Fixing the stickiness in a $450 ThrustMaster joystick not done by the mfr.
(a common problem from what I've read)
Better grease and a few minutes of prep would not have made this necessary.
I used Lucas #2 Marine Grease with Calcium Sulfonate additive which is supposed to be important.
(Advanced Auto had it but O'Reillys and local hardware stores didn't)
You can see the plastic casting/flashing was still left.
The internet guides said to use 600 grit, 1000, 2000.
Lazy me stopped at 600. Whatever.
Another design incidental: A soldered ground wire runs through the stack making them inseparable.
Not an obstacle but a huh. It could have easily had a connector.
This part, I forget the name atm, sits on top of the ball stack and slides on the four posts, to apply centering pressure to the ball.
Some people recommended removing the large pressure spring but others tried it and disagreed.
If you use any other spray lubes, such as silicone/lithium, the white plastic plate swells up to pinch the posts and then the joystick is completely frozen up.
This happened to me as well. Maybe it was designed that way.
The fix is to bore out the hole slightly again. Do this carefully.
Do not go to the edges of the black.
Stop and check movement. Use light pressure a little bit at a time.
I bored it too much.
Despite the improvement overall there is now a small clunk at the center which is annoying but livable
New HOTAS joystick bases are available from Thrustmaster (but probably the same original problems):
https://www.mypilotstore.com/MyPilotStore/sep/14116
Another European company makes pricey ones that are supposed to be compatible and superior:
https://virpil-controls.eu/vpc-warbrd-base.html