Historically I've always applied a thin coat of slick honey to fork seals when replacing them or doing a lowers service, but I wanted to look into the merits of doing this and can't find anything conclusive from the manufacturers.
Fox and Rockshox service manuals don't mention anything about greasing or oiling dust seals/wipers prior to installing the uppers - however RS seals ship with little dabs of what I assume is Sram butter in the recess of the seal.
I've just pulled a new Fox fork apart to change the air spring and the seals are completely dry - is this done on purpose?
I'm realizing I have many questions if any of you have insights:
Are there any benefits of leaving the seals dry? Would this help prevent dirt ingress past the dust wiper?
Does the approach depend on the compound of the seal?
I imagine if left dry, some bath oil would eventually work its way into the inside of the seal - would oiling new seals be better than greasing them?
I imagine the mechanics of oil seals could be a complicated subject - tell me what you know 😅
Add grease.
I also add some grease to the stanchions several times during the season. The fork, and shock runs smoother, wich is really good!
A little bit of grease for sure. A properly designed seal system and stanchion surface finish allows for a microscopic film of oil on the stanchion which is the main thing that lubricates the seal, and comes from your bath oil. This is why foam rings retain oil close to the wiper, but if the oil drains to the bottom grease is much better at clinging to the wiper and maintaining some kind of lubrication at all times. This is also why adding lubrication to the outside of your fork is pointless - the oil inside the fork should be topping up that lubricant film so if that isn't happening you have a MUCH bigger problem inside.
Fox forks have always shipped with dry dust wipers because "technically" they should function without it, and newly greased forks squeeze out residue which people freak out over, so I'm pretty sure its just easier to ship them dry as the oil should distribute itself over the first ride. But literally everyone prefers them to have a little bit of grease
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