WD40 - OK or not?

[bcsd372]

I've always read and been told that WD40 has no place anywhere near guns, yet a friend has used it for years with no apparent ill effects. He sprays down his handguns and then blows them off with compressed air. Lats weekend the same guy came back from the Knob Creek machine gun shoot with videos of lots of WD40 cans on the heavy machine gun line. These guys have $20K and up in those guns. So, is it OK to clean and lube with WD40?

[James K]

It depends on storage conditions. WD-40 mildews in anything approaching a humid area and will destroy the finish on metal and wood.

My recommendation for cleaner, preservative, and penetrant is G96 Gun Treatment, which seems to do no harm and is an excellent cleaner. A good oil or a grease like RIG should be used for long term storage.

Jim

[Paul B.]

WD-40 mildews???? When I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, within a mile of the ocean, with constant fog conditions, I used WD-40 on all my guns, and never had a problem with rust or mildew or anything of that sort. I sprayed it on a rag, and wiped the guns down. I still have some of those guns today, and I still treat them with WD-40. They still look great too.
Paul B.

[BBBBill]

Don't know about mildew. Never seen it, but.... Heard this argument for years off & on. most evedence seems anecdotal with no one actually able to say "My gun was ruined by WD40 because....." It was always "my brother's wife's first cousin's hunting buddy's gun." I'd like to know the truth of it one way or the other.
Personally, I've never had a problem, but I generally don't use it as I prefer other gun specific products.
According to a former chemical engineer, "WD" stands for "water displacing."

[skipperJ]

When I was living in Sarasota FL back in the 70's, I used WD40 on all of my guns. I kept the guns in a so called "Florida room" with those wind-out windows which don't seal that well. We lived right on the intercoastal (saltwater)and I never had a trace of rust on any of my guns, ever. I also used the product on my bass boat engine and hardware. Never any rust. WD-40 does have a tendency to form a crust if you just let it sit there for long periods of time. I wiped my stuff down about once a month and never had a problem with the crusting.

There are better products on the market now for gun care and I no longer use WD-40.

[Good Guy]

I have always used a WD40 sprayed gun cloth for wiping down my guns, never with any ill effects. However, I don't use it for the internal lubrication. It does tend to evaporate and get gummy when sprayed on fine mechanisms.

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Just one of the Good Guys

And yes, S&W MUST DIE!

[LIProgun]

WD-40 is a decent rust preventative for external surfaces but it is not a suitable lubricant for firearms. It turns to a gummy varnish.

Since it is a fine water displacer (hence, the "WD") it is good for hosing down that pump gun that fell over the side of the duck boat until you can get it home and do a proper cleaning with a proper solvent and lubrication with proper gun lubes. But it is not a lube and should be used with caution on moving parts and internal assemblies.

[James K]

Anyone who says WD-40 doesn't mildew want to pay me for the value lost on some of my guns when WD-40 DID mildew? I have blued guns with "acne" from WD-40 and also several stocks which also got the "treatment" from overspray with WD-40. (Yes, I know I should have kept it off the stocks, but I have never had any problem with any other product.)

Jim

[Mike Irwin]

NO.

WD-40 is OVERSOLD when it is presented as a lubricant/preservative for firearms and other equipment.

WD-40 is really a penetrating oil, IOW, a very light bodied oil in a solvent carrier.

Light bodied oils tend to get where they're not supposed to be (you can kill cartridges in a gun if it has been treated with WD-40).

Jim, I certainly don't know for certain, but I don't think you saw "mildew" per se, I think you saw "oil rot."

The oil in WD-40 isn't very stable. When it becomes gummy, it actually becomes slightly hygroscopic, and apparently slightly acidic. Water and acid. Guess what that will do to the surface of your gun?

I've seen what Jim describes on a number of guns, and they have the following in common:

1. Heavily coated with WD-40 in preparation for long-term storage.

2. Left in non-climate-controlled areas.

3. The WD-40 coating was not renewed regularly. This apparently is a big contributor to the problems with WD-40. If you regularly wipe down your guns, you're renewing the oil layer, removing the old WD-40, and preventing a lot of problems.

In general, though, I do not believe that WD-40 has a truly useful application for firearms. There are other, MUCH better products out there, that don't have these drawbacks.

I use a lot of WD-40, though. Door hinges, rusted bolts, removing lable stickum, cleaning digging tools, in conjunction with steel wool for removing rust, etc.

It's a great product, but not for guns or other precision instruments.

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Smith & Wesson is dead to me.

If you want a Smith & Wesson, buy USED!

[oweno]

I *think* I remember an article, many years ago, in 'The American Rifleman' about WD-40. They found that it would creep inside your cartridges and de-activate the primer.

This is Not A Good Thing (tm).

