Thread: What's wrong with WD40?

its def not for face.
ive met several old men that swear that spraying wd40 on your knees is better than any arthritis medicine...

found this page saying the health effects of it.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts79.html

WD-40 literally stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt. That's the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who developed WD-40 back in 1953. The chemist, Norm Larsen, was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion — a task which is done by displacing water. Norm's persistence paid off when he perfected the formula on his 40th try.

it shouldnt cause rust though....
i think if your using it on machinery or whatever the parts should be wiped and done up with manufactureer reccomended oils.

The only thing WD-40 is good for is cleaning grease off of your hands in the shop and getting those stickers and labels off of jars. It will gum up guns or fish reels big time.

bj

They may have reformulated WD 40.

I tend to think of WD40 as a 'Jack of all trades master of none'
As far as I know it is water based. This came up when there was talk of it containing silicone and being potentially harmful to catalytic converters, which as far as I know it is not. I've had problems with it damaging certain paint finishes and 'O' ring materials.There are better rust solvents,better lubricants and better corrosion preventatives available. I seem to remember an article in the Daily Telegraph (UK) where Dr James Le Fanu suggested spraying it in arthritic joints.

Everyone knows you only needs two thing to fix it all : WD40 and duct tape.

If it don't move but should - WD40

if it does move and shouldn't - duct tape

Myself I prefer automatic transmission fluid on my blades - it's clean, smells good

or Hoppes.

Originally Posted by Kees

They may have reformulated WD 40.

In that case, shouldn't it be called WD40.01?

Interesting read...

The Gun Zone -- Corrosion Test


Looks like I might be switching products

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct...campaign=10612

now i will note this, its not supposed to be used in firearms because firearms get incredibly hot with use. from revolvers to ak's theyll flat out melt your skin off if your firing them fast/long enough.
i would imagine that this heat is why they say not to use it on guns,
also, NOONE recomends wd40 for long term protection, its to clean, and then wipe with manufacturer recomended oils, which would vary between stainles and carbon, guns and engines etc etc.. might it be OK, yes, but definitly not recommended.
it doesnt lube for long, if you put it on a squeaky chair itll be squeaky again in no time. the only times itll seem to last long is when it actually loosens pre-existing oils.
it is known to carry the same ingrediants as stoddard solvent :

White spirit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

results from nails being misted with salt solution:
brand.............................after5 hours.......................after 29 hours
Best
Eezox ....... No rust, bright........... No rust, bright
Break Free CLP .........No rust, bright ....No rust, bright
Excellent
Break Free LP........... No rust,bright ...........Trace rust freckling
Very Good
LSA Medium Weapons Oil .........No rust, bright , .......Some freckling small rust spot
WD-40....... Trace freckling......... Some rust freckling, few spots
Good
RemOil....... No rust, bright........ Some rust freckling
TW25-B........ No rust, bright .........Some rust spots and freckling
Fair Rust Prevent Trace .......rust freckling....... Significant coverage with rust spots
Maybe
CRC 5-56 No rust,.......... bright Freckling.........rust strip 1/3 of bottom
Sheath Trace.......... rust freckling......... Rust spots & freckling
Unsatisfactory
Hoppe's Lubricating ......Significant rust on bottom....... About 50% rust covered
3-in-One Oil ........Significant rust spots ......More than 50% rust coveredtaken from gssixguns link.
The Gun Zone -- Corrosion Test

that eezox better be some good stuff, its exponentially more expensive than wd40, over 3 dollars for 1.5 ounces, my wd40 im lookin at cost the same, and is 13.5 ounces, plus these can come in twin packs and stuff.

ive been trying and trying to convince my buddy not to use 3in1 on his guns. but it says guns on the bottle so he wont listen/.

When I was gunsmithing I lived in horror at what this stuff does to firearms (and everything else it touches). The build up over the years can take forever to get off and not without damage to the finish. Because of that I will never have the crud in my house, there are many other products out there that have a reasonable reputation. Heck mineral oil is preferable over that stuff

I'm surprised that Hoppe's faired THAT bad. I have used both Hoppes and Break free on my firearms with no ill effects to either but I do keep fresh silica gel bags in my safe, so that helps I'm sure. No results on the trans fluid though. Actually I do wipe my tools down with trans fluid after working on cars and such, it removes the fresh gunk and haven't had a wrench rust out yet. I've yet to see a dirty, grimy automatic transmission while pulling its innards out.
Back to the original topic though, mineral oil has suited me well for my razors. I only do this with the razors I keep in the bathroom. The rest I just make sure thay are dry and stay in a friendly environment.