When I was making arms, I used a damping medium called Kilopoise, made by Rocol. It is commonly used in cameras and scientific instruments on screw threads to smooth out the movement.
It was a petroleum based product, and was soluble in lighter fluid, like Ronsonol, or similar. It was available as a high viscosity oil, in light or heavy grades, or as a grease. I used the oil in damping troughs in, for example, unipivot bearings, or for pivoted arms as additional attachments to control vertical movement. As a grease, I used it in cueing devices and on counterweight screw threads.
That grease used silicon dioxide as the filler material, so whether other modern materials are now silicon based or whether they are still petroleum based and the silicon content (silica, ie ultra-fine sand or quartz) is what is being referred to as silicon, I don't know. Personally I don't use silicon based polishes, sprays, or lubricants at all, if I can avoid it, especially near electrical contacts or in locations where where paints or lacquers are used, or are likely to be used.
I have to say, Kilopoise was a brilliant product, though at times incredibly messy....!
I have found a data sheet:
http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/494930.pdf
