disclosure: I work in automotive trade craft as a diesel mechanic and I dont care to have WD40 in my shop at all for a few reasons:
0. It is a solvent, not a lubricant. This is often lost on apprentices until they wear out a drive chain or blow up a firearm. WD40 does a terrible job of blurring that line. even the article touts it several times as a lubricant :(
1. it absolutely CAN NOT be used around hot work, unlike most other lubricants like ND999. cans --aerosol or not-- are treated just like a can of petrol.
2. Again, it is stunningly flammable both in and out of its aerosol form because its mostly kerosene. That means aerosol vapors floating around a powdercoat setup, an open flame, or any ignition spark, will cause it to catch fire. if your apprentice just hosed down a part with WD40 and you need to take a torch to it, youre going to have a bad time.
Haha. Yep. WD-40 is petroleum distillates and for DIY noobs.
Penetrating oil for not hot work: 90/10 vegetable oil + acetone. Much better than commercial products and very cheap. IIRC it was tested on ProjectFarm (I maybe mistaken) and written up in a Drexel paper. [0]
Machinist's Workshop - April/May 2007 says 50/50 ATF + acetone, which requires mixing before use.
Seconding this - this is some excellent stuff for rusted suspension nuts and bolts and things like stuck mechanisms. Just make sure to shake well before spraying as acetone likes to separate. If you have atf thats died red make sure it comes out pinkish.
It is a lubricant, just a bad one. It is good for things that primarily need corrosion protection and cleaning and don't really need lubrication, but could benefit from it. Something like a pair of pliers. Or the outer skin of a missile. But yes, it's not good for parts where the primary goal is lubrication.
Yes, terrible for any metal on metal. It's only real use is as a degreaser.
Don't believe me? Put it on a bike chain and go for a ride. The whole thing will bind up in no time. It will also rust much faster. You can use it to strip old dirty lubricant, before applying fresh lubricant. But not as a lubricant.
I've been told this by no fewer than three people: shop teacher, bike shop owner and a mill wright. I've personally destroyed a bike chain with it as a kid, and I've seen other people destroy bike chains with wd-40.
It may have a bit of lubricant in it, but it is not sufficient.
I typically use WD40 on things that don't require any lubrication under normal operation. There are plenty of metal-on-metal mechanisms designed to work without any lubrication. For those purposes, it exceeds their lubrication requirement of zero.
If you have a use-case that typically requires a dedicated lubricant under normal operating conditions (i.e. a chain drive), then this likely exceeds the lubricating capabilities of WD40.
Ha, its properties as a solvent are the reason I keep it around. It works better than anything I've tried—isopropyl, acetone, mineral spirits—at dissolving residue left after peeling various stickers off new purchases.
It's pretty bad at everything tbh. All it can do is done better by other products. It's just cheap and readily available, I wouldn't use it on anything of value.
Don't wanna sound like a crazy sales guy, but I prefer Kano Kroil as a penetrating oil. A few drops of the stuff on any rusted bolt and it's friggin amazing. http://www.kanolabs.com/
I wouldn't use it as a lubricant though past getting seized bolts freed up, but really it's 100% replaced WD-40 for me when working on rusted and old equipment.
If you're looking for a lubricant, silicone based ones are awesome for many tasks. The brand WD40 (which now makes several different products) even makes them.
If you spray a lock with WD-40, it will lubricate it and loosen it up immediately, but then dust will stick to it overtime and he will end up worse than where you started. Silicone doesn't do that.
>> it will lubricate it and loosen it up immediately, but then dust will stick to it overtime
I learned this the hard way when I started lockpicking. Bought a huge box of old locks, some were really sticky and I asked online and people said, "Use WD40, it will loosen the pins right up for yah!"
Sure did and then about three months later, they were all gummed up from dust and other particles that stuck to the WD40 like velcro.
Tri-Flow. It's a lightweight oil + teflon, and doesn't evaporate like WD-40. It's marketed primarily to the cycling community, but I tend to use it where most people would use WD-40 (fixing squeaky hinges, loosening bolts, etc.)
