Personally I use the white Lithium grease for gears, it doesn't melt like moly grease (Molybdenum disulfide) and doesn't freeze. It comes in spray cans and is easy to apply and thickens on contact with the air (I'm assuming as it comes out in a liquid spray).
In a cloudy nights thread it recommends against white Lithium grease, apparently it dries out easily but Superlube which is a synthetic grease is recommended.
https://thetoolgroup.com.au/collections/superlube
White Lithium isn't an issue for me because I grease the gears semi regularly.
Internally in my mount I use Nulon Extreme (Supercheap Auto) which is a red lithium grease with PTFE added for extra slip
There are marketed greases available from astronomy supplies too:
https://www.testar.com.au/products/grease-for-mount
The most important part of greasing the gears is remove the old stuff first. Depending on the level of strip down I'm doing/prepared to do, I find electrical contact cleaner spray (I keep it for electronics) softens the old stuff as does petrol, what I use depends on whether I'm doing it in the yard or in the house. Some (many) greases harden with age and also trap a lot of dust and grime, removal of the old grease and cleaning is usually the best option, a tooth brush and plenty of rags/paper towel works, wipe the grease off the toothbrush on the paper towel, rinse and repeat.
Quote:
A parts scrub brush and 5 gallons of mineral spirits ought to get you started.
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This is a tractor forum, hence the 5 gallons. Methylated spirits will also break the grease down slowly.
There's also recommendations of oven cleaner in certain forums. Oven cleaner damages certain alloys so I'd recommend against trying it out on an expensive mount. I tried it out on an expensive motorbike engine myself, luckily I had a spare engine in good condition.......
Live and learn, SOMETIMES........
SOme older threads with recommendatios:
https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/...ng+mount+gears
https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/...ng+mount+gears
Good luck Peter!