My old foreman swore by graphite powder for elevator door tracks

Back in the late 90s, my foreman Joe told me to always use graphite powder on door tracks instead of lubricating oil. He said oil just collects dust and gunk over time, making the doors stick worse. I didnt believe him at first because oil felt like the easier fix. But after a year of cleaning out nasty buildup on oiled tracks, I switched to his way. Now 25 years later, I still use graphite on every job in Minneapolis and the doors glide smooth for years. Has anyone else found that certain old school advice actually beats modern products?

3 comments

3 Comments

amy_murphy851mo agoMost Upvoted

Right? Graphite saved my sanity on sticky tracks too.

paigep201mo ago

Mark, are you saying you've never taken a sharpie to the label on a key just to tell them apart in a hurry? Cause I've definitely done that more times than I care to admit. The graphite trick only works if you can actually find your keys in the first place, so maybe we need a better system. Do you use the same pocket every time or just wing it?

mark_thomas1mo ago

20 years of graphite dust on my hands and I still can't find my keys in my pocket.