Who uses WD-40?

Do you use WD-40 when cleaning/lubricating your weapons?

  • Yes

    Votes: 76 21.8%

  • No

    Votes: 272 78.2%
  • Total voters
    348
i use it and compressed air to clean guns and the mechanisms sometimes and use it alot in my machine shop on tools, lathes etc. i know some old machinists that use the stuff for just about everything.

but after cleaning, i lubricate the guns with gun oils.
 
WD40

I use WD40 as a rust penetrant and solvent. It evaporates quickly and has no long term value as a preservative or lubricant. Read the lable.
 
I have never seen it gum anything up, but it does tend to evaporate so I do not use it, instead I use rem oil- so far that seems to work fine....
 
WD40 is a water displacer. It was not designed as a cleaner, lubricant or protectant. It may do each in a mediocre fashion, but there are many products that perform these functions better.

When my S&W snubbie and I went for a swim, I used WD40 and compressed air to get rid of the water. Then a good cleaning with Eezox, and all is well.

No, I do not have any other use for WD40.
 
I'll use WD-40. It's not the best, but it really won't disolve your guns or cause your ammo to spontaniously combust. It's a pretty decent solvent actually. Kinda thin for oil, but it'll work in a pinch.

Y'all do know you're supposed to wipe it off after you spay it don't you? We have to 'splain everything to you? ;) Ok. Use a rag to wipe it off. Old T-shirt, shorts, socks. Paper towel will do in a pinch. Don't use your wife's silk blouse. Don't ask how I know.

"Pledge" works good on gunstocks too.
 
I have also used this for 40 years and never a problem. I use other stuff now, but WD40 has worked for me. Just a question if it seeps into a primer and makes the ammo useless, I'd suggest removing the bullets before you clean the gun with WD40.
 
The makers of WD 40 have done almost as good a job of marketing bull@#$t on the American consumer as Harley Davidson. I can not believe the number of people who say they've used it for years and never had a problem and that it doesn't dry into a gummy residue. I used to use it as a lube and have seen it gum up locks, pocketknives, guns, fishing reels, tools and I have seen plenty of rusted guns that the owner used nothing but WD 40 on. It is a great water displacement product but as a lubricant/protectant it's about the worse thing you can use.
 
I used 30 weight motor oil in my car, until 10-30 weight came out....there are better things to use than WD-40. My dad used WD40 religiously for years on his shotgun, because thats about all there was in the early years. I have his shotgun now. It is pitted. I agree with the poster that said, "good marketing by WD40 has sold a lot of product".

Oh....and this post has just reminded me.....I need to clean a couple of guns that have been in the safe for a while....
 
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I'm starting to think this is another one of those "I heard" passed on internet myths thats running wild, again. This is like the third or fourth one I've seen going around recently, and so far, I havent heard yet any actual first hand experiences or explanations as to why.
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My father-in-law bought a Springfield 87A .22LR when he started farming back in the day. All he used was WD40 on that gun. When it was given to me, I refinished the stock and had all the metal hot-blued. When I disassembled it, there was heavy varnish staining and the internals were gummed up.

You can tell by the way he takes care of his things that he's particular, so this gun wasn't abused/neglected. He mentioned to me that it was becoming more troublesome in the last several years to cycle. There's not much to field strip on this rifle and he did the best he could to clean it with WD40 on a regular basis.

He had the same belief as other people that cling to it that it would clean out the gun, rust protection and lubricate. Besides, it was a rifle to kill mice, vermin, and feral cats. It wasn't intended for target shooting matches.

When I cleaned up the varnish like caked on build up and the gummed up internals and restored the gun, it now operates like new.

So, pray tell, where would all this garbage I found in the gun come from especially nothing else touched this gun to care for it?
 
Many years ago I had plastic boxes full of small gun parts. In my ignorance I sprayed them all down with WD-40 as a preservative. A year later all my parts were stuck together like glue and there was a brown residue in each compartment. The polypropylene boxes hadn't been eaten away, either, so it didn't come from there. I don't think WD-40 has any place on guns, locks, fishing reels, etc, or anything with a fine mechanism because it WILL gum them up. Back during the controversy of it killing primers I tried my own experiments and sure enough, it did kill primers. I use CLP for all my light cleaning, lubricating and preservative needs. I have a stencil brush from Wal-Mart that I saturate with CLP and use it to brush the firearm down. It gets into all the nooks and crannies and I've never had rust, even during the tropical summers down here in Alabama. I use it liberally on my carry weapons and nary a spot of rust has appeared on them either, and it doesn't attract dirt or dust. I buy Breakfree CLP by the gallon. It's great for tools, too. If you have lubed with CLP no water will get in in the first place so you don't need WD-40. WD-40 works on hinges and such because I think it "reflows" or "redistributes" exisiting lube. It is akin to paint thinner and it really has no significant lubricating properties of its own. As I recall it is made of Stoddard solvent (a type of mineral spirits) and fish oil and it is the fish oil that causes the gum. There have been many, many test comparing WD-40 with other cleaners and preservatives (check the indexes of various shooting sites) and WD-40 comes in last every time.
 
I can not believe the number of people who say they've used it for years and never had a problem and that it doesn't dry into a gummy residue.
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All I can say is, you must be doing something wrong to have it gumming things up. I have used it since the 60's, and NEVER had any kind of residue, of any kind on anything I used it on. I normally dont/didnt spray it on heavy and leave it sit, but I have used it in things like my HK's trigger groups, things with tight nooks and crannys, etc, after using Gun Scrubber to blow them out, and wanted some protection after it evaporated. Never once had an issue with anything.

Then again, I never just loaded everything up with it and put it away without wiping things off either. Maybe thats the problem, and one you'll have with most things. Your not supposed to get excessive with it, and should wipe things down after applying where you can, just leaving a thing coat. I always used to use WD40 on my wipe down rags too, and ran a damp patch down the bore after cleaning, so I wouldnt have to dry patch it when I took it out.

I am curious what you all make of this from Brownells.
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There are a couple of tests floating around the internet. It looks like Brownells had better results than the others, but their criteria was a bit different. Actually, they all seem to have random criteria for their tests, and none were really "scientific". Some of the others were long term, salt exposure types, some were shorter. WD40, and most others didnt fare as well in them. Eezox and one other were the only two to come out showing little or no rust.

Heres a couple of the others, if you havent already seen them.

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

http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.html
 
I voted yes because I have used it as a solvent. Never on blued guns, and always followed by brake cleaner. It does a pretty good job on firing residue.
 
NO!!

Has anyone stated why they use WD-40 instead of something else yet?
It probably works ok for some stuff, but there's a lot of stuff out there that will work a whole lot better - stuff that's made to specifically do certain things, (like dissolve powder residue).
I have left nuts and bolts sit in a dish with that stuff on them, and it will leave a gummy residue on them after it dries.
There has to be a better way to save a few pennies here and there.
The only thing I'll use the stuff for is to break free rusted bolts.
 
I still use WD40 to wipe down a lot of things, like tools, mainly because its is cheap and readily available anywhere, and has a lot of different uses. In environments that are mostly humidity/dampness controlled, like most homes, it still works fine as a rust preventative/inhibitor. While I do use Eezox on my guns and other things that might have a rust worry, its not cheap, and I tend to be more selective and specific in its use. Its also a lot more narrow in its scope of use than WD40.

It sounds to me that most of the people who are complaining about and having troubles with WD40, are not using it properly, and I'd bet a lot of other things would cause similar problems if used the same way. Seems to me just common sense to wipe the excess of anything off before storage, and most other similar things of this sort, tell you to do exactly that.
 
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