WD40 is bad for your blade?

bill deshivs, 'Why won't more WD40 dissolve the previous 'gummed up layer?' Same reason water doesn't dissolve water or oil, oil. I have seen many firearms gunked up by owners who replace cleaning by liberal applications of WD40. It turns into a whitish, sticky gunk which loves our New Mexico dust and fine sand. I use carb cleaner or other solvents to wash the damned crap out, then lube with real lube.
 
Well yeah...WD-40 will removed gummed up residue. But why, unless in some sort of a jam, would you use the very stuff that made the mess in the first place to clean up that mess? Unless you were pressed and had to do something? With my little test, I used Breakfree which does not gum up.
 
Any oil will dry up and create a gum, eventually. WD 40 is no worse in this regard than any other.
In 35 years of gunsmithing, jewelry, cutlery, and engineering I have never seen it gum.
I used it regularly on the neck and strings of my bass when I was playing music.
 
a little insight into wd40 . my dad worked in the aerospace indrusty in the early 60s and wd40 was develped to protect the skin and electrical components of the atlas missile.he used to bring it home by the gallons. the new cans dont have it but if you look at the old ones there was a rocket in the logo. as far as useing for a lube ot to protect metal from rust i have been useing it for over 50 years and not seen the guming mentioned however i clean and reapply often. the wd part of the name stands for water disspacement the 40 for the 40th attemp at getting the formula right. there are better lubes out there and better rust inhibitors. still wd40 will do the job and do it well
 
Yes and I'm a little ashamed to read my own 2010 post! At the time I was all about hating WD-40. It has it's uses and I use it. I will not hurt a knife and it's better than nothing at all. However I won't leave it on a gun...the varnish or gumming up thing is real. But WD-40 is right there on my workbench. Used it most recently to remove sticker gunk from plastic.
 
4 years old and only one real use that's harmful. That's on guns....especially revolvers that the operator sprayed the insides clean and let them "dry". As a former gunsmith/ instructor/ LEO I have seen duty revolvers that looked perfect on the outside, actually lockup, unable open the cylinder, pull the trigger, or rotate the cylinder without a complete teardown and relube. If one uses it improperly long enough this will occur....Herb
 
WD40 is the worst product I have ever used in 40 years of working on firearms, locks, cars, aircraft, motorcycles and major appliances. It lubes for a very short time and then turns to varnish. It offers almost zero rust protection. I did gunsmithing work for a few years and half of the guns that were brought in for repair were full of WD40. Most of them also had rust. Ever heard the term "snake oil"?
 
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The instructions on the bottle are very clear. "Protects against rust and corrosion, such as: Tools • Firearms • Sporting Equipment"
"Drives out moisture", "Shake well, SATURATE area and let soak for SEVERAL minutes. For best rust protection, DO NOT WIPE OFF."
? I'm giving it a go. I'll see what happens...
 
I have a small needle-type applicator bottle that I filled with WD 40 about the time this thread started. It has sat in my gun vault since then.
The carrier has long since evaporated, and what is left is a very fluid, light mineral oil. There is no "gumming."
 
Why are you guys bumping a very old thread?

Mineral oil is left when dry. Its not the best rust protectant but it works for a short time. Better to use mineral oil vs wd40. It's cheap and for the price can be applied when it wears off

There is much better rust protectant out there (wd40 specialist for example).
 
buyer5207 said:
this dude on utube sad wd40 is bad for ur blade cuz it makes it rust faster becuz its a solvent is this true?
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That Dude is not very smart, The WD in WD-40, stands for Water Displacement! WD-40 been used on our farm and Construction jobs for over 50 years, and we had no rust issues with any tool that was cleaned with this product.
 
I'm bumping it because I have information pertinent to the thread, showing that WD 40 does not gum.
 
I like WD-40 for removing pine tar tacky after stone loading, it is a staple for strongman training and competition. Combined with a bic lighter, the aerosol makes a wonderful mini flame thrower/fly swatter.
 
HoosierQ said:
That is not true. It is not a good rust preventative and gums up...but it won't accelerate rust. He probably thinks it did because he applied it and the darn thing rusted on him...that I would expect.

WD-40 is designed to displace water from things not lubricate or protect them. Because it has petroleum in it, it lubes some and probably protects some but it is designed to do neither.

It can be a problem in firearms because it is not stable over time and if you get it down in nooks and crannies where it cannot evaporate, it will gum up. On a knife blade, not so much...it'll just rub off or evaporate.

EEZOX or Breakfree CLP are great protectants...and they have solvents too. They are designed to protect and lube as well as clean.
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Brother "Hoosier" kind of stole my thunder in a good way>> because I've been aware of and have used WD-40 over the years and I've only used it at times when there was nothing else to use at a certain person's house or a workplace. But I've never ever been impressed with WD-40 for any kind of usage. I've found that the CRC line of products and the LPS products to be far superior when I worked for a trucking fleet. I've also found that the ZEP products to be vastly superior to WD-40.

I guess it's better than nothing is about all I can say for the product. Even all the way back to the 70s I remember mechanics and machinists I was working with at the time all said they thought it was not a very good product at all.

On a funny side however I had an old hillbilly friend of mine I used to go deer hunting with actually used it on his shoulder and knees and he made all kinds of medical claims about the product>> and he was serious
 
Wd 40 is good for a whole bunch of things-including lubricating and rust protection.
You DO have to have enough common sense to understand that it's not 90 weight grease.
 
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