It’s original name was “Water Displacement - Formula 40”.
Originally developed as a protective coating for Atlas ICBMs, the outer skins of which were “bare metal”.
It’s original name was “Water Displacement - Formula 40”.
Originally developed as a protective coating for Atlas ICBMs, the outer skins of which were “bare metal”.
Another use of WD40 is as a fire starter. Spray WD40 onto a few cotton wool balls and take them on a camping trip. They light instantly using a spark from a flint and steel. Makes lighting a camp fire easy.
As well as dispersing water it is a lubricant.
Posh restaurants use it on the back of toilet bowls. Reduces the chance of … “go faster stripes”. The thoughtful host might even do the same before a dinner party.
Interesting. Not sure I have ever gone to a dinner party with the idea of “testing the plumbing” at some point during the evening. Mind you I guess you never quite know what effect the food served might have.
As a motorcyclist myself, i would only ever use WD40 as a degreaser, but NOT on a modern motorcycle chain. Modern chains have grease packed inside the chain rollers and are sealed to the links with “O” rings. WD40 has the ability to rot the “O” rings and leave the chain with no lubricant. The best way to clean a chain is with Paraffin, which has no effect on the “O” rings.
Well it was never intended as a lubricant when in development. Purely as a water displacement which could be used to clean things like rust off nuts and bolts and keep them rust free by repelling water. I think it became known more for lubrication almost immediately though.
Ime WD-40 only has limited powers in this respect. I had the gas engineer out last month for regular service on the Aga. Requested after more than two decades, the springs in each of the two lids, be replaced. Heat and rust had done their share of ensuring the allen screws et al were seized!
WD-40 totally ineffective. The product has its uses, but it needs to be used with some care and indeed consideration, depending on application. It is one of many such products on my workshop shelf.
To achieve a release of seriously seized items, the stand out product imho is Plus Gas. The gas engineer had never come across it previously, used it with a large measure of scepticism. Issue resolved in a very, very short space of time - much to the engineers surprise, who ordered on line from TS or SF, before leaving; full of praise.
Plus Gas is an aid to freeing what appear to be, any seized items. Both one of a series of useful range of aids to d-i-y or anything more serious. Another is silicone lubricant spray; ymmv.
For cyclists, don’t use WD40 as a bike chain lube. It evaporates and is easily rinsed off - hence completely ineffective.
Only use after washing a chain to help dry it off (before applying proper chain lube).
One thing WD-40 is good for is for cleaning Stainless Steel cooker hoods.
Our kitchen installer recommended it and, for us works well.
## Hack Test # 1: Using WD-40 to Clean Stainless Steel – Success!
Generally, you can use WD-40 to clean stainless steel to clean stainless steel surfaces on your appliances with good success.
As noted in the warning above, test the WD-40 on a small, inconspicuous spotbefore using it on all the stainless steel surfaces of your appliance. Following this important tip can prevent a cleaning disaster.
Also, wipe the WD-40 with the grain of the stainless steel for best cleaning results. Appliance stainless steel often has a horizontal grain in the metal. Always wipe with the grain so you don’t push residue and grime deeper into the surface. This often means wiping back and forth as you work your way from the top to the bottom of the appliance surface.
The test for using WD-40 as a stainless steel cleaner in our video was a success.
If you have company coming over and need a quick fix to get rid of fingerprints and smudges on your stainless steel appliances, you’ll likely be able to use WD-40 to get the job done quickly.
DG…
For cyclists, don’t use a bike chain. It is dirty and needs greasing and tightening and likes messing up your trousers.
Get a Gates Carbon CDX belt drive and sealed rear hub gears instead.
WD-40 now do several types of spray, the original water dispersant type, and also a penetrating oil version ( which is what Plus-Gas is )
I don’t wear trousers on my road bike🤣
Steady on now, this is a family-friendly forum!
Here’s a good way to clean a slate hearth, I usually make this part of stove clean up after the winter - just be sure to mask up the stove before hand! Use an old black sock and spray the WD-40 on to the hearth with the tube supplied slowly so as not to end up spraying the carpet etc.
I use it to clean/lubricate locks, works really well for that purpose.
Another product from the range I use is their electrical contact cleaner.
But have you ever put it on Cornflakes?
???
Am I missing some cultural reference here?
No. Just that ingesting it seems to be the last use case not mentioned on this thread.
Take 6 cornflakes, soak them in WD40, mount them on top of each other, and place under your HiFi for extra damping. Snake Oil works equally well.