Good afternoon all;
What is the present consensus towards specialty greases such as polymer fortified?
I have been contacted by a salesperson via my boss, who is promoting polymer-fortified lubricants. He states his grease will stop leaking seals in gearboxes and extend bearing life. Sounds familiar to other sales pitches I have encountered.
We have many possible applications and compatibility with our present greases is not likely. Purging of the old grease to use the new grease is extremely hard to justify.
Any advice or opinions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
CRB

This is actually a really good question on how to sort out claims. First, while any specific product might have some advantages, you need to also know the disadvantages. There are always some which is why there is NO universal lubricant.
So get a detailed tech data sheet for the new product. There should be data for at least six tests. If not it shows that it is new - avoid, that they do not feel the grease is worth the tesing - avoid, or that it did not give good results- avoid.
Compare your current grease with the new one with specific emphasis on the parameters that are important. Oil seepage is house keeping. First it has to work to lubricate the gears and bearings in the gearbox. You can get a grease that gives very little oil separation but it can be too stiff to provide good lubrication or so full of polymers as tackiness additives that it can fail bearings. Polymers also can increase the noise in rolling element bearings. Then if it still looks good phone a 2-3 references who are using it in the same application as yours and have been using for a least a year. If it still looks good try it in one non critical application after you get the quarantee in writing that they will cover repair costs if it causes a failure. This is not just the cost of the grease. If you have all this, then great, you might have found a better product. If you are the first this can also be opportunity but requires a bit more work. I pioneered a number of new products.

Ken