Your link is mixing up the two molecules by calling PFAS "The Teflon chemical". "Teflon", the non-stick final product, is PTFE with a very strong fluorine chemical bond and no chance of reacting with the human body at normal temperatures (That's why nothing manages to stick to it, basically). PFAS were used by DuPont in the manufacture of Teflon (and recklessly dumped into the environment).
PFAS are an ecological disaster; Teflon itself is not a concern.
For a while, decent bike tires had tan sidewalls. We noticed that some people had weird streaks on their tires that looked a lot like SpinArt.
Someone somewhere figured out that WD-40 was causing that. And sure enough everybody with streaks said that they use WD-40 on their chains. The streaks were dirt sticking to oil. And if the oil is on your tire, it went past your rims to get there, which is very much not good.
Correction: article asserts that the Atlas ICBM was the first operational intercontinental missile. This is incorrect -- that honour belongs to the R-7 Semyorka, which beat it by several months and which is still in service today as the Soyuz launch vehicle.
(Yes, there's a thing called Atlas-5 that flies satellites: it's hard to see any engineering similarities between it and the original ICBM of that name; unlike the Soyuz vehicle, Which was a terrible, bad, no-good ICBM -- it took about 6 hours to fuel up and prep for launch, on pads which were 4 hours from the USSR's border as the B-52 flies -- but turned out to be a really good satellite launcher.)
Both R-7 and Atlas SM-65 were difficult to keep in a state of launch readiness and were not capable of being launched at a moment's notice (unless a "moment" is between 6 and 12 hours). This was somewhat expected as they were essentially "version 1.0" of the ICBM launch vehicle. Later generations were considerably improved.
Atlas evolved quite a bit over the years. They added Centaur to the top. They changed from the stage and a half staging. They added solid rocket boosters. They went from balloon tanks to iso grid based rigid tanks.
Centaur is somewhat derived from the original Atlas. The Atlas V itself has very little lineage from the Atlas SM-65, other than name, though it is somewhat connected in a weird ship-of-Thesus way. (It uses the same engines as the Atlas III, which uses the same tank construction technique as the original Atlas.)
The biggest myth about WD-40 is that it is a lubricant, which is not what it is for. You are much better off lubricating with teflon or silicone based products, 3-in-1 oil, or straight mineral oil. I use WD-40 mostly on my boat for corrosion protection of moving parts.
people looove to say this, we have all heard it, but it does lubricate. if you have a dry bike or motorcycle chain and only wd40 on hand use it, it works. just be sure to get a better chain lubricant quick or keep applying the wd40 every day because it doesn’t stick around very long.
It is essentially heavy grease dissolved in kerosene. It makes a good cleaner for bare metal parts because unlike soap or de-greaser, it won't strip all of the existing grease off. But the thin layer of grease left behind also doesn't last long, and then you're back to bare metal.
With that disclaimer, I frequently use it as a chain lubricant for mountain bikes. You have to reapply it basically after every ride, but you're going to want to do that anyway when your chain gets covered in mud and dirt. On road bikes and motorcycles I always use a dry wax lube that lasts much longer but is difficult to clean off.
No no no no. Only in the most limited circumstances, like "Stuck in the backwoods with a rusted bike chain, a can of wd-40 and have to outrun a raging wildebeast..."
Putting wd-40 on a bike chain will remove all existing working lubricant. Triflow ftw.
I have used it on motorcycle chains before, it's better than running it dry on a dirtbike but as you said, it won't stick to it. View it as a chain cleaner (like kerosene is used to do). The silicone chain lube is the way to go.
Last year a co-worker asked me if I could bring in some WD-40 for him. I asked what he was going to use it for; I always try to understand the problem someone is trying to solve.
He said his chair was squeaking, so I suggested lithium grease instead. Another coworker said "Are you one of those WD-40-isn't-a-lubricant guys?" I immediately replied "Absolutely".
Someone I knew of used WD-40 on their squeaky chair in their office, which triggered the gas sensor in the fire system. Which caused a full fire alarm, evacuation, and activation of the DR site. Whoops.
