Can anyone confirm WD40 ingredients?

MikeT · Post by **MikeT** » 26 Oct 2009, 12:01

I read an article that claimed the makers changed or added a WD40 ingredient in the 90's which is acidic. I must admit I've never been overly impressed with using it as a lubricant though it makes a good plastic polish and smells ok.

A piece of worthless trivia, if I haven't already mentioned it. WD stands for Water Dispersant and the number 40 is how many attempts or revisions to the formula the scientists made before finding the solution they were aiming for. If they renamed it WD41 in the 90's then I'd know for sure it was altered

Post by **CitroJim** » 26 Oct 2009, 12:26

I fancy there a Wikipedia article on it Mike, for what it's worth..

The main ingredient appears to be good old white spirit (the Yanks call it Stoddard Solvent).

There's also various light mineral oils for the lubrication aspect of it.

I'm not a huge fan of it but it does have some uses. For cleaning I always use white spirit and get it from the DIY stores very cheaply. I've never found anything better for degreasing. It even beats Gunk in my opinion.

I degrease by painting on white spirit and drying it off with an airline.

Knowing the efficiency of white spirit, I'm amazed it took them 40 attempts to get WD40 right!!!

For unseizing rusty stuff, Plus Gas gets my vote every time.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 26 Oct 2009, 12:56

Jim wrote
"For unseizing rusty stuff, Plus Gas gets my vote every time."

or diesel fuel is good for freeing off your stuck nuts,

i belive there is a fan club on the internet somewere for WDfaulty whooops 40,

regards malcolm

Sid_the_Squid · Post by **Sid_the_Squid** » 26 Oct 2009, 12:58

Could the change be something to do with removing the CFC's, which would have probably happened in the early 90's??
Personally I find WD 40 useful for getting water out of place it should not be, like improperly sealed HT leads or dizzy caps, works effectively at making old bangers start on damp days (grew up with many an old banger), its also OK as a light anti corrosion agent.
Never use as a lubricant, its dreadful at that, works OK as a penetrating oil when plus gas is not available.

Think it took so long to finalise as its a jack of all trades, master of none, fluid.

Whilst on the subject of fluids, anyone used this before http://www.startyabastard.com/ the name caught my eye, very amusing.

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 26 Oct 2009, 14:21

I did use it t'other day to kill an annoying wasp.. was very effective

Post by **CitroJim** » 26 Oct 2009, 14:43

jgra1 wrote:I did use it t'other day to kill an annoying wasp.. was very effective

ahh, finally! Something WD40 does well

HDI · Post by **HDI** » 26 Oct 2009, 14:56

jgra1 wrote:I did use it t'other day to kill an annoying wasp.. was very effective

Did you use it as a flame thrower like me ??!!

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 26 Oct 2009, 15:54

HDi I have been known to do that yes

although this time I sprayed it neat, as I was in the chevy and would have struggled on the insurance claim form as to how nepalming a wasp led to £000's of damage

MikeT · Post by **MikeT** » 26 Oct 2009, 19:01

Sid_the_Squid wrote:...its also OK as a light anti corrosion agent.

This is what I'm most concerned about (as I'm pretty sure it has happened on my watch) - the article said it can invoke corrosion due the nature of this other chemical being acidic or it turns acidic - which is completely contradictory of what it's supposed to do.

I feel an experiment coming on

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 26 Oct 2009, 19:44

Johm wrote
"I did use it t'other day to kill an annoying wasp.. was very effective "

did you lob the can at it then,

the only prob with useing it on ignition systems to dispurs moisture is it attracrs dirt and dust to the oily residue, then in turn this atracts more moisture so you have to use it again and again and again and again and again and,

MikeT wrote
"This is what I'm most concerned about"

you know you have to whatch!!! it when useing it on time piece's,

regards malcolm

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » 27 Oct 2009, 09:00

MikeT wrote:the article said it can invoke corrosion due the nature of this other chemical being acidic or it turns acidic - which is completely contradictory of what it's supposed to do.
:

Now that rings a bell! Couple of years ago on another forum, WD40 was being discussed. A guy who was also a member of a Bisley gun club had been told not to use WD 40. Unfortunately he already had and found it had caused corrosion.

Sid_the_Squid · Post by **Sid_the_Squid** » 27 Oct 2009, 09:42

One can only assume that the WD40 co are either totally stupid or employing ruthless selling tactics, adverting a product as an anti corrosion agent, when in fact it causes corrosion

Its bureaucracy as its most basic level (i.e. something that exists only to appease its own existence).

Please do conduct an experiment MikeT, I for one would certainly like to know.

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » 27 Oct 2009, 14:29

JohnD wrote: A guy who was also a member of a Bisley gun club had been told not to use WD 40..

Further to my previous post, I've found the guys post. This is what he'd posted, "He then explained that the solvent in WD40 evaporates over time leaving a very hard deposit akin to varnish. In revolvers and military type pistols this isn't a problem but target pistols and good quality automatics have much tighter tolerances which the varnish eliminates with predictable results ......."

scratcher · Post by **scratcher** » 30 Oct 2009, 19:59

Hi, there was an article on the net some time ago about the dreaded stuff and apparently it contains fish oil! Or so they said. It was recommended for everything except piles and toothache! Gerry

lexi · Post by **lexi** » 23 Nov 2009, 15:58

I always thought WD was Paraffin based It makes not a bad degreaser although stupidly expensive. I have sparayed it on and then it will wash off with water hose.

Fish oil is used in Oz for effective rustproofing .......and Lanolin.