Silicone lubricant made my stilts squeaky!

[Brenden]

Hello everyone. I have some skyrunners (yes, yes, I know). A few days ago I decided to lubricate all the joins with a silicone-based spray lubricant because one of them was making a tiny squeak every step. Lo and behold, when I used them a few days later, every join in the stilts squeak like there's no tomorrow. It had the opposite effect! Has this happened to anyone? Should I try using normal WD-40, even given the residue, just to make the squeak go away?

I have read plenty of threads here saying that to get rid of squeaks you should use silicone lubricant, but none where the problem has significantly worsened because of it.

Edit - Summary and Solution:
1. Applied silicone lubricant to all joints to remove squeaks
2. This had the opposite effect and CAUSED severe creaking noises which did not fade over time.
3. I applied some regular WD-40 to the lower join where the apparatus connects to the spring
4. Squeak went away immediately

Although many people recommend against using WD-40 due to cosmetic and other issues, for me it succeeded in making my stilts silent again

[XS]

wd-40 is a degreaser not a lubricant, it might make the squeak stop but they're probably working better with the silicon despite the squeaking

[Brenden]

I did notice that they are working a lot better after the lubricant, they feel a lot more stable, but I'm mainly upset at how they went from almost-silent to old-rocking-chair.

[Brenden]

Using some WD-40 in the squeaking joint solved the problem and made the stilts silent again. I have updated my original post to reflect this for the benefit of anyone in the future with similar odd happenings.

[Jason]

Ok mate two things here

I seem to remember that some older skyrunners actually had metal bushes (these need oil)

Most have nylon bushes and there are several silicon sprays that work well and do stop the squeeks and make the bushes last a lot longer

WD40 is a wonderful product that works miracles on some problems but a deffinate no no on nylon
What it does is wash all the lubricant out of any joint it is used on and leaves a thin film of a light lubricant that vapourises after a couple of days leaving the joint to wear away a lot quicker

I use a silicon/ptfe spray grease but I dismantle the joints to get it well into the joint this stuff lasts for hours of use

Another strange but true one is that if you spray water on the joints it will stop them squeeking until it evaporates  but I wouldn't recommend it 

What type of spray did you use as some contain other lubricants as well that can make them squeek

Also check that the bushes arn't rotating in the frames and tight on the bearing as that makes them squeek and wears the frames

Jason