WD-40 Test

8 BORE said:

Bottom line
Use it or don't use it !!!!!!

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Thank you 8 bore, finally some one with the right answer.

The formula for WD-40 has changed more than once over the years.
Here's the latest analysis I could find.

WD-40 has it's uses and it also has it's limitations. Choose what best suits you.

https://web.archive.org/web/2014011...nce/discoveries/magazine/17-05/st_whatsinside

Now that 3 in 1 oil is in the discussion,Here's a little story for you. As a lad in the mid-50s, jackrabbits were worth anywhere from $.20 and even got as high as one dollar by 1960. We hunted the rabbits by night in hay fields And even on the ridges if the snow didn't get too deep, using pickups, old cars and using spotlights. Probably more dangerous then the dickens, But I don't know of anybody getting shot. We discovered you couldn't use 3 in 1 oil if your gun barrel was stuck out the window and the other windows down, as it got stiff enough to slow the firing pin down so that the gun wouldn't fire. Quite often the temperatures were 20 below zero and 3 in 1 just got to stiff.The answer was, we used kerosene for a bolt lubricant and also on pump 22's. We also learned to leave our guns in cold storage when we weren't hunting as they would sweat so bad that you would have to clean them every time you brought them in to the house. When I was 15 I hunted rabbits during Christmas vacation a foot in the daytime and in 10 days made $20 selling them rabbits for $.20 apiece. I understand the fur was used for felt and the carcass for making mink feed. In those days there were no coyotes, and jackrabbits were really thick. Right now you could drive 20 miles in the country and maybe see one jackrabbit. There was no season on them at that time and it still isn't, but I don't know of anybody that would shoot one due to the scarcity of them.
Squint

Anyone ever used WD 40 as a patch lube?

sawyer04 said:

Straight WD40 will almost get to be a shellac if left for ant length of time. I have to clean saw tables off with solvent and wax them down to use them, but it still protects the iron from moisture, and that is what I am after.

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I sure wish I could get wd40 to turn to shellac on my table saw. That'd be great. But it doesn't do that for me. Must not have the magic touch.

I bet there is a website that has collected all the stories about WD40 that have been invented on the internet. I certainly have heard a pile of them. Maybe we should start one here.

Howard Pippin said:

We discovered you couldn't use 3 in 1 oil

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3 in 1 on the old timers, I had the pleasure of growing up in those times Mr. Pippin.

Brent said:

I sure wish I could get wd40 to turn to shellac on my table saw

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You are using straight WD40, not the aerosol.

smo said:

Anyone ever used WD 40 as a patch lube?

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As a matter of fact, I have.

sawyer04 said:

As a matter of fact, I have.

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I'll bet that worked out well, NOT.

Carbon 6 said:

I'll bet that worked out well, NOT.

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Just an experiment, the patch was dry, but had been in the juice, no, I didn't spray the patch with WD40, DUH!

smo said:

Anyone ever used WD 40 as a patch lube?

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As a matter of fact I do. I get my patches damp with WD-40 and let them dry out a little. It works really good for me as basically a dry patch lube.

I sometimes spray my patches, but not with WD 40.

My patches are not damp, but you can feel the lube when handling them.



For hunting I use a few drops of Olive Oil on a stack of patches kept in an old cap tin.

I don’t trust the stuff by Hornady as a protectant, but it’s a good lube/ cleaner.

We're getting of track.

sawyer04 said:

You are using straight WD40, not the aerosol.

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Not true. I use only the aerosol. Still waiting for it to turn into shellac. Not happening yet. Couple more years maybe?

What does one do with a third of a can of WD 40 that lost it's "fizz"? This can seems to have had more liquid than propellant.

Take it outside, cover it with a rag, and poke a hole with a center punch. Be really careful because it may just be plugged up somehow and still have pressure.

So now I got a jar ( half pint maybe) of WD 40 to use. Also can it be mixed with anything to make a penetrating or some sort of lubricating oil?

smo said:

Anyone ever used WD 40 as a patch lube?

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Actually there is a following at the High Master Pistol Shooters level.

They mix WD-40 and Synthetic Motor oil, mainly Mobil 1. The mix it 50/50.

When folks at level of shooting use it, there is a reason, National Championship's are on the line.

Eutycus said:

So now I got a jar ( half pint maybe) of WD 40 to use. Also can it be mixed with anything to make a penetrating or some sort of lubricating oil?

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If you want a good penetrating /lubricating oil Mix ATF, acetone, and motor oil. about 50/40/10

Eutycus said:

What does one do with a third of a can of WD 40 that lost it's "fizz"? This can seems to have had more liquid than propellant.

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Right everyone has an air compressor handy, only kidding actually I do. I'ts a small inflator like you plug into a cigarette lighter, but I do happen to have one. But 100 PSI , seriously?