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Posted: 1/1/2009 10:30:55 PM EDT
| i already know im going to get the fifth degree for this but, my dad and i have been using wd40 for years on all our guns from the ak47 and glock to the ar15 and ps90. i have been told many times that this is horrible but i have never had a problem whether its functionality, rust, appearance, or anything. i mean my dad has a glock 19 thats 20 or so years old and is still perfect. is there any actual evidence against it, or just gun bulls***. |
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My dad and I (as well as my granddad, aunts, and uncles) have also used WD-40 on all of our firearms for as long as I can remember and we too have had no problems. I've heard a lot of people say that WD-40 was horrible for guns but I can't see how. Is is the only lube I use and we swear by it.
Even in Iraq a lot of our Tank Commanders and I would keep a couple of cans of WD-40 in our sponsion (sp?) boxes to lube our Caliber .50's and M240's with before, during, and after patrols. We also soaked all of our weapons we were stoying for sea transport back to Germany with WD-40 and locked them in plastic TAT boxes dripping wet with it in order to prevent rusting during the long journey. Worked great. I don't know where this rumor comes from that claims WD-40 is bad, but I think its bunk. |
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Somewhere on Brownell's website is a demonstration of how well WD functions as a preservative. It works better than alot of other wonder sprays.
To assess the utility of WD you need to be clear about what you're looking for. First, its a great water displacer (duh!). I take a can with me on hunts so I can spray metal shotgun parts if I've been out in wet weather. It is also very good for carbon fouling removal. As noted, its not too shabby as a preservative, though I think there are better choices for longer term applications. It is definitely not a good lubricant. Moreover, it does not mix well with some other lubes. I have had personal experience with this. At MG shoots you see gallons of it sprayed on literally every type of MG. I sometimes spray it over M16 BCGs when things start to get sluggish, say, after 500 rds Wolf poly. Overall, I prefer and use CLP, but WD is good bang for the buck. Sam |
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Quoted:
WD-40 can leech into ammo and deaden primers. Many folks soak "damaged" rounds in WD-40 before tossing them. Keep it away from your ammo, wipe the weapon down good after cleaning and you should be go to go. There was a link to a test here a while ago proving this is incorrect. The guy had a puddle of WD on the primer of some rounds for a couple weeks. They all shot fine. If WD gets on loose primers it will kill them I believe. |
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WD-40 works, it's just not the best thing available. I used to use it a lot. For several years it was the primary cleaner/lubricant on all my guns. It is not the best rust preventative, but if you re-apply fairly regularly it's fine. Cheap as dirt, available everywhere.
I use CLP on everything now, except stuff that calls for grease. |
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It's mostly solvent (mineral spirits, kerosene, naptha) with some cheap GrpI petroleum oil. There is nothing on the MSDS that indicates that it has any antiwear or extreme pressure additives.
MSDS Links to what the ingredients are: http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=chem&id=189&query=64742-47-8&searchas=TblChemicals http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=chem&id=208&query=64742-48-9&searchas=TblChemicals http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=chem&id=174&query=64742-88-7&searchas=TblChemicals http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=chem&id=157&query=64742-65-0&searchas=TblChemicals http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=chem&id=189&query=64742-47-8&searchas=TblChemicals There are much better products out there for use on guns. The GrpI oil will probably do very poorly in cold weather and could definitely gum over time or when it gets hot (depending if there are any antioxidants in the oil). Old painless does have some knowledge in the area, but I disagree with much of what he has said. The part where he talks about the light fraction boiling off of ALL petroleum products is over stated. High quality oils have nearly all of these fractions removed out of them during the refining process. True synthetic oils never had them in the first place. Solvent refined Grp I oils are bottom of the barrel in today's lubricant world. The ~10% that they don't tell you about is the interesting part. Could be a wax base to leave a protective film. |
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The general concensus is that WD 40 makes a good cleaner. a O.K. external rust preventer. As a lubricant it burns off quicker than a CLP.
If you use it give the gun a quick spray every 100 rounds and keep this stuff away from primers and Breech faces. It will kill primers better than CLP. |
in my weapons other than
???? NEVER....WarDawg
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Now I generally like WD-40 and am not too worried about the primer issue. BUT if all you use is WD-40 and don't work your guns much, and do it for long enough, it will do a varnish build up and gum things up. Have seen in on some of my dad's safe queens. WD-40 is all he would use and he rarely fired them, but he would spray them regularly nonetheless to avoid rust. Took a while, several years, but one day pulled out one of the revolvers did a dry fire and I could feel the varnish build up in the action, hammer moved in slow motion, most likely would not have set off a round. Springs are fine. Had to work the gun a bit and spray with something else to free up the varnish. Granted it took a while, but the WD-40 varnish issue has been brought up before in other threads here.
I think it is good for general cleaning, and as a very light lube. Still a fan and still have it as part of my gun cleaning stuff, must be aware of long term varnish issue on guns that see nothing else but WD-40 over the long term. |
| If I had the choice of Dirt or WD40.. I would use the WD 40. If it was CLP or WD40.. I would use CLP.. Will it work in a pinch ..?? Yes. Is it a very good Cleaner.. I think so. It helps flush water out of you got it soaked in the rain or river .... Is it a good lube.? No or not COMPARED to what's on the Market .... Is it a good rust protector ?? It does OK from my own experiences..... Is is poor compared to what available on the Market.. Yes . I will use it to spay off my limb shears and loppers after working in the yard. I will hit a door hing with it. But I'm not using it on my Better rifles. AR's G3's M14's FAL's . In a pinch, yes. If I got CLP or quality oil, I'm using it instead.WD is a minimal in in anything right as far as weapons goes... IMO. WarDawg |
| I use WD 40 as a cleaner on my really dirty guns. If I run several hundred rounds of supressed fire through one of my ar's or am cleaning a .22 after thousands of rounds I hose everything down with WD 40 and wipe off all the crud. I lube with CPD and tetra grease. The reason WD makes such a good cleaner is the same reason it sucks as a lube. It is very light and wipes off very easily with no residue left. The only reason I use it instead of another type of cleaner like Hoppes is that it is cheap and I always have it on hand. |
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