I was doing some cleaning up of the various weather stations sensors I have around, and pulled the top off a Davis, a Rainwise and a WeatherTronics tipping bucket setup. All the spider webs and one hornet were cleared, and then I took some general purpose cleaner and carefully Q-tipped the buckets free of accumulated atmospheric dust and small pieces of tree pollen that had gotten through.
I remember some discussion years ago about treating the inside of the collecting funnel and the tippers to make sure there wasn't any water sticking to the surface. I had the surfaces clean, so I took a can of what was advertised as being a "Dry Lube with Teflon". I sprayed the inside of the cone and each bucket briefly, let the vehicle evaporate, and then hit it again.
When dry it left a very light white powder which I assume is the Teflon particles. I tested to see how much if any water is clinging to the surface and it seems to bead up and run really well, and with a tip the whole bucket drains out. I recall one of the manuals I got a long time ago (probably with the Peet brothers collector) that said something to the effect that the buckets had a white material that should not be cleaned off, and helped them work better. I assume they did some sort of treatment like this to them a decade or so ago when I got the station, but haven't bought anything new lately to know if current suppliers are doing any sort of treatment.
Is anybody worried that their buckets need treatment once a season? Anyone using that expensive two-spray water repelling stuff that is in DIY home stores like Menards and Home Depot?