WD-40 use / don't use...

Dragon man, good tip! This comes up from time to time, but it can't be said too often.

WD-40 attracts dust, and attacks plastic, so it's doubly bad for your knives. Likewise, much of the gear in our daily lives uses plastic, even though a lot of this plastic has been coated in some way that often makes it seem like something else.

There are specialized lubricants and cleaners for knives. Tuff-cloth and Tuff-oil come readily to mind, but many others in this forum will no doubt be able to find others. In my experience, rubbing alcohol works very well for the everyday grime, but if you really get something dirty, it may be time to try out that warranty service.
 
I use the stuff all the time on the bikes I maintain and rebuild... As a solvent. Works great to loosen stuck bits, free-up frozen derailleurs, remove stuck seatposts...
It does have a very slight lubricating effect for light-duty use.

I must say I've never noticed any tendency to promote rust....

Used to be they sold a product called "LPS" which came in several forumulations. They used to do a demo with it at trade shows where they would spray down an electric motor and then immerse it in water.... Kept on running.
 
mwerner said:
I use the stuff all the time on the bikes I maintain and rebuild... As a solvent. Works great to loosen stuck bits, free-up frozen derailleurs, remove stuck seatposts...
It does have a very slight lubricating effect for light-duty use.

I must say I've never noticed any tendency to promote rust....

Used to be they sold a product called "LPS" which came in several forumulations. They used to do a demo with it at trade shows where they would spray down an electric motor and then immerse it in water.... Kept on running.
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Is this the company?
http://www.lpslabs.com/
 
I always keep WD40 around. As I'm fond of saying, no other product does so many things as poorly as WD40. But is does so many things.
 
That lifehacker website just goes to show that anybody can put anything on the internet, and anybody will believe it. It might be wise to rely on Tim Leatherman's recommended usage of WD-40 on his multitools, rather than anonymous internet authors who falsely claim that its no good for anything but "creating" rust.

WD-40 contains 15%+ mineral oil, and mineral oil is a lubricant. No, its not a heavy industrial gear grease that will last forever, but is a lubricant nevertheless. So all of the claims on that website that WD-40 lacks lubricity are demonstrably false. Pour some Johnson's Baby Oil on your hand and see if it is slick. Its the same mineral oil you find in WD-40, albeit at full concentration.

It makes me question also the claim that WD-40 is hydrophilic. This is unlikely, given that it contains mineral spirits, mineral oil, and either liquified petroleum gas or carbon dioxide as a propellant.

Seems that few things on the interweb are so full of hogwash as the claims that WD-40 is the worst product ever made. Some things like this take on a life of their own and are self-perpetuating.
 
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mwerner said:
I use the stuff all the time on the bikes I maintain and rebuild... As a solvent. Works great to loosen stuck bits, free-up frozen derailleurs, remove stuck seatposts...
It does have a very slight lubricating effect for light-duty use.

I must say I've never noticed any tendency to promote rust....
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Promote rust? Actually just the opposite. WD40 was developed in the early 50s as a rust preventative. WD40 is "water dispersant, formulation attempt #40". It was originally used by General Dynamics Convair division to keep the polished steel outer skin of Atlas missles from rusting.

The WD40 you get today is mostly a mineral spirit type solvent, Stoddards Solvent to be precise, about 50% by volume. Stoddards is similiar to kerosene but more highly refined. The rest is a petroleum base (light mineral oil) at about 10 or 12% and aerosol propellents such liquid CO2.
 
There are so many better knife and gun specific lunes out there. WD-40 is an excellent cleaner. For knives and guns, hard to beat Rem Oil, TriFlow, or the literally dozens of other product specific lubes available.
 
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Ballistol is by far the best overall cleaner, degreaser, lubricant, preservative , protectant ever made. Oh and it's non toxic!
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40


WD-40's formula is a trade secret. The product is not patented, to avoid completely disclosing its ingredients.[2][3] WD-40's main ingredients, according to U.S. Material Safety Data Sheet information, are:

51% Stoddard solvent (i.e., mineral spirits: primarily hexane, somewhat similar to kerosene)
25% Liquefied petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant; carbon dioxide is now used instead to reduce WD-40's considerable flammability)
15+% Mineral oil (light lubricating oil)
10-% Inert ingredients
The German version of the mandatory EU safety sheet lists the following safety-relevant ingredients:

60–80% Heavy Naphtha (petroleum product), hydrogen treated
1–5% Carbon dioxide
It further lists flammability and effects to the human skin when repeatedly exposed to WD-40 as risks when using WD-40. Nitrile rubber gloves and safety glasses should be used. Water is unsuitable for extinguishing burning WD-40.

There is a popular urban legend that the key ingredient in WD-40 is fish oil.[4] However, the WD-40 web site states that it is a petroleum based product.[5][6]
 
WD40 is one of those products that people either love it or hate it and most of the good/bad points have already been touched on here.I love the stuff,buy it by the gallon and use it liberally to lubricate,disperse moister,free rusty nuts and bolts you name it and I've never found it to hurt anything except it will make rubber harder if you get it on that,it will soften it to start but once it dries out the rubber will get harder,beyond that I haven't found much it won't do,it'll even clean tar of the paint on a vehicle without damaging the paint.
 
powernoodle said:
Seems that few things on the interweb are so full of hogwash as the claims that WD-40 is the worst product ever made. Some things like this take on a life of their own and are self-perpetuating.
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I know, it's really amazing that my personal tools that get carried into an extremely corrosive environment full of chemicals and coal dust develop less rust than similar ones stored in my basement, work like new, and that their plastic covered handles look fine except for dings, wear, and melted spots after a decade of being cleaned and maintained with nothing but WD-40.
Maybe I should buy some lottery tickets!:eek:
 
I've bought some imitation crap before. I think it had gears on the picture. You can find equivalents at Walmart or Auto Zone or wherever. Pay more and get the real thing.
 
harkamus said:
But it smells something fierce.
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I never really noticed it when I first started using Ballistol, then I kept hearing people on youtube and other forums talk about the smell. Now as soon as I spray a part its the first thing I notice.
 
I tend to prefer PB Blaster instead of WD. I find it to be a bit more aggressive for stubborn screws, nuts, and bolts. Really though, I just have so many other products that are more useful. I use lubes for uh... lubing things, and PB Blaster for a light duty solvent and I am GTG.
 
To me, WD 40 is kind of a jack of all trades, much like mineral oil. You can use if for a lot of things and it will generally make things better even if its not the perfect thing for the job. Much like using mineral oil on leather, you need to watch out for WD 40 on rubber.

I generally wouldn't use WD 40 to clean my guns, but I don't hesitate to use it on all other kinds of tools.
 
rmoore911 said:
I never really noticed it when I first started using Ballistol, then I kept hearing people on youtube and other forums talk about the smell. Now as soon as I spray a part its the first thing I notice.
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I used it for a long time to maintain firearms. It always smelled bad to me in the beginning, but later on I just used to the bad smell. Now I use Weaponshield which is supposed to be pretty harmless to skin contact (my main reason for using Balistol). It's also - don't laugh - scented with cinnamon. So, your firearms and knives come out smelling cinnamon-y fresh!

And to go back on topic, years ago I used WD-40 to maintain most of my metal stuff. It seemed to work great for a rust preventative. I never use the stuff anymore now in favor of the more "healthy" alternatives. I rather not expose myself as much as possible to harmful chemicals.
 
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