Wd40

[tdmidget]

The story I heard was it was the 40th. Formula for the war dept. It worked so they called it WD-40.

Duhhhhhh. The War Dept Became the Defense Dept in 1947. WD 40 was developed in 1953.

 

[Bluechipx]

I've always thought of WD40 as a 'Sunday mechanics' spray pushed by Ace hardware and the like. I have a can, but like a good porno book, I try to put something in front of it to keep it hidden on the shelf due to embarrassment. To me WD40 has a bit of the "Atlas lathe syndrome".

 

[GregSY]

I use WD40 to keep my diving rods from getting rusty. But I have the wipe it off before I use them as it is a water dispersant, after all.

 

[TeachMePlease]

I use WD40 to keep my diving rods from getting rusty. But I have the wipe it off before I use them as it is a water dispersant, after all.

Thought you said "divining rods" and thought we were gonna jump back into dowsing. That'd be good for another 5 pages.

 

[Milacron]

Thought you said "divining rods" and thought we were gonna jump back into dowsing. That'd be good for another 5 pages.

I thought you were the king of reading members minds to know what they really mean and when they really meant to be funny or not ?? Seeing as there is no such thing as a "diving rod" I'm guessing he actually did mean divining rod

 

[John Garner]

In the late 1980s, a former coworker -- who was a serious offshore sailor -- showed me the then-current MSDS for Starrett M-1. M-1's components were listed as petroleum solvent, petrolatum (aka petroleum jelly, or in British English, vaseline ), and spray-can propellant. He then expressed his interest in making a "home-brew" corrosion-preventing compound that would be less expensive to buy, and consist of stuff that would be easily and cheaply available in foreign ports.

Maybe a year later, I asked him how his quest for a DIY corrosion preventive was coming.

His response was that he had concluded that USP petroleum jelly dissolved in mineral spirits set up too soft to endure, and too hard to see. He eventually settled on a solution of two toilet-bowl wax sealing rings and a cup of GM Dexron Automatic Transmission Fluid in a gallon of paint thinner. He also mentioned that paraffin (US use of the word) or candle wax would work in place of the toilet-bowl wax PROVIDED the Dexron was doubled or tripled.

He also gave me a gallon of his home-brew to try. I thought it much more akin to LPS-2 than WD-40 or M-1.

 

[Stu Miller]

cncdumm, It is my understanding that aluminum oxide form very quickly on freshly machined aluminum. Your abrasive results could be the result of almost instantaneous formation of aluminum oxide on the face of the blocks you rubbed together. The less viscous WD40 could have let some abrasion occur that didn't occur with the thicker oil on the other plates. In other words, the source of abrasive material may have been the aluminum itself, not the WD40.

 

[Forestgnome]

we use astro coat to spray on parts to prevent rust
.
what is it
.
mineral spirits and asphalt (tar).......... when the mineral spirit evaporate it leave a thin layer of tar.
.
wd-40 magical secret ingredient is the perfume smell...... it makes the customer think it is special
spray with secret ingredients. thats all that matters keeping the customer satisfied they got
their moneys worth
.
i am guessing if they got rid of the smell they would sell a lot less

That's why I keep coming back to Hoppes No. 9. Eau de firearm. Aaaah!

 

[CWB]

Thinking about it, if somebody isn't smart enough to properly care for their firearm then having them use a product that prevents said firearm from functioning may not be all that bad of a thing.

Thats an oxymoron. If WD is on a firearm long enough to dry (ie. it wasnt cleaned after shooting and/or stored wet with oil) then its not being properly cared for.

Full disclosure: I use Hoppe's products on my personal toys bc theyre fairly cheap and readily available, but in a pinch at the range I wouldnt hesitate to use WD.

 

[Milacron]

In the late 1980s, a former coworker -- who was a serious offshore sailor -- showed me the then-current MSDS for Starrett M-1. M-1's

Years ago I bought a case of Starrett M1 on sale hoping it would be similar to Boeshield. It does have similar look, feel and smell, but "on sale" at least, was way less expensive. Unfortunately the M1 in my experience turned out to be not very good at rust prevention compared to Boeshield.

 

[jim rozen]

"That's why I keep coming back to Hoppes No. 9. Eau de firearm. Aaaah! "

I've told my wife that if I happen to check out of this mortal coil before she does, and
she wants to meet like-minded individuals later on, she should just put a daub or two
of Hoppes behind each ear and then wander around hardware stores.

 

[Scruffy887]

This WD-40 Poster may help.

 

[SAF]

Marketing Hype?

Put this out there for fun, cleaning out my box...

SAF Ω

 

[cncdumm]

cncdumm, It is my understanding that aluminum oxide form very quickly on freshly machined aluminum. Your abrasive results could be the result of almost instantaneous formation of aluminum oxide on the face of the blocks you rubbed together. The less viscous WD40 could have let some abrasion occur that didn't occur with the thicker oil on the other plates. In other words, the source of abrasive material may have been the aluminum itself, not the WD40.

I know. I said so earlier too in past posts. Had two theories, either microparticles like I have heard about before from some people, or its frictional contact causing the rubbing. It never mattered to me to really know. I knew as a technique of using wd40 and rubbing aluminum together they work well as almost like a 'lap' of aluminum parts. You can take off a few microns with a few rubs. Used it merely as a technique once. Its like how the Japanese made Katana swords by mixing high carbon steel on the outside for the hard blade cutting edge and forged with softer low carbon steel in the center many centuries ago creating the ultimate composite steel swords that was sharp and durable. It worked, but they didn't know about microstructure or steels like we understand today.

Actually, Alumina has higher hardness than aluminum metal and the exposed aluminum after native oxide is rubbed off, wouldn't actually re-form in the presence of oil without contact with air. So probably then its the aluminum itself that is exposed after a surface native oxide is worn off. So probably even easier to grind if you kept on going. But those rubbed off alumina dust particles then probably served as the lapping agents by rubbing against the metal.

 

[awake]

I still have my very first (and only) can of WD-40. It's about 30 years old. Still haven't found anything I want to use it for...

Hey! That's probably worth a fortune. Advertise on EBay as "rare, original formula" and watch the bids roll in!

 

[GregSY]

yeah I meant 'divining rods' but I don't type too good.....

 

[jim rozen]

"So probably then its the aluminum itself that is exposed after a surface native oxide is worn off."

A very good guess given that the oxide layer on aluminum metal is between three and seven
atoms thick. Not much grit for the grinding!

 

[craigS]

I like and use WD-40 but had to switch to a trigger squeeze plastic bottle, seems the top valve of a new spray can are magnetically attracted to the concrete floor, thud another can with a broken valve. For rust protection I like Boshield T-9. For the cast iron top of the table saw, band saw and drill press a couple coats of Tree Wax (carnuba floor and furniture wax) does the trick. Way oil for the mill and lathe but I do live in a fairly dry climate.

Craig

 

[yardbird]

Thanks to the OP this was a interesting read. I had no idea that people got their panties in a wad over WD-40 until this thread. When someone says moly D is that WD? I don't use it on my pistols but I do use it.


Brent

 

[CalG]

So I've now looked at this with three different techniques - one visual and two analytical - and I can find no evidence of any significant suspended solids down to US Standard Sieve size 60,000 (which is about 20X finer than FFFF grit for you ANSI guys). I'd be happy to describe my test methods but it's a little OT for this forum so I'll omit that unless somebody asks.

I don't know how to explain your results with the aluminum and it's certainly possible that I missed something, but as far as I can tell there's nothing in the stuff that could serve as an abrasive.

Everything has "Microscopic particulates in suspension" , that is just how matter is! ;-)