[Roger Davis]

Never had that problem. Could be that the person using didn't buff the surface enough after the application. Teflon can act as a slippery surface and it is also important to have the pads at the correct size for the weight of your telescope. Yes you are right, the force you apply to the telescope has to overcome the static friction and then the telescope accelerates until a linear velocity is reached that is sufficient to resist the bearing force. As soon as you drop your 'push' pressure the static friction takes over and the whole thing comes to a juddery halt. I quote from Berry and Kriege" The reason Dob buuilders like virgin Teflon and Stardust, Ebondy Star, or glass board laminates so much is that for these particular materials, the coefficients of static and dynamic friction are nearly identical when the surfaces are dry and coating the bearing surface with silicone car wax reduces the differences to zero. There is no 'pop' when the telescope starts to move, only the 'buttery" slide of a true Dobsonian.'
Be aware NEVER use Armorall on your altitude bearings! They will squeak at you all night long!