Can lubricant actually damage spring steel? 3

[PackardV8]

From a couple of automotive replacement spring websites,

Grease has an adverse reaction to spring steel which causes the steel to degrade and weaken the spring, so we do not recommend using grease/graphite between the leaves.

If this is in fact true, can anyone explain the chemistry?

jack vines

 

[dicer]

Use cosmoline it has been used for years on all kinds of steels and other metals, any thick protectant like that won't allow dirt in.