Frozen Locks - any tips/good oil to use

WD40 is oil. Its also a water REPELLENT. Look up the word REPEL in the dictionary. You'll find its the opposite of ATTRACT.

compounding

Woo hoo...!

Great answer Conor! Do you know, that is what I love about newsgroups.

Everyone else managed to give a helpful answer, but oh Conor, let me stroke you, you are so clever. I take it you are a chemical engineer or perhaps you have recently won the Nobel Peace Prize....

I know what REPEL means and I know what ATTRACT means, I do not need to have to go to a dictionary to look these words up. All I was going on was what several people have said to me, and god damn silly me... I said to myself... I know there are lots of people on this newsgroup who could help me with this topic... let me post a message and see if someone can help. Won't be making that mistake again I can assure you. Your work here is done Conor.

Judging by your use of capital letters, I bet you are the type of person who raises your voice when talking to people in wheelchairs. As everyone knows, talking LOUDLY HELPS PEOPLE UNDERSTAND BETTER.

Oh just for your info, while I was looking up those two big words in my Mummy's & Daddy's dictionary, I did notice that Its is spelt It's.

:-)

ah, that feels better!

/Heds

WD40 is not hygroscopic, it is a dispersant, however it does attract dust and grit (its a thinned grease rather than oil, so when the thinning agent evapourates it leaves a thin film of grease that anything sticks to (and this dust and stuff will hold water))

you will be much better off going to a locksmith and getting some graphite and using this to 'lubricate' the lock!! however this method will require you to take the lock out of the car fopr best results.

HTH

Lost

Not quite true. It does contain oil, but it also contains about 50% degreaser. Its great for dispersing water, but also great at disolving grease. If I've used WD40 on a lock or whatever, I follow it up with a lubricant.

Just found the data sheet ...

The message from "TTT" contains these words:

Ah - not "Extract of old sock" then?

More relevantly it atrracts dirt which tends to wear your lock.

Use a soft Graphite pencil ( from art dealers) and run it along your key each week you will get enough graphite flakes into the lock to keep it free and no oil to freeze or pick up dirt and clog it. Cheaper than products from locksmiths and more convenient.

What are these locks and keys of which you speak, prithee ?

Every car I've been in that's been made even vaguely recently opens with a "plip". The lock inside must either be shiny new or covered in dust, but either way it has hardly ever seen a key in anger.

John Laird ( snipped-for-privacy@laird-towers.org.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Probably seized solid by the time the car's a few years old...

I'd expect it to have its original coat of graphite-rich grease, to be honest. (Just popped outside to test one that's 3.5 years old - opened sweet as anything.)

Ohhh, you've done it now....

Dear Mr Sarcastic Pedant Noob.

Please explain what Hydroscopic is, if you're looking for a word to describe a substance that readily absorbs water from the atmosphere the word "Hygroscopic" is what you seek. For something that is strongly attracted to and bonds with water you're looking for "Hydrophilic"

HTH HAND STUYPASI

A big thank you to all the people who replied with sensible helpful answers, and to those who are able to politely point out a spelling mistake, I really though that 'hydro' was the correct way to spell it.

:-)

Anyway WD40 works for me, drives out the water and stops the lock from freezing.

Loc Lube should be the correct answer.

However ...

WD40 is great, but can wash away any lubricant from the lock, so you need to use it frequently.

PS I use the latter

Use a graphite spray after washing all the crap out with UB40. Sorry WD40.