Can color indicate grease quality?
January 22, 2022
Our commonly used lubricating greases come in various colors. What does the color have to do with its quality? Generally speaking, the color of the lubricating grease when it leaves the factory is only used as a brand to indicate the type of lubricating grease. However, the quality and application of grease are not distinguished by color. For example, we cannot think that blue greases are high-temperature greases. Although many manufacturers' high-temperature greases are blue, we must also know that there are many ordinary lithium-based greases. In order to join the eye-catching machine, it is also modulated into blue.
Grease manufacturers use colorants just to make it easier to identify greases, making them more noticeable than brown or black. Color can help users spot the wrong grease. For example, when a certain color of grease comes out of the grease gun that doesn't match the expected color, it's time to check for the wrong grease. The color of a grease can also reflect its overall availability. When grease degrades and becomes contaminated, it usually begins to darken. This darkening, when compared to new grease, will be more noticeable and may be a sign that the grease has reached its end-of-life limit. While the darkening of grease shouldn't be surprising, the speed at which it darkens is an important factor. In addition to dulling the grease due to operating and environmental conditions, a color shift can be a sign of an accidental mixing of greases with different types of grease. If this happens, immediate action should be taken to determine how and why it happened. Careless use of the wrong grease is more common than most people realize.
