WD40

[Ofc.JL]

IIRC, it was developed as a spray on protectant for aviation parts left outside in the weather. Works pretty good in that application.
As a lubricant for firearms, no. As a cleaner and water/ humidity chaser, it is fine. Left alone, it will form a weak "grease" over time as the solvents evaporate. Past a certain point, that "grease" will dry to what people call "varnish". It's not "varnish", and a re-spray of WD will dissolve it. It is a very good solvent to loosen up old lubes and crud in a weapon. Spraying it down into the action of say a revolver is not the way to use it unless you have no other choices. And then you should have access to a good compressor to blow it out. As a matter of fact, I always blow it out of anything I use it on. It does leave a small trace amount of very light oil, and this hurts nothing. Using it a gun lube is a mistake. It will penetrate cartridges and render them dead, and it is way to light to be a good lube. It does penetrate the pores of the steel/ aluminum and keeps them fairly waterproof for a time. And it's solvent properties will pull cold blue, and once used on a weapon, you cannot cold blue over it w/o properly cleaning and de-greasing the metal. Used as a cleaner and waterproofer, it is pretty good, just know it's uses and limitations.

 

[armenius]

I was told recently by a condo maintenance man it is great for getting rid of carpenter bees.

 

[Syspila]

WD-40 then motor oil and Ballistol here...WD for me is great for cleaning and short tem but it will gum up in time!

 

[WaMike]

"Yep, fish oil:
What is the main ingredient of wd-40? | Penetrating Oils/Cleaners/Solvents | Bob Is The Oil Guy

Or not?
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/wd-40.asp"

Apparently not. And yet you'll still find WD-40 in all those tackle boxes.....

 

[drinva]

When it first came out, WD-40 was all we used for guns. Guess what? I still have those same guns. They were sprayed LIBERALLY inside and out, then left to drip dry barrel DOWN. Then put in a wooden gun cabinet.

A while back I pulled a 870 Rem shot gun that hadn't been removed from that cabinet in 15 years.....I wiped the gun down and looked it over. The gun looked every bit as good now as it did 15 years ago. Action was slick as greased snot.

I do not use WD-40 now, and haven't for a LONG time, but that doesn't mean I never would again. Sometimes I wonder if going to these "gun lubes" was a good thing or not.

Where most people mess up is mixing WD with other gun products on a gun and ending up with a mess ....wondering why.

WD is not so good for wood stocks, I'd keep it off the wood, we always did. It climbs and gets into the wood softening it some over time.

DR

 

[Jaysq]

I used in my .22 rifle that my dad gave me when I was 12. I sprayed it down the barrel for long time storage as I do not fire it anymore. It gummed it up so badly that I almost never got it clean. Never used it again on a firearm. I like M-PRO7

 

[drinva]

From what I have read (roll eyes here) if WD-40 ever does gum up, you can re-spray the gun and the fouling/old WD/old oils melt away instantly.

Since I have never seen WD gum up, I cant attest to that statement.

DR

 

[ironhead7544]

The WD in WD40 is for water displacing. WD40 is a petroleum distillate. It will evaporate. You cant mix it with other oils. The "gum" that is left is when the WD40 evaporates and leaves what is left of the oil that was on the object. So, you cant put it on over other oils. The WD40 will displace the water in the oil to the surface of the metal and it will rust under there.

The WD40 will act somewhat as a solvent. If one of my guns gets wet, I give it a spray with WD 40 and let it sit a while. Then use brake cleaner to remove the WD40. Then clean and lube with CLP. No rust so far.

Been using WD40 since the sixties.

 

[mi2600]

I used WD as a chief long-term lubricant for years. Then I noticed the actions, especially on my '92 Winchesters, were "sticky" (technical term). On closer inspection, I noted the WD had turned "gummy" (another tech term). A thorough cleaning returned them to their original condition. I now use RIG for long-term storage.

 

[SMSgt]

WD-40 is the only product to earn a "fail" rating on my firearms. I used it to wipe guns down as a protectant. One day I went hunting in a light snow fall, so I wiped my shotgun down with it. Thirty minutes into the hunt I had rust spots appearing all over the barrel.

I switched to gun oil after than and never had another rusting issue. WD-40 never touched my firearms again.

 

[twobit601]

It will make certain types of O-rings swell up like doughnuts. Some guns do have O-rings such as a Remington 1100 shotgun.

 

[Harrison]

I would not use it on my guns. There are much better products; however, many believe it will relieve pain and swelling if rubbed into arthritic joints our joints with a mild strain.

 

[Cpo1944]

Many years ago I went out of the gun hobby. I liberally sprayed my Remington 1100 with WD-40 inside and out. After about 7 years locked away, I got it out , and could not move the bolt handle. It was glued shut and would not move at all!!! I had to soak it in kerosene over night,and even then it was still gummed up and hard to move. I have not put WD on any guns since then.
It is good for cleaning the stainless steel cook stove though.

 

[bamacisa]

A long time ago, I used WD40 on some of my guns. It gummed them up so much that they would not work. I learned my lesson about WD40. DON'T USE IT ON FIREARMS. It will ruin your ammo too.

 

[Louchia]

I don't understand why people spend hundreds of dollars on a nice firearm and then skimp on the cleaner/lube. CLPs are great products. They may seem a little costly but you don't use much to clean and lube a firearm. Therefore not really expensive.

 

[jframejoey]

"varnish-like residue" best friend is in autobody, has been since the 70's. Hes always called it the "locksmith's best friend" as in using it in internal mechanisms gums them up. Then again its almost all I ever used on guns in the late eighties and early nineties.

 

[BlueOvalBandit]

My 625 gets hosed down with it every 1k rounds or so. Seems to take burn marks off like nobodies business, until the gun melted.

 

[rwsmith]

The only prob I've noticed....

It doesn't stay in place over long times and runs off easily, so if you use it, make sure to use a little often to keep it 'wet'.

I have heard people say that with excessive use it can dry and gum up a gun pretty bad. I never saw this. If you spray a lot in a gun and leave it several years, yeah, I can see that happening. I just think if you use it, use a little often.

 

[Sconnie]

I don't have any experience using WD 40 myself but by coincidence, today I read a post about a major grease build up in a handgun and the topic of WD 40 came up as a big no no.

The grease build up in the original post was a different issue but I thought it might be of interest.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-smithing/394800-have-you-ever-seen-much-grease.html

 

[TEB]

I'm cheap, I use 100 percent synthetic motor oil or ATF as a clp for my semi-autos and wheelguns. A friend cleaned his model 36 with WD40 regularly. It swelled the stocks impinging the mainspring / strut.