Recently the Spinlock clutches got hard to operate.
Yeterday I cleaned them as well as I could - sprayed into the mechanism water with a little dishwashing detergent, moved the levers back and forth, washed with clean water - repeated several times. They are now slightly better.
Should I also lubricate them (Silicone or Teflon lubricant)?
If not - any other things to do to improve the situation?
From memory of a few years ago, so might be a bit fuzzy: When I bought the boat, the Spinlock triple clutch lever axle was seized and opening one opened all three. I tapped the axle out, which took a lot of tapping as it was jammed in tight. There was no corrosion visible, seemed like some part had swelled up? I used the Dremel with a suitable small tool (can't remember which) to clean up and minimally enlarge the holes in the levers. It has been fine ever since.
I think you can see the end of axle on the side of the clutch. Put a mark on it and then see if it turns. The axle shouldn't be turning in the clutch body, instead the lever should be turning on the axle. If it does turn, I would suggest removing the axle and doing as above.
I will check it, although in my case there are 3 single levers, so the middle one will be hard to check this way, but if the other two will show this behavior than probably also the middle one.
Still do not know if some kind of lubrication is advisable
I keep finding more and more uses for graphite powder as a lubricant especially as it won't dry off. Unfortunately it's a little messy but worth a try!
I don't think you can do much harm with some silicone grease on the axle. Keep it well away from the parts that touch the rope (the cam and the bottom part it clamps against), obviously.