Graphite powder buying guide
Updated: 23 October 2026
The key on your uPVC door is stiff, and amazon.co.uk has just shown you a lock puff, a drawing tin and a 500 g bag under the same search. A graphite powder buying guide has to split those three products before it talks about price. Buy the pack for the job your cylinder maker allows, then check the words on that listing. The [graphite powder comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/graphite-powder) is the grid of ten kept listings. Prices are captured amazon.co.uk shelf prices in GBP on 21 October 2026. Peter F. checked those listings. This is not a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
The key on your uPVC door is stiff, and amazon.co.uk has just shown you a lock puff, a drawing tin and a 500 g bag under the same search.
The key on your uPVC door is stiff, and amazon.co.uk has just shown you a lock puff, a drawing tin and a 500 g bag under the same search. A graphite powder buying guide has to split those three products before it talks about price. Buy the pack for the job your cylinder maker allows, then check the words on that listing. The graphite powder comparison is the grid of ten kept listings. Prices are captured amazon.co.uk shelf prices in GBP on 21 October 2026. Peter F. checked those listings. This is not a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Use | Form | Particle size | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Kasp Kasp K30050 pack of 2 | Door locks and padlocks | Powder, tin on the attribute line | n/a | 8.8 | about £10.70 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Cretacolor Cretacolor graphite powder 150 g | Artist drawing; reviews also rub 3D prints | Powder in a plastic tin | n/a | 8.7 | about £18.85 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Inoxia Inoxia synthetic graphite 500 g | Bulk powder; reviews name locks, art and conductive paint | Loose powder; reviews say a bag | 300 mesh | 8.2 | about £13.39 | View offer |
On this page
Three powders, one name
A lock puff is a small bottle or tin with a spout, sold as a dry lubricant for door locks and padlocks. In this capture that family includes the Kasp K30050 pack, the Pressol 50 g title and the Lution XM bottle. An artist powder is an open tin or a drawing bottle: Cretacolor's 150 g tin and the two Koh-I-Noor 80 ml listings. A bulk powder is a bag you decant yourself. Inoxia's 500 g synthetic grade is that row, with 300 mesh printed. Tone on paper is the graphite powder for drawing page.
Read the lock leaflet before the price
The cheapest puff is the wrong puff when the cylinder maker names a different product, or bans graphite. Ultion's own lubricant page tells you to use its graphite and not oils or WD-40, and it talks about a six-month interval. The Lution XM bullets repeat that approval, at about £11.80 on amazon.co.uk. Avocet sells a named ABS graphite powder and tells you to dust the key lightly, about every six months, and about every three months on the coast, and not to use WD-40 or 3-in-1. APECS says do not use graphite on APECS cylinders, and do not use WD-40 either. Their page points you to APECS dry lube. If your leaflet is APECS, stop. The chemistry is on graphite powder vs WD-40.
What the listing must state
For a lock puff, look for a grease-free or dry sentence, a spout, and a fill you can reconcile. Kasp says greaseless and odourless, with a fine dispensing spout. The title says a pack of 2 at about £10.70, and the included-components line says 1 x K30050. Pressol's title says 50 g, natural, grease-free, at about £5.17. A separate attribute block says paste and SAE J300 0W-20, and a liquid-volume line says 100 ml. The two Koh-I-Noor listings share GTIN 08593539100218 and model 975608000000. They are not two grades. Cretacolor is a 150 g drawing tin at about £18.85, with no lock spout.
Price bands in this capture
About £5 to £7 covers Pressol at about £5.17, LINKKNOB at about £5.19, and LUNAULTRA at about £6.99. About £8 to £12 covers the Koh-I-Noor bottles, Kasp at about £10.70, and Lution at about £11.80. About £13 to £19 covers Inoxia at about £13.39, ninesung at about £17.83, and Cretacolor at about £18.85. LUNAULTRA is 5.0 from 2 reviews and LINKKNOB is 5.0 from 3 ratings. Two ratings cannot outrank thousands.
Dust, electrics and slips
The Health and Safety Executive's EH40 workplace exposure limits for graphite are 10 mg/m³ inhalable and 4 mg/m³ respirable. Those figures are employer limits, not a COSHH assessment for one front-door puff. Do not decant the 500 g bag in a closed room, and do not blow a cloud into the keyway. Adding powder on top of oil makes a paste. If the leaflet bans graphite, or the key is snapped, stop.
Common questions
Is a lock puff the same product as a drawing tin?
No. A lock puff in this set is a small greaseless or dry bottle with a spout, sold for keyways. Cretacolor's 150 g tin is sold for large-area drawing, and its UK reviews are about paper and 3D-printed props. The Koh-I-Noor bottles are artist listings that some reviewers also use on keys. That side use does not give them a lock spout or a grease-free title. Match the pack to the job before you compare the price per gram.
Does microfine mean a mesh size?
Only when the listing prints a number. Inoxia states 300 mesh. The ninesung listing claims 13 micron and 1000 mesh, beside a weight conflict. Kasp, Pressol and Lution do not print a mesh. Micro and finely ground are wording, not a grade you can compare. A shop guide that says under 10 microns is that shop's language, not a figure you can transfer to a blank amazon.co.uk bottle.
Should I buy the Ultion tube if I do not own an Ultion lock?
Buy the Lution XM bottle when the lock is an Ultion, because the bullets and Ultion's own page name that graphite and reject oils and WD-40. If the lock is an ordinary cylinder whose leaflet allows any dry graphite, the Kasp pack and the Pressol title are the large-sample options in this set. If the leaflet is silent, ask the maker before you pick the cheapest bottle. Approval on one brand is not approval on the next.
What if the lock is an APECS cylinder?
APECS tells you not to use graphite on its cylinders, and not to use WD-40. The product they name is their own dry lube. A high review count on a puff does not override that sheet. Skip the lock rows in this comparison and follow the APECS note. The same stop applies to any other maker who prints a ban, even if a neighbour's Yale freed up with powder.
Is the 500 g bag better value for one front door?
No. Inoxia is about £13.39 for 500 g of synthetic powder with 300 mesh stated, and reviews say it arrives as a bag. You would decant a pinch for one keyway and then store the rest. Pressol is about £5.17 for a stated 50 g, with 2,168 ratings, if you accept the paste line in the attribute block. Price per gram favours the bag. Fit for one door favours a spout, and only after the leaflet allows graphite.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Listings captured 21 October 2026. Updated October 2026.
- HSE EH40/2005 workplace exposure limits (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- HSE COSHH (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Inoxia graphite powder safety data sheet (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Flints graphite powder safety data sheet (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Ultion lock lubricant (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Avocet ABS graphite powder (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- APECS lock care (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Jackson's Art: graphite and charcoal (retrieved 21 October 2026)