Wd-40?

[CounterOfBeans]

WD-40 cuts rust (rust preventer) and is oily to the touch and feel. On first impression, it seems like it would make a great firearm cleaner, lube and general on-the-fly maintenance product. Has anyone used it like that or know some reason why it shouldn't be used? Thanks

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[Just Jim]

WD is a penetration oil. Too much in the gun can get the oil in your primers.

jj

 

[jagerMR]

WD-40
Water Displacement - formula 40

not good for firearms, even though it says right on the can.
use tri-flow or a good plain old gun lube
BUT wipe off the excess, metal is porus, it will suck up some, not much though.

 

[ronin223]

there is a test on line somewhere (i'll look for it) where I guy sprayed steel plates with WD40, CLP, EEZOX, etc and left them outside.

found it

<broken link removed>

http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.html

 

[CounterOfBeans]

Thanks ronin223 especially for the second link you listed. The first one didn't work, but the second was great. Aside from my WD question, it settled my other questions about what products are real performers on the rust prevention thing. Thanks guys.

 

[phathom]

Fixed the first link http://www.6mmbr.com/corrosiontest.html

But ya, WD-40 is good at displacing water and doing some lubricating for short periods of time, not keeping it lubed. I use it at work to loosen up my wire cutters and I have to go in there about once every couple of weeks to keep them running smooth as do other guys. CLP is the best (think about it, our armed forces use it regularly in harsh conditions) I use it on just about everything that needs lubed and cleaned. Works like a charm everytime.

Good info on the links though.

 

[Cougfan2]

Thanks for the links. I've been using Eezox for a bit and am so far happy with it, but your links provided much helpful info. I still think I may use something different for a lube to keep the gun running, but for rust resistance, EEZOX seems to be great.

Any input on how EEZOX works as a lubricant vs. CLP?

 

[DSbur]

http://www.6mmbr.com/corrosiontest.html

As an aircraft owner, I use Corrosion-X and a product called ACF-50. Both are great preventatives and lubricants. Corrosion-X is a little waxy and I don't think penetrates as well as ACF-50 or something like Kroil.

I store a cheapy blued .17hmr Savage in my work truck in a foam/cloth guncase (yeah, I know, worst possible combination). Had some rust starting till I cleaned it up and started hitting it with Corrosion-X. No problems in 3+ years.

 

[rmlarsen]

In the South, it's used to attract fish to your lure or bait. Just spray it on and get ready to reel them in. It imparts a pleasant oily kind of odor that fish find irrestible.

 

[Ding]

I use some stuff called "sheath" and I've used WD 40 on fish bait also.

 

[Spitpatch]

Used WD-40 for years and years and have never experienced any trouble with it. I don't allow it to seep toward the wood, and take care to keep it away from things like O-rings on a gas auto.

But more lately, I was able to obtain two gallons of the "old recipe" CLP from a buddy who is a tank mechanic for the Marines. (This old stuff was determined to be a carcinogen, so they trashed all they had in favor of the new formula).

Sunshine is a carcinogen too, so I take moderate care to protect myself from it and the old CLP.

I find CLP to be less evaporative than WD-40, and stays better where you put it. Always shake the container before application. The "parafin" portion of it will separate from the rest of the formula if allowed to rest in the container.

But my all time best surface-rust preventative (proven in Caribou and Sheep trips to Alaska) is a liberal coating of Johnson's or Minwax paste wax. Put it on the whole gun, (walnut thrives on it) and for a rough hunt don't even wipe it off. Your gun looks like **** during the hunt, but looks like a new diamond when you polish it off upon your return. Resists fingerprints too, and cannot harm wood, 0-rings or anything else.

Action parts are lightly lubed with Gunslick or a like-textured grease for these applications on bearing surfaces like bolt rails, locking lugs, etc. Good ol' WD is used on intricate mechanisms like triggers, etc, but allowed to evaporate completely before any field use. I've heard of the primer problem, but have never experienced it, and no gun in the field should have anything approaching the appearance of liquid still on it, or more importantly in it.

 

[ZachS]

WD is a penetration oil. Too much in the gun can get the oil in your primers.

jj

Not really.


Anyway:

WD-40's a great all-purpose solvent and cleaner, but it's a poor lubricant... probably because it was never designed to be a lubricant (beyond the penetrating/unsticking effects). When I shoot my Mosin with corrosive ammo, I clean it at the range by wiping it out with plain water and then shooting a good long squirt of WD-40 down the barrel to get rid of any water that might still be hiding in the bore. It seems to work.

 

[toobigtofail]

WD-40 is probably better than no oil at all in guns, but just barely. Better to use an oil specifically for guns.

 

[CEF1959]

If you look at the test results, Hoppes (and 3-in-one) scored much worse than WD40.

I'm kind of sceptical of these results anyway. The test was on NAILS, not a gun, and the environment wasn't close to how we typically store guns.

Clean well, lightly oil. WD 40 works fine for a lot of folks.

 

[2506]

In the South, it's used to attract fish to your lure or bait. Just spray it on and get ready to reel them in. It imparts a pleasant oily kind of odor that fish find irrestible.

I've been putting it on my lures for the past 30 or so years with deadly results, and I learned that trick in Oregon.

 

[DSbur]

I'm told that one of the ingredients in WD-40 is a type of fish oil, fwiw...