What could be wrong with a light smear of (conventional) brake fluid - that's rubber-friendly, so I believe (master/wheel cylinder cup rubbers can live with it).

there are different rubbers
the rubbers in a disky 2cv wont thank you for coming in contact with Dot4

the main thing is to keep it clean and not be tempted to give it a quick squirt of anything

talc, or lock graphite seem to do the trick anything wet just attracts dirt

Sean

Or you'll end up with a rubber that's so swollen up that gear changing is almost impossible

Spot the female and male in this

I reckon it's worth having a can of something like this in the garage: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Silicone-Spray-50 ... 4aa561da1b (I don't know about that actual make, but I mean silicone lubricant spray in general.)

I remember from my D&T teaching days buying a can to help release vacuum formed sheets from their moulds - worked a treat. A later project had the kids making wooden mechanical toys - those that were a bit stiff in action - wood-to-wood friction - were helped hugely by this stuff.

The beauty of it is that it dries almost instantly, so doesn't leave any 'wetness', and it reduces friction by a huge amount.

I reckon this might be ideal for your needs, Sam.

Yeah - I can go along with the silicone suggestion ... surely that can't do any damage

I believe it's a pretty inert substance so won't 'attack' any materials I'm aware of.

Over-spray on paintwork might cause problems if you want to repaint in future?