WD40 warning

M

Metal god

New member
Standard WD-40 sucks as a lube in any application in comparison then gun lubes do . Remember using it on your bike chain ? ( for me thats the 70’s ) Once you learned how bad it was , collects dirt and drys out/off in no time you used something else . It was back then I learned it was not a good lube but then again that depends on what your definition of good is .

After reading that lube test several years ago I bought a few cans of the top two rated products as well as corrosionX and weapon shield . I also have some Slip 2000 EWL 30 which is there thicker lube . Oh and I have maybe 10 other lubes , oils or greases . They all work better then standard WD-40 except when needing water displacement .
 
B

BJung

New member
One person on youtube is recommending WD-40 to lube bullets before resizing powder coated bullets. From my experience I want to avoid this avoid. Besides Hornady resizing lube, what would you recommend I spray the powder coated bullets with so the sizer will swage than cut the bullet?
 
A

Atticus Thraxx

New member
I’ve never tried dropping primers in WD-40. But if you suck up a primer in your vacuum and it ignites not only will it scare the hell out of you, you’re gonna have some cleanup to do. And the cat will give you the stink-eye for a couple of days, so be ready for that. :)
 
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Bill DeShivs

New member
OK guys-
I have used WD 40 for 50 years- as a steam/refrigeration engineer, jeweler, engraver, gunsmith, and musician.

It does not gum up. I have a small bottle in my vault that has been there for 8+ years. The carrier has evaporated, and what is left is light mineral oil. It does not contain kerosene.

WD 40 excels at water displacement, and it leaves a light oil in inaccessible places.

I even use it on my bass strings! If it "gummed," it would certainly show up there.

WD 40 will loosen rust-making it easier to remove-but will not harm bluing.

While it's not a heavy-duty lubricant, WD 40 will do an excellent job of preventing rust on properly stored guns.

I can give you dozens more uses.

I wouldn't use it as a reloading lube, though.
 
M

Metal god

New member
I didn’t say it don’t work , only everything else is better lol

FWIW all those first lubes I mentioned are not all used for the same thing .

Slip2000 ewl 30 = BCG & handgun slides

WD-40 specialist and Hornady one shot Extreme duty = Long term storage especially bores Of firearms I’m not shooting often anymore . Along with other things I just don’t want to get rusty or corrode Without doing any real maintenance for long periods of time .

Corrosion X = all my exterior locks and hinges .

Weapon shield = internal gun parts and other small metals that contact each other .
 
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H

HiBC

New member
You can use the right tool for the job or you can use a micrometer for a C-clamp.

WD-40 works very well for some things.Its expedient and will get you by for others. And for some things,its not so good.
The key to WD 40 effectiveness is what you choose it for. I would not choose it for case sizing lube.
It works very well for an aluminum drilling tapping fluid.If I'm machining aluminum without flood coolant,it keeps aluminum from sticking to the cutter and ruining the surface finish.

It works quite well for giving an extra nice wipe down on a machine tool. It cleans the gunge off.But don't soak down the ways or head with it.
Guns? You can disagree,but I see nothing wrong with WD 40 for a light wipe down for short term .

Seems like (as I recall) the inventor wanted the formula to remain trade secret.As I recall,after searching I found some spec document that revealed ,(as I recall) its quite similar to a Stoddard solvent with the addition of a grade of mineral oil.
Thats mostly it.

I'm pretty sure nearly all petroleum oils have some degree of volatility. They dry up. They may leave some parafins behind.

So much of what these oil products are is in our imaginations.

If you dissolved vaseline in mineral spirits paint thinner,it would not be WD-40,but you could put a label on it,put it in a spray can,and market it as a miracle snake oil.
And we would write about it.
 
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M

Metal god

New member
To the WD-40 fanboys :D Give one thing WD-40 does that there isn't another product out there that doesn't do it better ?

I get it , WD can do a lot . When I was growing up I used it for everything . I still use it but not nearly as much as I once did . As I got older I learned to use the correct products for the job . Does this make me a know it all , haha far from it . I think one of my greatest assets is knowing how smart I'm not . I've learned over the years the smarter the person the less likely they are willing to let go of there beliefs . For me , I'm not smart enough to think I know everything ;)

I do like to discuss and debate though , I learn a lot that way .
 
