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Lubrication of O-rings is extremely important. The greatest benefit of using a lubricant is typically obtained during installation.
Using a lubricant is going to decrease the surface friction of the O-ring helping to prevent abrasion, pinching or cutting of the O-ring during installation. Lubricating an O-ring can also help to seat the O-ring properly into the application, as well as aid and speed up automated assembly processes.
The proper method of applying a lubricant to an O-ring always seems to be an area of concern for many of our customers and there are many methods used in the marketplace. One is to apply the lubricant to the O-ring using your fingers, your hand or a brush. Another is to dip the O-ring into a container of the lubricant. A third method commonly used is to dispense the O-ring lubricant into the seal packaging and use what we call the "shake and bake" method.
The common goal of all of these different lubrication methods is to have a thin uniform film applied to the entire surface of the O-ring when completed. This will ease installation and provide best friction reduction.
Gallagher Fluid Seals is a Parker Authorized Distributor, with thousands of o-rings stocked at all times. If you have any questions about o-rings, material compatibility, failure modes, etc, please don't hesitate to contact us.