Don't do what I did!

WD40 is the cheapest and best gun cleaner you can buy! I to have used it for about 30 years, just keep it away from ammo and no problems!
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WD-40 gets a lot of people by, because they don't know any better.

However, WD-40 is neither a lubricant or a cleaner.

It is "Water Displacement formula 40".

Water Displacement ... key words.

WD-40 is for keeping metal from corroding. It is a terrible lubricant, and an even worse cleaning compound.



Also, please note:
Firearms owners' manuals recommend using gun solvents for cleaning. They say nothing about carb cleaner, brake cleaner, or WD-40, unless they're specifically warning you not to do it.
 
A friend once swore about the effectiveness of brake cleaner and the cheap price compared to gun products. After he melted the grips on his Beretta .380, he came around to another way of thinking.
Jimbob86 summed it up pretty good...
 
Doyle said:
Not really. If you were to see the material data sheet on some of the actual gun cleaners you would see that it is the exact same stuff as non-chlorinated brake cleaner. Those gun cleaners arent' safe on plastics either. Only, it sells for 4x the price.
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Same ingredients as Gunscrubber.
 
I'd not advise WD-40 on guns. It was developed during WW-2 for the Navy to use in electrical panels to displace water. Thus the name WD-40, Water displacing formula # 40.

Used on guns it does not completely dry, but the liquid settles in tiny nooks and crannies inside the inner workings of the gun and hardens into a thick gum, eventually a hard varnish. WD-40 is probably responsible for a fair number of the AD's with the Remingtion 700's.

While it is better than nothing, there are far better options that are actually made to work on firearms.
 
"Penny-wise and Pound-foolish" comes to mind .....

Why do people use stuff for things it was not intended? Target bullets for deer, brake cleaner or water displacement fluid to clean guns, .223 for deer, the Taurus Judge for a CCW ....... they are just smarter than the rest of us, I guess ......
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You know what buddy you can go suck an egg. I made a mistake, yes, but that kind of snide comment helps NO ONE. I learned my lesson the hard way, and felt like I should share it on here so others don't make the same mistake. I have used brake cleaner on metal gun parts for years with no ill effects, and I know of dozens of others who do as well, but I wasn't aware that it would damage that kind of plastic so badly.

I bet you are a REAL pleasant person to work with, do you talk to people like that in person? What possessed you to post something like that, do you need to vent some frustration and thought "why not take it out on someone on the internet who is admitting to an honest mistake while trying to help others?"

You should really try reading your posts and see if they actually HELP someone, instead of making them feel even worse.
 
This or something like it could happen to anybody. I often use starting fluid to blast out the crud from the inner working from my marlin 22. Plastics are always risky with solvents. Nowadays they make so many gunparts out of synthetic polymers, it's like a crapshoot with what will clean them without melting them. Another reason I prefer old guns. I have a model 1912 Winchester 12 gauge pump shot gun that is 100 years old this year. Other than the recoil pad, it's nothing but steel and walnut.
The Marlin model 60 used to be made with a metal trigger guard. I hope you took the time to open the link to DIP trigger kits for your Marlin.
 
Model12Win, thanks for swallowing your pride and letting us all know what your experience was. It's a great reminder to be careful what we use on our guns. My first time taking my 60 apart, I also bent the spring trying to get it back together.. it's extremely easy to do. However, my spring will still cycle the action when fired. Did you try to get it back together and see if it works?

the liquid settles in tiny nooks and crannies inside the inner workings of the gun and hardens into a thick gum, eventually a hard varnish. WD-40 is probably responsible for a fair number of the AD's with the Remingtion 700's.
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I completely agree with this. It gets gummy and it won't cycle right. My dad (who under no circumstances would work on his own guns) once took a 22 in to a gunsmith because it wasn't cycling. He had used WD40 a couple of times for cleaning instead of his normal lube and it gummed it up. The smith said there's never a valid reason to use WD40 on a gun.
 
I've used CRC Contact Cleaner(plastic safe) a few times to dry out a wet gun. Works great and is gone in seconds. I mistook a can of CRC Lectra Motive cleaner for the contact cleaner once and the result was a tape deck that still worked, but didn't look the same. Only reason some of the nasty motor and brake cleaners are still on the market because the EPA realizes wet cleaning brakes and such is far safer than using compressed air.
 
Model12-I sure can't read anybody's mind but I didn't read Jimbob86's post as though he was calling you out.

I THINK he was just commenting on the many, many ways we find to out smart ourselves and he did mention a few items that don't apply to your post but to others here at TFL. I'll even admit to making a couple Taurus Judge jokes myself in other threads and I'm glad nobody took offense.

For my part I'm glad you posted your cautionary tale because although I'm a Rem Oil and Hoppes #9 guy I've often wondered if life wouldn't be better/easier if I modernized. I now see I better tread carefully with what I use.

Thank you for your original post. Your description of what happened made it a very effective warning.
 
Thanks Model 12.
Learning from others' mistakes helps us all.
As for using brake cleaner on guns, if it's steel with a good finish, it works very well.
And it evaporates cleanly, too.
I've been using it for years.
But it can do nasty things to other materials and some finishes.
Most any chemical can backfire, though.
Best to always test them on a small section before general use.
 
Used on guns it does not completely dry, but the liquid settles in tiny nooks and crannies inside the inner workings of the gun and hardens into a thick gum, eventually a hard varnish. WD-40 is probably responsible for a fair number of the AD's with the Remington 700's

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I had to replace the steering cable on my boat after using WD-40 to lubricate and protect it. It did exactly as stated above. It worked better than glue to seize it!!!
Even a torch would not free it.
 
I keep forgetting that I have yet to clean or even disassemble my Mod 60. Bought it about 10 years ago from a friend and just keep shooting away at it.
 
For a lot of guns, I just spray RemOil into 'em, let it run back out and wipe 'em down. If and when the barrel gets fouled with lead or copper, then it's time for the brass brush. Gun cleaning is overrated.
 
Have you checked Numrich? It looks like they have all the parts in stock for you to rebuild that trigger group.
 
I've used WD-40 to get some cosmoline remnants off an SKS and to actually displace water when I have to rinse a firearm (usually AK74 with corrosive ammo). It never gave me any issues, but I did wipe them off and use a real lubricant as well.
 
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