Cable or wire, it doesn’t matter
The point is not the material, it’s the lubricant and its properties. Anything will work initially, but oily lubes end up making a mess.
Why do I not have a mess then?
I use Boeshield a lot! I’d not squirt that down my skeg tube… Whatever works for ya.
Not sure, but
I have used Boeshield on the skeg cables of three different kayaks and it worked just fine as a lubricant.
Boeshield is fine…
…because it dries after application. I use it sometimes, too.
Developed by Boeing as …
a protective barrier against corrosion. Very good at that. Use it on big power vessels all the time. LanoCote is another superb protectant, but a bit messy. Excellent for coating threads on fasteners before installing into Aluminum etc. Years later the fastener will back right out
A potential problem with 3 in 1 oil
The previous owner of a kayak I recently purchased used 3 in 1 oil to lube the cable skeg. It eroded the plastic housing and water was pouring into cockpit through the skeg control and the cable tract. I am going to need alot of sanding and acetone to the area where I will make a housing because oil can make it harder for epoxy to stick to glass.
LanoCote, eh?
LanoCote - that’s what should have been used on the yakima style footbraces that I can’t get loose from the Necky . . . I gave up and returned the footbraces I was going to replace them with. Too bad it wasn’t thought of . . .