A buddy of mine noticed a can of WD-40 around my gun cleaning stuff and he warned me to keep WD-40 away from all my guns. He says there's a solvent based chemical in the WD-40 that will damage the finish of my guns .... Especially a blued finish.

Anyone know if this is true?

Thanks

Damage finish? Never heard of or experienced that.

Old WD40 drying up / gunking up and binding something up? Yes, have seen that often. Especially small parts like in a trigger mechanism and have seen it bind up the striker assemblies in bolt action rifles too.

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Straight shootin'
SWCA#2439

Never heard of WD-40 causing finish issues, but have read accounts of it gunking up actions.

The only time I would use WD-40 on a gun would be if it got dunked in water. I'd disassemble the gun, spray a little WD-40 (WD = Water Displacing, IIRC), clean it out, then clean and lube (not WD-40).

WD-40 is a great cleaner/penetrant but isn’t a protectant or lubricant. It will remove protectants and oils though. I’ve used it as a cleaner for years and never had it impact bluing or SS.

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I invest in Lead and Copper!

Used it for years, never has been an issue for me....Got away from it, there are better products out there now!

40 years ago I used wd 40 on my lug nuts and nice and smooth. Then when the tires needed rotating I noticed some rust so I started using a small amount of motor oil instead. It will displace water in a distributor cap and fix squeaks. I have used it on the function parts of auto 22 rifles when they started to jam but never noticed a loss on the finish. I buy it by the gallon when I am out.

Fake News for blued guns .
WD40 is a penetrating oil so it does have oil and a solvent in it . The solvent carries the oil into tiny spaces . That solven might ...might do someting to some of S&W's painted on finishes like my 637 Airweight frame...looks like silver paint and edges are wearing off .
The solvent is mixed with oil so is diluted ...
Blued and Stainless steel are fine , aluminum alloy finishes...maybe not ... don't soak them in WD40 , apply and wipe off .
The other , blue & SS , WD40 won't damage even if you soak them in it overnight .
I've used it to clean guns , along with other products since the stuff came out . Like many other products don't flood the action and let sit , it can get gummy but so will every other ( Shooters Choice & Break Free have both gone gummy on me) CLP out there .
RemOil is the only stuff I've found that works very well inside the trigger actions of revolvers .
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

WD-40 will not harm a blued or stainless finish. Off the top of my head I cannot say the same for a painted finish. I think it can play nasty with some plastics too.

I agree with everything GWPERCLE said in post # 7 , except that I have found REMOIL very lacking in lubricating + rust preventing properties - never had any problems with WD40 + gun finishes -

WD40 wont hurt blue or stainless. May gum up over time. Keep it away from nickel.

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S&W factory revolver armorer

Basically a mixture of mineral spirits (paint thinner) and mineral oil. It does have penetrant characteristics, so use caution around ammunition/primers, as overexposure can negatively affect primer viability. In other words, your ammo will no longer work as designed. As others have warned, it can also harm grip finishes and some plastics.

Opinion follows: Because of it's tendency to solidify and harden over time, WD-40 should not be used as a "lubricant" inside the lockwork of firearms, or as a general lubricant for moving parts on, or in firearms. Also, despite what the company indicates in it's promotional material, the use of WD-40 as a rust prevention strategy is not a good idea, short or long term.

There are many great products today that are specifically designed for gun care, maintenance, and cleaning. WD-40 is not one of them.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

I used to remove grips, put gun in baggie, hose down with WD-40, seal baggie and wrap in newspaper, then put gun in safe deposit box in bank. I've left them that way for years and never had a problem. They needed a cleaning, of course, before being used again.
The chemicals in WD-40 won't hurt a gun. It's plain silly to think so.

I've heard this about WD-40 and blue guns..

Never believed this . I've used it for years on blue guns ,,
stainless guns,, muzzleloaders ,, rifles , shotguns and have had
nothing but good luck with it..
Now , I don't use it for long term storage.

Been using it nearly 50 years. Never a problem. But I'll keep an eye on it.

