WD-40 - What is it actually good for??

[darkzero]

S0 WD-40 pushed out this big line of "Specialists" lubricants & cleaners. My local Lowes used to have an area in the tool section with all the various products. Yesterday I noticed 2 of my local Lowes don't carry them anymore. I even asked an employee about it. They said no more.

 

[LaserLVL]

I own a 1997 SUV and use a wd-40 every time I need to unscrew something under the car. It is really useful.

 

[FuzzyTiger]

Based off people's recommendations in this thread I tried it to clean some of my tools - especially stuff with rubber grips that gets covered in grime and it all looks brand new and took barely any effort at all.

Still not convinced it's worth it for anything else but for cleaning tools it definitely checks out.

 

[WordMan]

Back when I had to store my motorcycles outside for the winter, I would hose everything painted, aluminum, or chrome down with WD-40 (basically, everything except the tires and the seat), then cover it. Come spring, all it needed was a good wash with soap and water. No rust on anything.

 

[Rabbit929]

Proper lube is a vague term. I know using it on chains cleans it, so I don’t use it on chains.
It actually dries out too, resulting in eventual rust.

Roller chains for equipment: any type of oil of mess isn’t an issue. Used motor oil, ****** fluid, I don’t care. Lube is lube.
Bicycle and motorcycle chains: dry lube like graphite or Teflon.
O-ring chain or X chain: dry lube.
Door hinges: lithium, graphite, Teflon
Non-bearing Drawer slides: Silicone spray or Teflon
Bearings: grease
WD-40: for cleaning something you want to stay lubed, before applying some other type of lube.

You’d be amazed what you can use silicone spray for. I put some on my work bench to make it hydrophobic. And it’s perfect for around the house stuff.

Everyone seems to think there is a “best of all worlds” with oil when really it’s a case by case basis. Expensive high temp lube won’t help a bearing that runs slow, just like heavy motor oil won’t help and engine last longer than lighter oil. In an engine, the weight is determined by tolerances. Modern day machining practices make engine tolerances tighter, hence the ability to run lighter oils, that flow better.

Try silicone spray or Teflon, or even graphite in the cables on your yard equipment sometime.
Graphite will lubricate
Teflon will lubricate better and with a better longevity (but won’t refill itself at wear points like graphite will)
And silicone will make it hydrophobic.

Ever lube has a purpose it excels at.

 

[zendriver]

Use it regularly and I have a goal, to never pay retail for WD40, for the rest of my life.

Almost every estate auction has at least one can, usually in a box with other chemicals.

I probably have a dozen around now, including a partial gallon can and refillable official WD40 spray bottle.

If a can loses pressure, I'll puncture it and drain out the contents. No rusty tools here!

 

[mrvm]

Think i killed a couple of stink bugs last week unless they were playing dead ��

 

[bonneyman]

Jack of All Sprays - the only spray lube product one needs.

Nuff said!

https://www.jackofallsprays.com/jack-of-all-sprays/

 

[sberry]

I like to fog it around in electric panels, don't let the condensate get a head start and the neutral bars have such poorly finished threads they are near seized need little stuff so they don't squeak and stick. Actually most any kind of spray but the WD is kind of good, it's not a mess, easy to wipe up. Doesn't have to be drowned in it.

 

[pbon]

You can use it to help get the stickers off harbor freight plastic small parts storage containers.

 

[FuzzyTiger]

Try silicone spray or Teflon, or even graphite in the cables on your yard equipment sometime.

Silicone spray is pretty magical stuff but it always worries me a bit since it can be nearly impossible to completely remove if for some reason you wanted to paint something or apply some other kind of coating. And there's always going to be some overspray. Nothing that can't be solved with just a bit of care of course but its definitely harder to clean up than oil/grease for example.

 

[Ralf11]

Great to see this 7 page thread back again - even if it's not clear what the thread is actually good for

 

[M6erfan]

WD-40 is good for creating long threads on the internet

Ha, yup! Right up there with engine oil threads...

I use WD40 mainly as a light oil based cleaning solvent, a less aggressive version of kerosene. I also use it as intended, for water displacement when needed.

 

[Zmann]

I love the smell of WD-40 in the morning

I use it daily,, I literally used some before coming in here to clean my mop sink.
WD is great at what it's great at ..
the stuff it does not work well on ? ,, well you should have been smarter than that ;-)

I am sure someone in all the pages mentioned desert topping, so I will not lol

 

[el monte slim]

Given that it's October as I write this, WD-40 can enhance your ability to ignite a pile of wet leaves...

