 700 lubed with a Teflon based liquid lubricant. Just a wipe here/there & on the needles with a rag that has a little of this on it. WD40 just came out with a Teflon based product. I know my bottle of "oil" is about out. I'm going to try it next. But still wipe it not spray it!
> 
> I tossed out that can of "yarn conditioner" long ago. Bad nasty stuff in it!


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## euvid (Apr 2, 2011)

WHatever you use make sure it says it can be used on plastic.


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## granny45 (Sep 29, 2012)

I have a LK150, what I use is Armorall.
I spray it on and use a old toothbrush to rub it all around the top of the needles and let it sit for awhile and then rub off the excess.
I also clean under the carriage with it, then leave it over night so it dries.
I have been using this for years, it has always done the job of making the machine nice and clean and alot easier to push across the bed, wipe the bed with it also.
I was told when I got my machine to use a harsh cleaner and then oil this does the trick all in one.


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## maggieandrews (Jan 21, 2013)

You will get Ballistol, or similar like Remington, in Gun, Fishing, Outdoor pursuits shops.

Try Ebay etc.

Maggie


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## knitwitty (Feb 6, 2013)

I have a manual, Singer, Bulky machine, metal bed, about 35 years old and the shop that sold it to me said to crumple wax paper and run it across the needles and also thru the carriage and that works for me most of the time. Sometimes static builds up but you should NEVER use Static Guard on it, just use the waxed paper.


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## granny45 (Sep 29, 2012)

I also run my yarn through a piece of fabric sheet [that you use in the dryer] when I wind it on the wool winder. That stops the static, I don't seem to have a problem with static when knitting.
All the best


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## IreneWoods (Sep 19, 2012)

Patti110654 said:


> I have an LK-150 and am wondering what others use to spray on the needles so they glide a little easier, if anything at all. Right now I'm make 12 hats for a soccer team and it seems that the needles are sticking just a little bit.


On the LK 150 you have plastic (carriage track) to plastic (needle butt rollers), not plastic to metal as on the Brother 350. The machine originally came with a little bottle of oil, with a little black brush on the top, but if you got the machine used it likely is missing. Gun oil is my favorite replacement for this machine.

On page 52 in the manual, under "To Clean The Machine" there are instructions on how to oil it. Unfortunately, there are no illustrations, and most people completely miss these instructions. It is important to lubricate the LK 150. The plastic does dry out, and the machine gets sticky. The back rail in particular (the ridge at the back of the bed that the carriage rides over) seems to need it most. The plastic will actually wear away from prolonged use, but keeping it oiled helps a lot. If you still have the original bottle, you can run the oil bottle brush top along the rail; you can also run it along the sides of the cams (they look like little levers) under the carriage. For everything else, I would put a few drops of oil on a soft cloth and wipe the machine...the butt rollers and grooves on the needle bed.

Make sure to brush away all the fluff and "gunk" before oiling, or you are making the equivalent of grinding paste (holds true for metal bed machines, sewing machines, and sergers, too.)

Irene Woods
http://www.clearwaterknits.com


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## 30Knitter (Apr 9, 2012)

I may occasionally spray my carriages, but I never spray my machines. I use a one inch paint brush instead, and paint my rails and the edge of my machine. I also wipe down my bed with a soft cloth. I also paint the undercarriage. I have the brush marked oil. I use wider brushes to clean my machine.


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## gdhavens (Jul 21, 2011)

I want to clarify my previous post. The Metal Lube I used was a product of Studio knitting machines and was a banana oil product. It was not a petroleum base or silicon base product, and is not what is available when you "google" Metal Lube.

I would spray this onto a soft cloth and wipe the machine and carriage with it. It smelled like bananas.


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## anjoda (Mar 9, 2013)

Hi Patti,
I belong to a LK 150 group near Chicago, and when I asked what to use on my machine the leader of our group recommended that I go to the website Buy.caron.com put in B02005 - Knit Spray, it's a Silicone Lubricant. It works like a dream.
Good Luck.
Jean


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## lindade (Feb 25, 2011)

I use Tri-Flow with teflon bicycle oil, sprayed on a lint free cloth. Works great for me on Brother machine which is metal.


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