WD-40 again

[Mal Paso]

50/50 Acetone and ATF came out on top as the best penetrating oil in a scientific test.

And around here it comes in a spray can.

[MtGun44]

WD-40 is NOT a lubricant. It is NOT a preservative. It is ONLY good for
displacing water and temporarily protecting and drying whatever was wet.

[rsrocket1]

I use WD-40 to lubricate the sawzall as it cuts through lead. Works great. Then again, maybe anything helps reduce the friction of the blade face against the lead. I probably could have used maple syrup, but cleanup would have been a little sticky.

[murf205]

Try Singer sewing machine oil at Wally World. Good thin lubricant with not much or no odor at all.

[Walkingwolf]

I use it and have been using on my guns and other things for the last 41 years.
I've never had any of these problems reported here.
IMO - complete nonsense, if all the stories here were true I wouldn't have a single gun that was operable and rust free.
WD40 is a bit of a cleaner and crud cutter, and also good for helping things break loose.
I use WD40 for what it is good for, and I use other lubricants for lubricating, other protectants for storage, and penetrating stuff for penetrating.
WD40 has some good all around uses and has served me well over the years.
I especially love it as a crud blaster when cleaning my guns.
I have cans stationed all over the house, garage, and basement.
Call me a WD40 fanboy if you like.

I agree, while it is not my only tool for guns, it has worked well without problems. I have been using it for over 30 years. Somehow I get the feeling that there is lube snobs, just like gun snobs. Don't like it, don't use it, but don't feed me BS when I know better. I find some of the cheapest stuff makes the best gun protection, like Johnson's past wax.

I had more problems with Balistol than WD40, only stuff to cause my guns to rust. My guns get lubed once a year, with the old stuff that our grandfathers used. I have had no problems with rusting guns. Maybe instead of expensive latest fad oil, the guns should be stored in a dry place.

Salt, and humidity are the primary causes of excessive rust. Cars sit here in the south in junk yards for decades without rusting out, yet up north it happens in a matter of a few years.

[waksupi]

I've "fixed" more guns for people who had dowsed them with WD40 for years, than any other lube. Always the same, brownish colored varnish build up.

[richhodg66]

I go through a lot of it cleaning motorcycle chains. Works well for that, but I put a drop of heavy motor oil on each link after the WD-40 has disolved the gunk off.

[dubber123]

I've "fixed" more guns for people who had dowsed them with WD40 for years, than any other lube. Always the same, brownish colored varnish build up.

I "fixed" a model 70 Winchester that fired when the bolt was closed. The owner stated it needed a new trigger. I pulled it down, and found a thick layer of super hard brown varnish. I couln't even get brake cleaner to touch it. I had to physically scrape it off with a razor blade, at which point it worked just fine. Guess what it got hosed down with every deer season?

[BrentD]

I always find it strange, all the folks that hate WD-40. It works for me, always has. None of these maladies has ever been a problem with any of my 30+ firearms. Strange.

[bangerjim]

I use WD-40 to lubricate the sawzall as it cuts through lead. Works great. Then again, maybe anything helps reduce the friction of the blade face against the lead. I probably could have used maple syrup, but cleanup would have been a little sticky.

ANY liquid will do the same thing. Even wax or soap is better than WD-40.

[Walkingwolf]

WD 40 contains no chemical compounds to cause rust, if a gun is rusting it is from exposure to those compounds that do cause corrosion. In other words poor gun care.

[dondiego]

WD-40 is a solvent and can remove/dissolve metal rust protectants (oil, grease) which can allow rust to form, which gave WD-40 the bad name for "causing" rust.

[prs]

I go through a lot of it cleaning motorcycle chains. Works well for that, but I put a drop of heavy motor oil on each link after the WD-40 has disolved the gunk off.

I use WD for cycle chain cleaning too. Soft rag to wipe as I roll the chain around and douse with the WD. When chain is clean (and it cleans FAST) and WD still wet, I use Husqvarna or Stihl saw chain lube to work into the side plates by hand. The WD solvent evaps and the oil has been carried into the tightest of places where it clings as it is supposed too.

