The History of WD-40

disclosure: I work in automotive trade craft as a diesel mechanic and I dont care to have WD40 in my shop at all for a few reasons:<p>0. It is a solvent, not a lubricant. This is often lost on apprentices until they wear out a drive chain or blow up a firearm. WD40 does a terrible job of blurring that line. even the article touts it several times as a lubricant :(<p>1. it absolutely CAN NOT be used around hot work, unlike most other lubricants like ND999. cans --aerosol or not-- are treated just like a can of petrol.<p>2. Again, it is stunningly flammable both in and out of its aerosol form because its mostly kerosene. That means aerosol vapors floating around a powdercoat setup, an open flame, or any ignition spark, will cause it to catch fire. if your apprentice just hosed down a part with WD40 and you need to take a torch to it, youre going to have a bad time.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;WD-40" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;WD-40</a>

Correction: article asserts that the Atlas ICBM was the first operational intercontinental missile. This is incorrect -- that honour belongs to the R-7 Semyorka, which beat it by several months and which is still in service today as the Soyuz launch vehicle.<p>(Yes, there&#x27;s a thing called Atlas-5 that flies satellites: it&#x27;s hard to see any engineering similarities between it and the original ICBM of that name; unlike the Soyuz vehicle, Which was a terrible, bad, no-good ICBM -- it took about 6 hours to fuel up and prep for launch, on pads which were 4 hours from the USSR&#x27;s border as the B-52 flies -- but turned out to be a <i>really good</i> satellite launcher.)

The biggest myth about WD-40 is that it is a lubricant, which is not what it is for. You are much better off lubricating with teflon or silicone based products, 3-in-1 oil, or straight mineral oil. I use WD-40 mostly on my boat for corrosion protection of moving parts.

Last year a co-worker asked me if I could bring in some WD-40 for him. I asked what he was going to use it for; I always try to understand the problem someone is trying to solve.<p>He said his chair was squeaking, so I suggested lithium grease instead. Another coworker said &quot;Are you one of those WD-40-isn&#x27;t-a-lubricant guys?&quot; I immediately replied &quot;Absolutely&quot;.

&gt;The WD part of the name was descriptive for what the coating did to Water, which was Displace it, and it took the company 40 tries to get it right. I bet you can figure it out from there<p>Smells like marketing to me, it just doesn&#x27;t need 40 attempts to come up with a simple mix of kerosene and mineral oil.<p>I bet the old timers used to mix their own variations long before WD-40 came on the scene.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wired.com&#x2F;2009&#x2F;04&#x2F;st-whatsinside-6&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wired.com&#x2F;2009&#x2F;04&#x2F;st-whatsinside-6&#x2F;</a>

I use kerosene or gasoline to unclog instead of wd40<p>For most general purpose use, I use white Lithium grease.<p>If it&#x27;s metal to plastic or plastic to plastic contact surface: silicone oil&#x2F;grease (mostly in 3d printed parts)<p>If it&#x27;s metal on metal and in dirty environment: I use dry teflon lube or ceramic lube (mostly on my mountain bike and 3d printer lead screw)<p>If it&#x27;s heavy metal on metal where it can heat significantly: MolyD grease or graphite grease

WD-40 marketing is clever. Sometimes you need that brand for a product to be stocked. Regular household oil costs pennies in a can, the margin is therefore low and a retailer isn&#x27;t going to be making much money on each sale. You could put a brand on a regular household oil and try to charge more but it is not something people care about, they will go for the generic oil somewhere else.<p>However WD-40 with its mythical backstory and ambiguous brand name can command a premium over regular household oil. This makes it work for the retailer as it no longer sells for pennies. The shop down the road that also stocks it will also have it at the same price, it is a brand that works for the retailer. People can ask for it by name and not feel they are getting conned.<p>This works up the retail chain with wholesalers and international distributors able to make money from the brand.<p>Odd that for such a beginner&#x27;s grade product it comes from the cutting edge of the space age.

Great study in marketing. Not good at all as a lubricant nor anti-seize, and probably shouldn&#x27;t be the most ubiquitous thing people own for those general use cases but it is. A light machine oil for cleaning and preserving tools and other metal, and a penetrating anti-seize would be more handy.

Looking at the MSDS, I believe the &quot;water displacement&quot; chemical used is naptha, but they don&#x27;t go into detail about the oil used, but it&#x27;s long rumored to be kerosene... Take that as you will.

Lots of people here are saying that WD-40 will clean dirt out but is not a lubricant (or is a terrible lubricant). As a not-very-practical person, here&#x27;s my question:<p>If you have something very dirty that you want to lubricate, say a bicycle chain, is it reasonable to apply WD-40 first to get rid of the dirt and then apply a better lubricant on the now-clean chain? Or will the WD-40 stick around long enough to prevent the better lubricant sticking? If the second, what the hell am I meant to do about my dirty chain that needs lubricating?

Anyone know where I can get a good oil can - the old kind with a long neck and you press the bottom with your thumb to squeeze out a drop of oil?

I just watched this Everyday Astronaut video about stainless steel vs. composites, which mentions WD-40&#x27;s use in aerospace. It&#x27;s an entertaining, informational video. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;LogE40_wR9k?t=305" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;LogE40_wR9k?t=305</a> (jumps directly to the WD-40 reference)

There is an Australian version of WD-40 called &#x27;start ya bastard&#x27;.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nulon.com.au&#x2F;products&#x2F;aerosols&#x2F;start-ya-bastard-instant-engine-starter" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nulon.com.au&#x2F;products&#x2F;aerosols&#x2F;start-ya-bastard-...</a>

For a lot of purposes where you might reach for WD 40 red and tacky seemingly works well in my experience.

IIRC the main ingredient is kerosene.

Interesting to read:<p><pre><code> This is what the Rocket Chemical Company figured out how to make: a coating for Atlas missiles that prevented rust and corrosion. </code></pre> since WD-40 is popular among gun enthusiasts (if not others) specifically as a cheap alternative to using other oils for rust prevention..