>The WD part of the name was descriptive for what the coating did to Water, which was Displace it, and it took the company 40 tries to get it right. I bet you can figure it out from there
Smells like marketing to me, it just doesn't need 40 attempts to come up with a simple mix of kerosene and mineral oil.
I bet the old timers used to mix their own variations long before WD-40 came on the scene.
It contains a lot of solvent (kerosene) and a smaller amount of light lubricant. One problem is that it tends to wash away heavier greases and oils that provide more persistent lubrication to things like hinges and bike chains. Then, the light lubricant is not very persistent. It can flow out of where you put it, leaving streaks, and it attracts dust.
I mostly use it to clean parts before using a proper lubricant. A much better light spray lubricant is Tri-Flow.
Same, I find it very effective for cleaning/degreasing parts without bringing real degreasers/soaps/water into the picture.
It's also really useful for spraying down bicycle/motorcycle chains after they get wet to prevent rusting. But it does require some fresh lube after things dry off.
Yep. I just used some to clean shipping grease from a cast iron table of a machine tool. Worked great, and less volatile than paint thinner/mineral spirits.
Unlikely: they mix 39 variations serially, testing and rejecting each one. The 40th works.
Likely: they mix up a bunch of batches of various proportions and test them. Either the one labelled 40 is the best, or (my bet) there were 40 variations and they thought it was good marketing.
Well, even if it did nothing else, a mixture of kerosene and oil would displace water. I find it to be handy, but don't ascribe any magical properties to it. And when it runs out, I might find a better way to dispense it, that doesn't get the overspray on my garage floor.
WD-40 marketing is clever. Sometimes you need that brand for a product to be stocked. Regular household oil costs pennies in a can, the margin is therefore low and a retailer isn't going to be making much money on each sale. You could put a brand on a regular household oil and try to charge more but it is not something people care about, they will go for the generic oil somewhere else.
However WD-40 with its mythical backstory and ambiguous brand name can command a premium over regular household oil. This makes it work for the retailer as it no longer sells for pennies. The shop down the road that also stocks it will also have it at the same price, it is a brand that works for the retailer. People can ask for it by name and not feel they are getting conned.
This works up the retail chain with wholesalers and international distributors able to make money from the brand.
Odd that for such a beginner's grade product it comes from the cutting edge of the space age.
Great study in marketing. Not good at all as a lubricant nor anti-seize, and probably shouldn't be the most ubiquitous thing people own for those general use cases but it is. A light machine oil for cleaning and preserving tools and other metal, and a penetrating anti-seize would be more handy.
I use "Marvel Mystery Oil" for light machine oil duty. It is a red color oil about 5wt. Does not have problems with drying out or becoming gummy. It has a particular smell, kind of cinnamonish. I use because my grandad used it. I think he used it because it smells good.
Looking at the MSDS, I believe the "water displacement" chemical used is naptha, but they don't go into detail about the oil used, but it's long rumored to be kerosene... Take that as you will.
Lots of people here are saying that WD-40 will clean dirt out but is not a lubricant (or is a terrible lubricant). As a not-very-practical person, here's my question:
If you have something very dirty that you want to lubricate, say a bicycle chain, is it reasonable to apply WD-40 first to get rid of the dirt and then apply a better lubricant on the now-clean chain? Or will the WD-40 stick around long enough to prevent the better lubricant sticking? If the second, what the hell am I meant to do about my dirty chain that needs lubricating?
WD40 is indeed great for cleaning things, including bike parts. And you can use it as you suggest, then apply another lubricant designed for bike chains.
However, there are other cleaners specifically designed for bike chains. It's just that WD40 is often in the workshop or toolbox so it tends to get used for this sort of task.
If I remember my mechanic's advice correctly, you have to be careful what solvents you use. You might dilute/prevent lubricants from actually staying inside the chain links with WD40. Put differently: the solvent you use should be paired with the lubricant to ensure you get the best effect from both. Almost universally, the recommendation was not to use WD40 because it's just not good.
