I have a 30 anniversary Classic 1 TT, bought it 2009, never did any maintenance on it, granted, I didn’t use it that much, figured less than 1000 hours play time. I was told by an audio friend I need to lubricate platter bearing and motor, but totally confused about what lubricant to use. The manual mentioned white lithium grease. But I noticed VPI website only has something called super lube bearing lubricant (the picture showed the word oil, not grease), is this now supposed to use on all VPI TT bearing? If yes, where to buy it? My regular audio dealer does not carry it.
Also, do I need to lubricate motor? The manual does not mention this. If yes, what to use?
High quality white lithium grease in small tubes should be available at any hardware or auto supply store. I would also think any synthetic motor oil would also work well. A little of either one goes a long way in a bearing. If they are sealed then you will need to use a hypodermic needle to get by the seal. Also if they are sealed then there’s a good chance that they do not need to be further lubricated. The motor may have bushings or bearings depending on the quality of the motor. The motor bearings may be difficult to lube with the motor assembled. Unless the bearings are noisy or sticky they may be best left alone.
I was able to find VPI bearing Magic Lube listed at Elusive Disc. Availability 29 May. Personally, although I don’t own a VPI (I’m a SOTA guy), I would stick with the bearing lubrication the manufacturer recommends. The brief description states it is Teflon based.
Leave the motor alone. Unless you know exactly what the bearing type is I wouldn’t freelance on that. Better yet consult with VPI.
You have an inverted bearing so you have to use grease, do not use oil since it will just drain out and leave the bearing dry. White lithium grease will work fine, but the VPI Magic Lube is the best. You can get the same thing, different name, on Amazon. It’s called “Super Lube 21030 Synthetic Multipurpose Grease with PTFE”. There are a number of different varieties, but that one should work fine. Lubricating the motor is a little tricky, need something like a 20 W oil and just a couple or three drops on the shaft just below the brass collar (visible from the top, may need to pull up slightly on the pulley). I also see you posted this same question on the VPI site, I hope my answer jibes with anyone who answers there (I won’t be redundant …)!