TIL you can fix a sticky door lock with a pencil, not WD-40

My front door lock in Atlanta started sticking bad last month and I was about to buy a whole new one for $40. A buddy doing his own reno told me to rub the key with a graphite pencil instead of spraying lubricant all over. Has anyone else had this work for a while, or did I just get lucky?

3 comments

3 Comments

simon7171mo ago

Yeah I tried that on my bedroom door last year. Worked fine for like two weeks then it started sticking even worse than before. Ended up taking the whole lock apart and cleaning it with rubbing alcohol and a toothbrush. That actually fixed it for good.

dylan_bell1mo ago

Wait did your friend try the graphite trick on their car lock? My buddy Dan did that on his old Toyota and the whole key got stuck inside the cylinder. Had to call a locksmith to drill it out.

nina_jenkins1mo ago

Maybe it's just me but I've noticed the pencil trick depends a lot on how old the lock is. My 1980s apartment lock in Chicago had so much gunk built up inside from years of key oil and dirt that the graphite just turned into a gritty paste. Had to take the cylinder out completely and soak it in mineral spirits overnight, then blow it out with compressed air before the graphite would even do anything on its own. Also, cheap Kwikset locks from Home Depot seem to be way more prone to that paste problem than the old Schlage ones. So if your lock is newer and clean the pencil might work, but on a really crusty one you're better off just doing the alcohol scrub from the start.