WD40

I use it for easing off bolts and seized locks/pistons etc. It's no good for lubricating things long term as it tends to rinse out any existing lubricant in the joint and WD40 is no good for long term lubrication. For that I use standard 3in1. WD is not even any good for protecting old tools in the shed from rusting. I use 3in1 or old engine oil for that. I've not used silicon or PTFE, although the wife loves my trick of putting silicon polish on the plastic curtain rails as the silicon makes them run smooth as silk. I'd surmise that silicon and PTFE are good for non-metal surfaces that stay dry but need a coating that will let them slide easily.

Mark

Definitely WD40 is only a temporary release agent, not a lubricant for long term use.

Rob Graham

WD-40 is a penetrating, light oil based lubricant that it isn't intended for long-term lubrication. It is used to free rusted nuts and bolts, it also works well at replacing water in leaky distributor caps. It has hundreds of uses but long-term lubrication isn't one of them. Read the label.

Jack j

As a water dispersant it is excellent, as a solvent, particularly on things like distributor caps and coils/leads it is good, for releasing corroded on alloy wheels it is amazing. definitely have wd40 around, but use oils and greases for long term lube

My foot pump had seized up. A spray of WD 40 on the piston rod made it come back to life again.

No, I didn't say that. I just said that it was a release agent, not a lubricant. So it will do what the 3-in1 says it will do. But whether it's better or not I wouldn't know. I doubt if the 3-in-1 would be any good for long-term lubrication. The route to go, if you've got seized/rusted parts is to free them, with WD40 or some other release agent, clean them up, then lubricate them with proper oil or even grease, depending.

The problem with release agents is that they evaporate quite quickly (in days or weeks) whereas oils tend to stay around a lot longer. The release agents, being much thinner, penetrate the rusted joint better than an oil, but they won't lubricate it for long, if at all. I note in your original post that you include WD40 in a list of lubricants - but it ain't one.

Rob

"Scribe" wrote in news:4969d474$1 snipped-for-privacy@mk-nntp-2.news.uk.tiscali.com:

Ever wonder what the "WD" in "WD-40" stands for?

You been reading the history of the stuff at

Is it Water Displacement? :-) :-)

Absolutely. But if you don't now give it some proper oil it likely will seize up again.

Rob

I very nearly junked it, before my eyes caught the can of WD 40 which I once collected from the Pound shop. Like in the cartoons, i light bulb flashed above my head...

Can we have a new newsgroup?

uk.rec.wd40 anyone?

:-)

The "WD" in WD 40 stands for water displacing. WD 40 is useful for displacing water in wet electrical components.

As far as I know, there is no single lubricant that will work for all applications, so I have a shelf full of different types for different applications. 3 in 1 works in a wide range of applications, I like bicycle chain lube for applications that will be exposed to dirt and water.

Water Displacement perfected on the 40th try

WD-40 works great for key locks or other places where a grease or oil is not appropriate.

I would NEVER put WD40 near a car. It causes rubber to perish, it eats varnish from the windings of starter motors and alternators, it causes lots of damage. It can be used to free nuts and bolts, that's about it. It's certainly not lubricant.

Works great in locks and latches (like the trunk latch). So your statement is a bit extreme IMO.

You really should use a 'dry' lubricant such as graphite for locks - liquid/spray releasing oils/lubricants pick up dust and grit particles that cause even more problems within the mechanisms (especially high precision ones).

Or even better, don't lubricate at all if possible.

BTW - WD 40 *is* *not* a lubricant and it will only give a temporary relief when used as such - and if it has to be used at all as such, it should be replaced by the correct specification lubricant as soon as things are moving sweetly.