I have also used WD-40 to clean away the dried brown varnish left by previously applied WD. But, then I apply a real lube/protectant.

prs

[tygar]

My father thought it was the be all end all, many cans left. Works good removing label remains, that is about all I use it for till it is all gone. Oh, and it's fun to smoke bugs with the red tube installed and a lighter!

WD40 is used extensively as a spray for trout/salmon lures, fish eggs etc. in AK

[quasi]

WD 40 is a pretty good cleaner on some things. It also penetrates your skin and gets in your blood stream instantly. Cannabis users who do not smoke simply soak their cannabis in WD40, and rub it on their armpits (or other areas where your skin is thin and soft) and the effect is immediate.

[N4AUD]

WD-40 is NOT a lubricant. It is NOT a preservative. It is ONLY good for
displacing water and temporarily protecting and drying whatever was wet.

It is a great degreaser. I worked at a factory as a 200 ton press operator right after I got out of the Air Force in the late 80's. When we changed tooling, there would be a lot of grease that would get all over you, but a setup man showed me how WD40 would dissolve all that grease. One moral to that story is don't ever use it on anything that REQUIRES grease, 'cause it will run off like melting ice cream.
I just got my first can of Balistoll, and I love it so far, mainly because it isn't toxic. I've got CLR, Rem-Oil, Ed's Red, Balistoll, Kroil, Hoppes, Lubriplate, 3-in-1, and WD40 in my cleaning kit (among others) and they all have their uses.

[azrednek]

WD40 is good for displacing moisture, but as 44man says, there are better things for long-term protection. Personally, I like RIG.

Hope I'm not being redundant as I didn't read every post. WD-40 as the ol'saying goes, it ain't what it used to be. WD-40's formula changed after the feds made them remove Freon. In the 70's before the change. WD-40 was apx 90% kerosene with a small amount of fish oil and a strong perfume to cover the fish stench. The Freon based WD-40 was indeed great for displacing moisture and was a favorite of auto mechanics to dry the interior of damp distributer caps. If you tried it with today's formula you'd wind up with an oily mess. I'm told but can't say for certain. WD-40 now uses an alcohol based evaporant similar to brake-clean that is no where near as effective as Freon.

[bangerjim]

Many useful things have been forced to be change "to protect the children". Sad. All the good stuff is now milk-toast.

I still have a couple gallons of TCE. Best degreaser ever made by man. Now everything is that orange-based garbage that is "green".

Sad............just plain sad. Thanks liberals.

banger

[DanM]

I use WD-40 for cleaning the plastic bodywork on the 4-wheelers. Works great and leaves a nice shine. Don't have any in the gunroom although it is OK for light cleaning if you don't leave it on the metal for storage. Old formula WD-40 used butane as a propellant and worked well as a starting fluid in small engines. Don't know what the propellant is now but it won't work as a starting fluid anymore.

[azrednek]

WD-40's "contains petroleum distillates" on every can is misleading but I guess its better than saying contains perfumed kerosene. Seems to be much negative experience are about using WD-40 on guns. When I worked as an outside salesman for an automotive warehouse distributor. Sporting good and gun shops bought as much, if not more WD-40 as any other retail channel. I had an Arizona sporting good chain that used to order numerous cases bi-annually. They occasionally used it as a lost leader, selling at or below cost in their print advertising. As a commissioned salesman I for one wouldn't argue about what is best. WD-40 has brand name recognition.

Although there are better, WD-40 still does a good job as an overnight penetrating oil but so does Coca Cola. I keep a can on my loading bench as it is great for melting the build-up of waxy bullet lubes out of seating and crimping dies. It also works great for starting a charcoal fire in a barbeque. Seems to penetrate into the briquettes better than ordinary charcoal lighter. Although there are probably many different and probably better. I haven't found anything better for removing old duct tape than WD-40.