Which lubricant should you use on a garage door?
The one your door's own manual names. Makers disagree on sprays, and now and then a maker's documents disagree with each other, so a product that suits one door can be wrong for the next. Find the make and model on a label on the door or the opener, and look up that manual before you buy a can.
One rule runs through all the roller garage door advice we read: no grease or oil in the side guide tracks. Steel-Line puts it in capitals, 'DO NOT USE GREASE OR OIL ON THE GUIDE TRACKS', and B&D's Series 1 manual says grease or oil clogs the Nylofelt running strips.
What each maker says to use
| Hinges, rollers and moving parts | Tracks and guides | |
|---|---|---|
| B&D | Its care sheet (February 2020): all-purpose machine oil, sparingly, on steel hinges and wheel bearings, and lithium grease used sparingly or a silicon spray on plastic hinges if needed. On sectional doors, oil steel rollers only, never nylon | Roll-A-Door guides: never grease or oil. Wipe them with mineral turps or methylated spirits, after which a silicon spray may be used (Series 1 manual) |
| Steel-Line | Sectional manual: a 30 W or other medium weight oil, or a similar aerosol, with the excess wiped off. Plastic rollers take oil on the stem only; steel rollers on the stem and inner race | Roller doors: no grease or oil, just clean and polish the guide tracks. Sectional doors: keep oil and grease off the tracks |
| Gliderol | Troubleshooting page: a silicone-based lubricant on hinges, rollers and tracks, and no WD-40 or oil-based products | Care guide: silicone-based lubricant only, twice a year or as needed. Series A and AA manual: the Polyglide guides are self lubricated and must not be lubricated |
| Merlin | MJ3800 opener manual: oil the door rollers, bearings and hinges once a year | MJ3800 manual: do not grease the door tracks |
| ATA | GDO-6 manual: lubricating the wheels or cable drum is part of a service visit | GDO-6 manual: silicon spray is the only suitable lubricant for roller door guides, and not WD-40, RP-7 or petroleum grease |
When a maker's own documents disagree
Gliderol shows why the manual for your exact door matters. Its maintenance and cleaning guide says to lubricate roller door guide tracks twice a year with a silicone-based product, yet its Series A and AA installation manual says those Polyglide guides must not be lubricated, only cleaned now and then with spirit cleaner and polished with car polish. On a Gliderol roller door, go by the manual for your series.
Can you use WD-40 on a garage door?
B&D says not to, because WD-40 is a solvent rather than a lubricant. Its Series 1 manual goes further: WD40 and similar oil based sprays are not silicon and should not be used. ATA rules it out on roller door guides, and Gliderol's troubleshooting page says to avoid WD-40 and oil-based products, which it says attract dust and build up.
If the manual for your own door names something different, follow that manual for that door.
Silicone spray, lithium grease or machine oil?
These are the three kinds the makers name, and each one has its own place. Silicon or silicone spray is what B&D allows in Roll-A-Door guides once they are clean, and what ATA calls the only suitable lubricant for roller door guides. All-purpose machine oil is what B&D names for steel hinges and steel rollers on sectional doors, used sparingly. Lithium grease comes up in B&D's care sheet only for plastic hinges, again sparingly.
Locks get no grease either. For a stiff lock, B&D's Series 1 manual suggests powdered graphite, and its care sheet says a lock should never be greased.
How to lubricate a garage door
Close the door and disengage the opener
B&D's squeaky door guide says to always disengage the opener before cleaning, and its maintenance advice is never to touch or adjust parts while the door is moving. Do it with the door shut: Chamberlain says a door with weak or broken springs may fall rapidly if released while open.
Clean before anything goes on
Wipe inside the tracks or guides with a cloth dampened with mineral turps or methylated spirits, as Steel-Line and B&D both describe. Wear gloves, because Steel-Line warns the edges may be sharp. Clean first: Steel-Line's manual says grease in the tracks attracts dirt and dust.
Sectional doors: hinges and steel rollers
B&D says to oil a sectional door's hinges and steel rollers twice a year with an all-purpose machine oil, then wipe off the excess so dust does not collect. Leave nylon wheels dry: only their stems need a drop.