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Bill DeShivs

New member
WD 40 sprayed on a buff will make to cut smoother, but more aggressively.
I doubt Frog Lube would work well on my guitar strings.
WD 40 penetrates better than thicker oils and will seep into crevices better.
It also displaces moisture better than any other product I have used.
Smart people experiment to see what things do, and they also take into account the knowledge of those more experienced.
 
F

FITASC

New member
As a solvent, it is a cheaper alternative to "gun products" when it comes to getting residue from my shotgun barrels...............
 
M

Metal god

New member
Other then water displacement I've not heard of another thing standard WD-40 is better at then any other product on the market ? I know it "can" be used for lots of stuff but what is it better at then any other product ? As I stated earlier I'm not smart enough to know better . Give me something and I'll start using it for it if there's nothing better .
 
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HiBC

New member
I recognize WD-40 is not a miracle snake oil.As I recall its a solvent with medium or heavy mineral oil in it,in a convenient spray can.

If I have to drill and tap a 6-32 hole 5/8 in deep in aluminum,I don't mind using Aluma-cut tapping fluid.but,IMO,WD-40 works as well.
I give it an "Excellent" as an aluminum metal cutting fluid.
The stuff was originally selected by the military for a specific use inside some missile. It must have been pretty good for that.

But I;m going to turn your question around. Yes,you can find better speciallized fluids. I prefer PB Blaster or KW Knocker-loose for penetrating oil.Good stuff.

But if I don't have those,WD 40 will probably work.

It might be better to think of it as a "jack of most trades" fluid,admittedly,Master of few.

But if you have a can of WD-40,yu can get a lot done.

So,I'll offer your challenge back.

If you could only have one spray can of fluid to use for most everything,what s better than WD 40?

I don't doubt thee are some better,depending on your point of view.

But a can of WD in your pickup or tool box can save the day.

Part of the deal is knowing how to use it. Its not idiot proof.
 
A

Aguila Blanca

Staff
HiBC said:
As I recall its a solvent with medium or heavy mineral oil in it,in a convenient spray can.
Click to expand...
Kerosene, actually.

HiBC said:
But I;m going to turn your question around. Yes,you can find better speciallized fluids. I prefer PB Blaster or KW Knocker-loose for penetrating oil.Good stuff.

But if I don't have those,WD 40 will probably work.
Click to expand...
Try it on some heavily rusted fasteners on an old car. I'll bet it won't work. PB Blaster might work, Kroil almost certainly will work.

HiBC said:
If you could only have one spray can of fluid to use for most everything,what s better than WD 40?
Click to expand...
Kroil would be my first choice. Second choice would probably be PB Blaster.
 
A

Aguila Blanca

Staff
https://yarchive.net/chem/wd40.html

The WD stands for Water Displacing. I haven't analysed it,
( not commonly sold here ) but somebody ( Professor Toraki? )
squirted some down a GC/MS and confirmed the solvent was
boiling around 150-200C and only contained a minor % of
aromatics, which means it is either a narrow boiling range
kerosine fraction, or a special narrow boiling range solvent
like low aromatics white spirits.
Click to expand...

Another article says WD-40 is primarily Stoddard's Solvent (Varsol -- basically mineral spirits).

first link said:
I've analysed a similar product, and it was around 80%
kerosine, 10% acidless tallow oil, and 10% lubricating
oil light base gade - with some additional antioxidants
added to improve durability. When the composition of
WD-40 last came up in sci.chem, I wasn't sure if it was a
water displacing solvent only, but subsequently there
has been a long discussion about the film left behind in
some rec.* groups - which is why it should not be used as
a lubricant, the film is only a temporary corrosion protective
layer.
Click to expand...

Another article said it's largely made up of naptha.

Then there's this one:

https://survivalfreedom.com/is-it-safe-to-use-wd-40-on-car-paint-5-more-uses-on-cars/

Despite the secrecy around its formula, we have some ideas as to what it contains due to disclosures needed for the material safety data sheets (MSDS) that all chemicals need to have before it is distributed. From the MSDS, we can discern that WD-40 contains:

  • 45-50% of an aliphatic hydrocarbon like kerosene, to create a low vapor pressure
  • <35% of heavy non-hazardous kinds of paraffin which come from petroleum-based oils
  • <25% of flammable aliphatic hydrocarbons
  • 2-3% of carbon dioxide, to make WD-40 into a propellant
Click to expand...

Whatever it is, it has negligible lubricating capabilities. I'm still going with kerosene -- I've seen too many other breakdowns of it over the years that all said the same thing. And it behaves like kerosene when used as a tar remover on automobile paint.
 
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