Any other old timer remember this article? Maybe early 1970s?

Owen

[Mike Irwin]

Yep, I remember the article, but I don't remember when it was.

It was actually a warning about ANY penetrating oil, such as 3-in-1, Liquid Wrench, etc.

------------------
Smith & Wesson is dead to me.

If you want a Smith & Wesson, buy USED!

[Art Eatman]

Whee! The 118th discussion of WD 40!!!

I've used it since they put the stuff on the market. I've not had problems, whether very high humidity (south Georgia swampland) or very low humidity (Terlingua).

BUT: I never spray it directly on a gun--generally. Particularly, not before storage. (At the range, I may squirt it down into my 1911, just to wash down the buildup of grunge during a few hundred rounds. Works with a Garand, also.)

I don't allow any buildup of layers of film on surfaces, whether metal or wood. When I spray it on a patch and wipe down a gun, I stay well away from scope lenses--as with any other penetrating oil as well.

The only reason I use it is because it does well *the way I do it*, and I'm a cheapskate.

Overall, the best place for WD 40 is in hunt camp, in wet weather. You can then spray it inside the action and under the barrel and not have rust get started. When you get home, clean everything properly!!!

Works for me...

Art

[zot]

3in1 sure isn't close to WD-40 or liquid wrench, I use it on all my guns for storage,
seems to collect dust but I've never seen
any wood rot or finish ruin from it. is it
really a BAD lube?

[Good Guy]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mike Irwin:
I've seen what Jim describes on a number of guns, and they have the following in common:

1. Heavily coated with WD-40 in preparation for long-term storage.[/quote]

I think Mike nailed it. Using excessive amounts of WD40 is likely to make a mess out of anything, especially seeping into wood stocks. Not a good thing. That's why I first spray a gun cloth with WD, then I wipe down external surfaces. Keep all lubricants/preservatives away from wooden stocks and grips.

BTW, the notion of WD/gun oils deactivating modern primers is an old wives tale. Don't believe me? Soak some primers in oil, then try them. You'll be surprised to find that they still function fine since the priming compound is sealed. However oil and gunpowder are a bad thing. I think cartridge gunpowder contaminated with oil is where the primer myth started. But it is always wise to keep oil/preservatives out of gun chambers except for long term storage.


------------------
Just one of the Good Guys

And yes, S&W MUST DIE!

[Mike Irwin]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by zot:
3in1 sure isn't close to WD-40 or liquid wrench, I use it on all my guns for storage,
seems to collect dust but I've never seen
any wood rot or finish ruin from it. is it
really a BAD lube?[/quote]

ZOT,

I think you're right, 3-in-1 oil isn't so much a penetrating oil as is WD-40, but a lubricating oil.

I think I've confused it with another penetrating oil that's out there, and I'll be darned if I can remember what that one is...

------------------
Smith & Wesson is dead to me.

If you want a Smith & Wesson, buy USED!

[Mike Irwin]

Good Guy,

After reading your message, I went down into the basement to see if I:

A) had some of the penetrating oil I was thinking of when I said 3-in-1 (I don't).

B) took my Model 19 with me and tried a half-dozen primed casings that I squirted WD-40 into in the last 3 or 4 months (mostly because I didn't see the crack in the case neck).

1 of the 6 popped. The others didn't. All of them were recently primed with Winchester and/or Remington primers purchased at a gunshow within the last 2 years.

I think you old wife needs a new tail.

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Smith & Wesson is dead to me.

If you want a Smith & Wesson, buy USED!

[Good Guy]

Mike, you really didn't expect a wimpy *&* Model 19 to smack a primer hard enough to ignite it, did you? You should have used a Colt.

I think you proved my point though. Soaking a primer directly for 4 months is a good test, and still you had primer ignition! I've soaked them for a week to attempt to deactivate them and still got 100% ignition. This is a far cry from real world miniscule seepage in the cartridge.

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Just one of the Good Guys

And yes, S&W MUST DIE!

[Mike Irwin]

Good Guy,

Actually, 1 out of 6 isn't good ignition.

And, you and I both know how long people will tend to leave a gun loaded if they're not gun people such as we are.

Months, years?

That "miniscule" seepage has one thing on its side... Time.

I think I'm going to do a little test...

I'm going to put a couple rounds in a box, and very lightly spritz them with WD-40.

Then I'll wait, maybe until next summer. And I'll see how they do.

BTW, primers have been "sealed," either with a small piece of foil or a varnish (with or without a paper cover), for at least 50 years.

And this is a problem that has been noted for at least that long.

Couple years ago I had a woman come into the gunshop where I worked. She asked me to check out her late husband's Browning Nomad. He had thoroughly oiled it and put it away in the box (wrapped in an oiled rag), prior to his being killed in the mid-1970s. In the Browning plastic box were two boxes of Federal .22s.

