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WD-40 Test

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Zonie

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For what it's worth, I've just ended my test.

With all of the comments on the forum about WD-40 gumming things up or solidifying into something that blasting powder can't dislodge and how WD-40 will totally screw up any gun that it is sprayed on, I did a test.
It might not be the best test and it didn't involve anything that was rusty but it should have shown that after all thinning solvents have evaporated it becomes some sort of a solid that could do those things.

The test involved taking the metal lid off of one of my old tins of CCI percussion caps and spraying the WD-40 into it to a depth of a little less than 1/16" deep.
To give it something to bond in place I degreased a steel washer and tossed it in.

I set this out on my BBQ in the hot Arizona sun figuring that not only should the heat evaporate all of the solvents but sunlight being what it is, anything that might solidify because of ultra-violet radiation would become semi-solid. (Tru-Oil drys and hardens in less than an hour in the Arizona sunlight.)

After 5 days of sitting out there in temperatures that reached 114°F in the shade yesterday I will say the amount of fluid was greatly decreased. Now there is only enough to dampen the bottom of the lid with a small fillet around the corner where the flat area meets the sides.

So what is this stuff that is left? If I were to give my best description I would have to say, oil. Very close to 30w oil.
The washer is still wet from the oil and it easily moves around if I touch it.

Based on this I will say that in my opinion, WD-40 leaves a medium weight oil behind after it has "dried out".
A lot of things like tumbler locks use springs under the tumblers that are so light that 30 weight oil will tend to "gum them up", but for anything on a muzzleloading gun I don't think using it will cause any problems whatsoever.

And now, let the debate begin. :)

PS: I will keep the lid and washer inside for another week or so to see what happens in a nice, cool, refrigerated house and let you all know what happens.
 
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For what it's worth:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

WD-40's main ingredients as supplied in aerosol cans, according to US Material Safety Data Sheet information, are:
  • 50% "aliphatic hydrocarbons". The manufacturer's website claims this ratio in the current formulation cannot accurately be described as Stoddard solvent, a similar mixture of hydrocarbons.[16]
  • <25% petroleum base oil. Presumably a mineral oil or light lubricating oil.
  • 12–18% low vapor pressure aliphatic hydrocarbon. Reduces the liquid's viscosity so that it can be used in aerosols. The hydrocarbon evaporates during application.
  • 2–3% carbon dioxide. A propellant which is now used instead of the original liquefied petroleum gas to reduce WD-40's flammability. (A bulk liquid version, without a propellant, is also manufactured for industrial use.)
  • <10% inert ingredients.
 
While I don't store with WD40 in the bore or lock-works, I have been using it on guns since the 1950s without any problems. I still use it in my cleaning regimen and sometimes let it stay in the gun for a few days. But when the gun goes into the safe there is no WD40 residing anywhere in the gun. Would I store it protected by WD40? Well, with my constant monitoring of them I would readily do so if required. Plus, it smells (to me) like it did well over 60 years ago. but then, my smeller ain't that good any longer.
 
I'm in AZ too and though I got a can of Barricade now I used WD-40 for 42 years with no issues at all. Course it's only 86 in the shade here:D (actually got 1st monsoon rain and now its 70:rolleyes:)
 
Wonder how well 3 in 1, Ballistol, Barricade, etc. would fair under the same conditions?

At any rate, who stores their guns in that kind of heat?
 
WD 40 has evolved in time, and it is in several formulas to fit various applications. In the beginning it was not the best for weapon use.
 
I'll be curious to see how the remainder of the "test" turns out next week. Humidity has to play some role. Or is it lack of humidity?
 
I've been using it since the '60s and it works the same now as it did then, what's changed?

Everyone has their own perceptions. But the flammability has changed, and by all reckoning the gummy evaporative residue. Beyond that it's a trade secret. I still think environment plays a role.
 
When I first started shooting BP in the '70's, I used it on every firearm. I'd bake the cleaned revolver parts in the oven at 125 degrees for half hour, take them out and spray the bejeebers out of them. I'd wipe them dry and never had any rust. But then I discovered Ballistol and that is all I've used since.
 
The actual formula is still the same as it was 30 years ago isn't it? It's only the propellant that's changed.

Propane was the propellant of choice for a lot of aerosol products and changing to a more environmentally friendly propellent might explain the change in flamibility. In the late 1950s I discovered that an aerosol can and a cigarette lighter made a great flame thrower and it was even better with a highly flamable product.
 
I still think environment plays a role.

I'm right there with you. I doubt I'm the only one living and hunting right on the ocean, even lugging guns in boats. WD-40 has a terrible rep here with lots of former users and confirmed users quickly identified as newcomers angling for an education.
 
I like to run a patch with WD-40 down my bore when dry, give it a few sweeps then run a dry patch down followed by an oiled one.
Then once a month or so I run a lightly oiled patch through my guns.
How you clean, patch/ball combos, flint up flint down, big charges- small charges all don’t matter when you find something that works and you follow up on it.... clean-dry- dry some more- oil, barricade, 3in1, trany fluid, lard,minkoil possum fat, ol’Dans secret gun preserve oil cooked by red headed virgins under the light of a blue moon only all work if you clean dry and oil.
I did find WD40 worked better in dry New Mexico then humid ozarks.
 
Because the source, type, and amount of aliphatic hydrocarbons used has changed over the years. Not to mention other differences in MSDS sheets. and regulatory compliance and My personal observation using it for more than 50 years.
 

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