Roller doors: clean the guides, then stop
No grease or oil in the guides. On a B&D Roll-A-Door, a silicon spray may follow the cleaning, its Series 1 manual says. On a Gliderol Series A or AA door with Polyglide guides, nothing goes on at all.
Locks: graphite, never grease
Skip the lock when you oil the hinges, as B&D suggests, and treat a stiff one with powdered graphite.
The opener rail, only if its manual asks
Merlin's MT3850EVO manual asks for a light grease on the belt, the belt pulley and the inside of the rail where the trolley slides, once a year, and says the opener itself needs no extra lubrication inside. Keep sprays off any motor housing, and follow your own opener's manual.
Wipe off, reconnect and test
Wipe drips off the tracks and the floor, re-engage the opener the way its manual shows, then stand clear and run the door once.
How often to lubricate a garage door
Each maker sets its own timing. Steel-Line says every 3 to 6 months, and B&D's care sheet gives the same span. B&D's sectional door advice is twice a year for hinges and rollers, while Merlin's MJ3800 manual says once a year. For homes near the sea, Steel-Line's coastal care article says at least twice a year, and every three months for the longest life.
Lubricating garage door springs
Steel-Line's sectional manual mentions grease on torsion springs, and B&D's care sheet an oily rag over springs that can be reached. We would still leave springs to the service visit, because any work there puts your hands within reach of the part that balances the whole door.
Never replace or tension a spring yourself. Steel-Line warns against tensioning a roller door at risk of serious injury, and B&D says spring replacement is not a DIY task. The broken spring guide explains why.
Simple garage door upkeep through the year
- Every three to six months: with the door closed and the opener disengaged, open and close it by hand. B&D's care sheet says the effort should be about the same both ways
- Every six months: Gliderol's balance test. In manual mode, raise the door to waist height, about a metre off the floor. It should lift easily and stay there; if it doesn't, Gliderol says it is out of balance and needs a professional. Skip it if you heard a bang or the door suddenly feels heavy
- Every six months: look over the brackets, springs, tracks, fasteners, cables and weatherseals for wear, as Gliderol suggests, without touching the springs or cables
- Regularly: test the auto-reverse the way the safety guide explains
- Once a year: check the bottom seal for cracks, gaps or hardening, as B&D suggests. The seals page covers replacing one
- When it is grimy: wash the door and keep water off the opener. The rust guide has the makers' washing advice
- On your maker's schedule: a professional service. Garage door servicing lists each maker's interval
Still stiff or noisy after lubricating?
Then the lubricant was not the problem. B&D's Series 1 manual says a Roll-A-Door that is still hard to run, once its Nylofelt strips, guides and alignment are checked, needs its spring tension set by someone experienced. Steel-Line says a roller door that won't stay up, strains the motor or slams shut is out of balance and needs a professional.
On a sectional door, a squeak that returns soon after oiling can be a worn roller or hinge, both on Gliderol's list of noise causes. And Merlin says to stop using any door that starts running less smoothly or makes grinding or scraping sounds.
Either way, the next step is a garage door service or a repair. The noisy garage door guide helps pin down where a sound is coming from first.
What never to do while you are at it
Steel-Line's sectional manual says never to loosen any fastener on the torsion spring assembly or the bottom cable fixtures, and never to paint the tracks, rollers, hinges, lift cables, springs or locks. Keep the remotes away from anyone who might press one while your hands are on the door.
What you can do, and what to leave
You can
- Clean tracks and guides with a dampened cloth
- Lubricate the parts your manual names, sparingly
- Run the balance and effort checks
- Wash the door and look over the bottom seal
Leave to a door specialist
- Springs, spring tension and cables
- Worn rollers, hinges and bent tracks
- Servicing the opener's belt, chain or drive
- A door that is still stiff after a clean
What we would do
Read the label before you buy the can. Photograph the make and model on the door and the opener, find that model's manual, and buy what it names. Then write the date on the can: the makers' intervals run from three months to a year, and a date on the shelf makes it easy to keep to yours.