It is a great cleaner, for my shower stall. I'm the healthiest one between the wife & I, so I get to clean the shower. After trying all sorts of "Shower & Tub" cleaners, foaming bubbles, lime away products, I stumbled upon WD40. Man! Spray it on, let it set a bit, wipe it off!

I have a can on my reloading bench for killing primers when I make a boo boo and screw up a casing. Then theres a can in
my truck tool box, the tractor, boat, ATV and the garage & kitchen.

It will clean a gun, but it also removes any wax you may have on it. If it's a waxed gun, I typically spot clean the front of the cylinder, the chambers and the barrel with Ballistol or good old Hoppes 9, and only use WD40 on a gun that got wet out in the field.

I have never heard of it damaging the finish on any gun.

I agree with the part about it damaging blue guns is bull ****. A friend of mine refinishes firearms. For years he's used WD-40 to wipe them down after a customer or prospective buyer handles them. It's not my choice as a lubricant, but his purposes it seems to work well. He's never had damage to the blueing or wood finish.

And the beat, band marches on!

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Still Running Against the Wind

I use to use it on guns all the time. Never had a problem with it. Now I use Ballistol mostly.

Wd40 is mineral spirits and fish oil if im remembering correctly... remember we couldn't use it in the last shop I worked at because one of our techs had a fish allergy.

If it doesn't move and you want it to, use WD-40. If if moves and you don't want it to, use duct tape.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

Don't spray it on a metal casting mold for storage-It will take forever to make a pretty boolit and keep it away from anything you are going to paint.

I have heard stories of Hoppes #9 removing the bluing on newer S&W's but never WD-40, in fact I like to use it as a cleaner, I spray the whole revolver with the grips off, let it soak for a bit then go over it with a nylon or copper brush, then I use some compressed air to blow off all the gunk.

Another thing that will remove bluing is ultrasonic cleaners, don't ever put your six gun or any other in one of those.

One the other hand, WD40 is a great starting fluid if you need it for any of your engines.

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Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

I once used WD40 coating my bores and leaving some on exterior blue finishes, but never in internal workings for fear of gumming. The bores and finish were well protected...but that was years ago. I now use military grade CLP for protecting my bores if storing for longer than six months.

Once read somewhere that the main number one ingredient in WD-40 is good old fish oil. But i think that's just a myth. But then again it was on the internet so it's got to be true.

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Klaatu Barada Nikto

WD-40 is the fortieth formula for a Water Displacement product.

it will kill a channel liner in a glock makes them swell up

Put a worm on a hook and spray it with WD-40. It works as a fish attractant.
Spray it on a yellow Mepps spinner and you will catch catfish all day long.
Don't believe me? Try it.

I never quite understood why people spray water displacement into a gun when there's good gun oil spray??? I've seen a few gunked up actions (made a couple of Remington 700's go bang when the action was closed) that were fixed by a proper cleaning. I've also seen a couple of older foreign rifle stocks dry rotted after the user used sprayed them down w/ WD-40 after hunting in the rain.

From Live Science. WD-40: Strange Facts and Myths | Live Science

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Who are those guys?

I've switched M-PRO 7 years ago, it's odorless! And exceeds military specs.

Never had or heard a single complaint with it!

I've used all the old good stuff, but they just don't have the high tech for stable longevity and temp extremes.

I do have WD-40 in the garage.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

AFAIK WD-40 will not arm any guns finish, but it's not a great lubricant for guns. If you dropped a gun in water on a trip, it might be a temporary way to displace the water and keep it rust free until returning home and doing a proper cleaning and lube. I've used it in the Field when a sudden down pour had occurred and that is what I had available - never hurt any finish. When back at the hunting cabin a full & proper cleaning and lube was done.

WD does = water displacing, 40th formula....NOT a lube or protectant!

The lube/preservative from the factory had dried on the action of my 610 so I used WD40 to remove it, then 91% rubbing alcohol to get rid of the WD40, let it dry thoroughly then lubed it. It's smooth as glass now.

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Let's be careful out there