She wanted me to look over the gun and function fire it. After finding out that the ammo had been stored in a condition where oil vapors were present for that long, I didn't have much hope for the ammo.

Nor should I have had hope for it. Of those 100 rounds, only 7 went off. Of those 7, I could actually see the bullet traveling downrange it was moving so slowly. The slide woudn't cycle, either.

Oil vapors are as deadly to primers as oil itself, even in well sealed ammo such as .22.



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Smith & Wesson is dead to me.

If you want a Smith & Wesson, buy USED!

[4V50 Gary]

Go ask Remington why they don't endorse the use of WD40 on their guns. It cost them millons in a lawsuit.

You see, bozo used WD40 for about 20 years. Hosed his action down with it after cleaning it. Problem is that bozo never took his Rem 700 to the gunsmith for annual checkup and sevicing. The WD40 developed a film (mentioned by others here in this thread) and this defeated the safety. One day bozo climbed into his truck with his loaded 700 and pointed it at his foot. He jarred it and it discharged. Opps. For his own stupidity, he sued Remington and won. When Remington examined the rifle, they had to place it in the vise and use two of their heaviest employees to free the action from the stock. It was that bad.

[johnwill]

I have personally cleaned up a gun "preserved" with WD-40, I bought it for a song from a guy that hadn't fired it for at least 10 years. It was so gummy that I had to detail strip it and soak everything in solvent and scrub it to get the coating off. There was also quite a bit of surface rust on the interior fire control parts, even though they seemed to have been liberally soaked in WD-40. FWIW, this was a Colt 1903 Pocket Pistol. I'll have to agree with the folks that say that WD-40 isn't a product suitable for guns, there are many better choices.

[Mike Irwin]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by johnwill:
I have personally cleaned up a gun "preserved" with WD-40, I bought it for a song from a guy that hadn't fired it for at least 10 years. It was so gummy that I had to detail strip it and soak everything in solvent and scrub it to get the coating off. There was also quite a bit of surface rust on the interior fire control parts, even though they seemed to have been liberally soaked in WD-40. FWIW, this was a Colt 1903 Pocket Pistol. I'll have to agree with the folks that say that WD-40 isn't a product suitable for guns, there are many better choices.[/quote]


John,

My experience has also been that it is very difficult to remove the varnish that is left when WD-40 decays. The stuff is absolutely tenacious.


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Smith & Wesson is dead to me.

If you want a Smith & Wesson, buy USED!

[Kernel]

Below is part of the MSDS for WD40. It's about 70% Stoddard Solvent, a mineral oil used in the dry cleaning industry, it's the carrier that quickly evaporates. The other 30% is essentially kerosene, aerosol, and wax.

It has a place on my bench. Because it's cheap I use WD40 for cleaning firearms and gear. I use other products for lubrication and longterm storage. -- Kernel

========================================

WD-40 -- WD-40 BULK LIQUID - CORROSION PREVENTIVE COMPOUND
MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET
NSN: 8030008354348
Part Number/Trade Name: WD-40 BULK LIQUID
==============================
General Information
=============================================
Item Name: CORROSION PREVENTIVE COMPOUND
Company's Name: WD-40 COMPANY
Date MSDS Prepared: 01AUG92
=============================================
Ingredients/Identity Information
=============================================
Proprietary: NO
Ingredient: STODDARD SOLVENT
Ingredient Sequence Number: 01
Percent: 70
-------------------------------------
Proprietary: NO
Ingredient: MINERAL OIL, PETROLEUM DISTILLATES, SOLVENT-DEWAXED HEAVY PARAFFINIC
Ingredient Sequence Number: 02
Percent: &gt;20
-------------------------------------
Proprietary: NO
Ingredient: NON HAZARDOUS INGREDIENT
Ingredient Sequence Number: 03
Percent: &lt;10
=============================================
Physical/Chemical Characteristics
=============================================
Appearance And Odor: CLOUDY, LIGHT AMBER LIQUID, CHARACTERISTIC ODOR.
Solubility In Water: INSOLUBLE.
Percent Volatiles By Volume: 74.0
=============================================


[This message has been edited by Kernel (edited October 20, 2000).]

[PKAY]

Kernel - me too. I use WD-40 liberally to CLEAN parts, then blow them dry with compressed air. Lubrication is accomplished using Militech synthetic gun oil and 20 wt. motor oil in a half and half concentration (learned from a gunsmith friend and IPSC rated shooter). Works great, especially if you shoot lotsa rounds at a time (250 to 500 or more at one sitting).

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Safe shooting - PKAY

[OkieGentleman]

It works great getting asphalt off of your new car without harming the paint. Also great for cleaning REALLY old hardened grease. Other than that not much good for anything else.