I may be talking "old wives tales" here though so I'd like an actual mechanic to correct me please.
Another my mechanics fan ;) Was literally just watching his latest video. Happy not to use WD40 if that's his advice.
I know oiling bearings which have grease in them is a no-no for just the reason you describe - will loosen the grease and so ultimately damage the bearing.
I just watched this Everyday Astronaut video about stainless steel vs. composites, which mentions WD-40's use in aerospace. It's an entertaining, informational video. https://youtu.be/LogE40_wR9k?t=305 (jumps directly to the WD-40 reference)
Just because the main ingredient is kerosene doesn't necessarily mean that's all that's needed to make the equivalent.
I wonder how hard it would be to duplicate the formula if one had a spectral analyzer. Study the plots, make a best guess batch, test its plot against the original, adjust, rinse, repeat...
(Same with KFC. I could profit off the President if I can get him the same thing at a discount. He's a volume customer. I confess, I also like KFC. Despite the rumors, it doesn't make one's skin orange, just chubby.)
I'll claim no membership among "enthusiasts", but either way, the most glorious lube for me is Ballistol. Good on nearly everything, including that mentioned. To me, since childhood, WD-40 has always had a loathsome aroma. I first discovered it, as a youth, in my pa's garage, where I'd spray it over the flame of my lighter to excessive satisfaction, and onto many things with minimal discretion. Always made me nauseous, combustion or not.
I have almost acquired an affection for the scent of Ballistol, which is marketed as having "No Carcinogens", but does quite well on the many things that are and ain't (carcinogenic). I sincerely recommend it.
(Disclaimer: I really like Ballistol and use it on a lot of different things.)
Ballistol is... something of an acquired smell. I don't mind it, but some people absolutely detest the odor. It's been likened to a combination of Pine-Sol mixed with any or all of the following: Dirty gym socks, licorice, mint, and plastic glue. This is most likely due it containing anethole (and the MSDS indicates it's mostly medical grade white mineral oil, various oleates, and alcohols). If you don't mind star anise or licorice, you probably won't find Ballistol repulsive either.
Similar to other lightweight oils, Ballistol acts as a creeping oil. It's not an especially great penetrating oil, but it works surprisingly well on a lot of things. It's usually joked about as "German WD-40" because of its lineage, although it's a lubricant first and foremost.
Interestingly, because it contains anethole, it can readily form an emulsion with water. Due to this and the other ingredients it contains, it's used by black powder enthusiasts as a cleaner and neutralizer ("moose milk"). I'm not sure how effective it is in the cleaning department, because it does a pretty subpar job at cleaning modern smokeless powders, but the neutralizing effect on black powder residue may actually be true (it has a pH around 8.5 to 9.5).
Amusingly, when I clicked on the comments here, the first thing I did was search for Ballistol. eth0up didn't disappoint!
I wouldn't use WD-40 on firearms except maybe as an emergency rust preventative, and that's only if my favorite products weren't already available. There's just far too many better (and affordable) products, and there's just as many stories of WD-40 polymerizing and gumming up delicate parts as there are alleged uses of it. You'd almost certainly have to soak the guns in another cleaner or oil (like Ballistol, as eth0up suggests) before you could ever use them again...
In fact, I've used Ballistol to clean up and lubricate rollers on sliding doors that were previously gummed up from excessive use of WD-40!
0. It is a solvent, not a lubricant. This is often lost on apprentices until they wear out a drive chain or blow up a firearm. WD40 does a terrible job of blurring that line. even the article touts it several times as a lubricant :(
1. it absolutely CAN NOT be used around hot work, unlike most other lubricants like ND999. cans --aerosol or not-- are treated just like a can of petrol.
2. Again, it is stunningly flammable both in and out of its aerosol form because its mostly kerosene. That means aerosol vapors floating around a powdercoat setup, an open flame, or any ignition spark, will cause it to catch fire. if your apprentice just hosed down a part with WD40 and you need to take a torch to it, youre going to have a bad time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40