 

[zendriver]

After power hot water washing/drying, my farmer friend, puts WD40 in a paint gun and mists all of the coulters, knifing discs, blades, etc. on all of his tillage equipment.

His stuff always looks like new and with he exception of the wheel wells of his six year old Ford truck, he doesn't have a fleck of rust on anything.

 

[vga]

For many yrs I used it for the exact purpose it was invented, corrosion prevention inside the large tonnage chillers that I worked on when I had them opened up for inspection and overhaul. I would spray this on every internal part and interior walls as I removed parts throughout the repair.

If it good enough for NASA it good enough for me if used correctly. It isnt a LUB and never has been a LUB

 

[Arne73]

Sprayed on the bottom of an old VW Beetle hood, it'll get you down the sledding hill in a hurry!

Sent from my SM-G960U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[2Busy]

I never go duck or pheasant hunting without a small can in my kit. Get to the truck from a wet day in the field and spray down all my shotgun’s metal parts. Nothing rusts before you can get the gun home and give it a proper cleaning.

 

[White Kong]

If your tools guns do get wet spray them down with it . It dissipates water and moisture


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pepi]

Great cleaner, SS breaded liquid lines, removes tar, cleans chrome, 100s of uses.

 

[PelicanPines]

WD40 is to a toolbox like Windex is to a window...

EDIT: forgot to add...

WD40 makes your slider door slide like butter...

 

[dnschmidt]

Excellent for working with aluminum. Spray it on a flap disc and it will not load up when grinding aluminum. Spray it on a saw blade and the cut line and it will cut aluminum like butter.

 

[Nutria]

My main use is for derusting old shop machinery: a) on rusty tables, paired with scraping with a sharp razor blade, and b) rusty drill press columns and similar, paired with a makeshift mega-lathe (two casters to support the column past the end of the lathe) and used with Scotch-Brite pads.

 

[M6erfan]

My main use is for derusting old shop machinery: a) on rusty tables, paired with scraping with a sharp razor blade, and b) rusty drill press columns and similar, paired with a makeshift mega-lathe (two casters to support the column past the end of the lathe) and used with Scotch-Brite pads.

I use it with Scotch-Brite pads too

 

[TalonFE]

Makes a really fabulous flame thrower.......except for the residue.

 

[andyvh1959]

I've used WD40 for detailing motorcycles at the BMW dealership where I used to work. On used bikes I'd spray the underside liberally with WD40 after getting the bike warmed up. Then let it soak on all the grime and tar, bugs, etc. Still took some scrubbing but a lot of grime came off well enough to use other citric based cleaners.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

I make wind chimes out of old welding tanks. wasps and hornets love to nest up inside them. Once a year spray of WD inside keeps them out or kills any in there. I dont think i've used it for much other than adhesive removal in many years.

 

[aka Larry]

It probably kills COVID, too

And it's gluten-free!

 

[Nutria]

I’ve also used WD-40 to clean up oil splatter/stains on the concrete floor in my garage. Worked pretty well for that.

Any more thoughts on this from javy (Geaux Tigers) or others? I'd like to try it but don't want to just make a smeary mess.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I'm not going to read 4+ pages of WD-40, but I will add a couple of things. Cutting fluid for aluminum which everyone knows about, but here is a new one. While traveling with a roof top tent in Aus, the last available camp site was crawling with ants. I guess we got the top of an big ant hill. The only thing I had was a can of an Aussie version of WD-40, so I sprayed it around. It solved the ant problem. The next morning None.

 

[Lassen Forge]

WD-40 excells in what it was actually designed to do - be a non-conductive water displacement.

We used to make our own mixture of 50% WD-40 and 50% 15W40 oil... with it it not only accomplished that purpose, but also provided a lubricant for bowden cables, frozen linkages, and the like... but you HAD to add the motor oil, otherwise it was worthless as a lubricant.

I think somewhere I still have one of the sprayers we used for the mix... We bought both in bulk, and I think most of us who were introduced to it in the 1990's still use it (or some variant thereof...

 

[Bogie1632]

Makes a really fabulous flame thrower.......except for the residue.

It used to be a decent propellant for making tennis ball cannons out of soda cans. Haven't tried in almost 30 years but those were fun to make and use. Somehow I think my neighbors would disapprove...as would the local PD since I live in town.

V/R
Bogie

 

[Ralf11]

I always keep a spray can of it in the garage for the nostalgia.

It is in the "Heritage Lubricants" section.