Keep them slippery PCU Archive Tech Home . Keep Them Slippery Good cable lubricants, properly used, can simplify cable pulling and prevent cable damage. It depends on the cable, the conduit and the lubrication. Reducing pulling tension and sidewall pressure lets you pull cable farther, through more bends, without damaging the cable. Lubricant compositions range from wax emulsions to soap compounds to emulsions of polymers in water.
Some lubricants do better with certain combinations of cable jacket and conduit materials.
Friction numbers vary A cable and lubricant combination with a lower coefficient of friction will pull with less tension. That makes sense. But comparing lubricants can be tricky, because there are so many variables. Lower friction reduces pulling tension, which decreases sidewall pressure in the bends. That protects the cable and increases overall reliability.