I have a stiff ball??

OK, sorry for the title...

Seriously, My ballhead seems to be getting harder to turn, I guess its getting dirty around the ball itself. So, if you've had the same problem... what do you do to sort it out? BTW, I lost the box and manual as I'm sure that explains something. Peace!!

hehe that title sure caught my eye! re: ball head, try look for the hex wrench slot and loosen it a bit.

wait, i just checked my ball head and there is no hex wrench. my pistol grip has one so i thought ball head did too. what brand/model is your "stiff ball"?

If it's the 488RC2, then I'm interested too. I seem to have lost the information that came with the head, and it wouldn't hurt with a refresher in required maintenance.

Yep, 488.. the one in my sig. I'm not sure if WD40 is the way to go or not.

If you oil it use a " Q " tip - spray on " Q " tip - don't spray on head and hope to wipe off . You mite also post " 488 head problems - how to adjust ? "

I clean my ball heads by positioning the ball head downwards in the vertical notch. I then take a micro fiber cloth and hand turn the ball head meanwhile holding the cloth on the rotating ball. I do this for a minute or so. If this doesn't work, then I try rubbing alcohol on a cleaning cloth doing the same thing as mentioned above. I have been lucky so far, as this usually cleans them out good for me.

Oh shoot, I just posted something similar about what kind of lube to use on my balls. WD40? Hmmm...that's a bit too flammable for me, can we use machine oil? Also would it damage it if we don't grease it? FYI I have the 488RC0

See your urologist immediately!!!

I was wondering about this as well, so will any kind of grease do?

Here's a quote from the Manfrotto pamphlet that came with my 488RC2:

The heads are maintenance-free. Do not lubricate with any oil or silicone.

I have merely cleaned the ball in my 488RC2 (and my other Manfrotto ball heads as well) by wiping it off. That's all it needs to smooth it up if dirt and dust makes the movement seem a little rough.

Because the ball is a plastic, I would never apply any lubricant without first contacting Manfrotto directly for instructions beyond the line in the pamphlet.

I agree fully. If you really must have a little fluid to get out that stubborn dust or sand, a little isopropyl alcohol won't hurt anything either, as it evaporates quite readily.

More specifically, the ball is Teflon coated aluminum, so the function depends on the care with the surface.

Any lube is a dust magnet - make sure you wipe / clean with micro fiber , Almost anything else can "charge it " - like running a comb thru your hair and picking up paper . Static charges pull in dust too .
By the way , after I clean my filters on 2 lenses , I use one to clean legs of tripod and other to clean leg of mono-pod .
No , I don't spray , mist or breath on tripod or mono-pod .

Alcohol will dissolve any lubrication on the ball. Are you sure this would be okay, this may make the ball stiffer.

Why do these manufacturers claim "maintenance free" when it clearly isn't??? I know that if I don't do something it will only get worse.

I will use a cloth for now until I figure something else.