WD-40: Not just for squeeks [Archive] - Honda Element Owners Club Forum

: WD-40: Not just for squeeks


DorchesterBoy
06-27-2007, 02:53 PM
I found this while clearing out old e-mails and thought it would be of interest.

Here are some of the uses:

1) Protects silver from tarnishing.
2) Removes road tar and grime from cars. <---
3) Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
4) Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making it slippery.
5) Keeps flies off cows.
6) Restores and cleans chalkboards.
7) Removes lipstick stains.
8) Loosens stubborn zippers.
9) Untangles jewelry chains.
10) Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
11) Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
12) Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
13) Removes tomato stains from clothing.
14) Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
15) Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
16) Keeps scissors working smoothly.
17) Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes <----
18) It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for
those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn't seem to harm the
finish and you won't have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just
remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
19) Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed
quickly! Use WD-40! <----
20) Gives a children's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
21) Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on
riding mowers.
22) Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
23) Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to
open.
24) Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
25) Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well
as vinyl bumpers. <----
26) Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles. <----
27) Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
28) Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for
easy handling.
29) Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running
smoothly.
30) Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
31) Removes splattered grease on stove.
32) Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
33) Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
35) Removes all traces of duct tape.
36) Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve
arthritis pain.
37) Florida's favorite use is: "cleans and removes love bugs from grills
and bumpers." <----
38) The favorite use in the state of New York WD-40 protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.
39) WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you
will be catching the big one in no time. Also, it's a lot cheaper than
the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in
mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are
not allowed in some states.
40) Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and
stops the itch.
41) WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and
wipe with a clean rag.
42) Also, if you've discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and
dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick
spots with WD-40 and re-wash. Presto! Lipstick is gone!
43) If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the
moisture and allow the car to start. <----
P. S. The basic ingredient is FISH OIL.
P. P. S. I keep a can of WD-40 in my kitchen cabinet
over the stove. It is good for oven burns or any other type of burn. It
takes the burned feeling away and heals with NO scarring

BrownSquirrel
06-27-2007, 03:18 PM
Always good to know even though I pretty sure someone has posted that before. Always good to hear things twice. Thanks for Sharing.

DorchesterBoy
06-27-2007, 03:29 PM
Sorry if it a redundant post. I had searched for WD-40 and WD-40 uses and could not find a previous post. Pretty good info though.

spdrcr5
06-27-2007, 03:42 PM
The first PS is incorrect. The basic ingredient is not Fish Oil, it's Kerosene. WD-40 is 99% Kerosene.

DorchesterBoy
06-27-2007, 04:21 PM
The first PS is incorrect. The basic ingredient is not Fish Oil, it's Kerosene. WD-40 is 99% Kerosene.


Where does that information come from? This might change your mind:


Formulation:
Main ingredients, from the material safety data sheet, are:
• 50%: Stoddard solvent (mineral spirits, also commonly known as dry cleaning solvent)
• 25%: Liquefied petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant, carbon dioxide is used now to reduce considerable flammability)
• 15+%: Mineral oil (light lubricating oil)
• 10-%: Inert ingredients

Sidecar
06-27-2007, 04:21 PM
Have to be careful....the kerosene component is the primary carrier and solvent. It promotes penetration and is what desolves road tar, crayon, lipstic, etc. It also displaces moisture as in spraying inside a wet distributor cap.

The other two significant components (by function not by volume) are refined linseed oil (not fish oil) and silicon. There are also "perfumes" to mask the otherwise ugly smells.

The silicon is a tenatious form of lubricant that resists shearing off and the linseed oil, having more body as the volitiles evaporate, helps quiet moving mechanical parts and also deposits a "vegetable" oil film on surfaces that seals them from the atmosphere and inhibits oxidation (tarnish, rust, corrosion) for a period of time.

All well and good in most applications, but be aware of some drawbacks.

The silicone is extremely hard to remove. If used on painted surfaces (auto or other) and you try to repaint in the future you may have adhesion problems. There are cleaners that will "prep" the surface before painting. Ask any paint / body guy about silicon.

The linseed oil will gum up in time. Refined linseed oil is what is used as a fine furniture finish by some purists. it will eventually harded....not so good for fine mechanical lubrication. OK for bicycles and lawn mower cables in general. Pretty good on door hinges.

The kerosene will not only displace moisture, but will leach the plasticizers out of many plastics making them brittle and prone to cracking.

I've encountered all of these negatives during my years as a product support and manufacturing engineer. All were specifically the result of WD40 being used copiously in a manufacturing environment on products that were comprised of plastcs, fine mechanical parts and had painted surfaces.

I love WD40 and use it for many things! I am careful about what I use it on and avoid repeated use on the same item. Good, fast way to isolate a stuck or squeaking item. Best to follow with a "regular" oil like 3 in 1 or just motor oil.

Just some food for thought. Remember when ArmorAll was the hottest thing around?

(Edit) The current formulation seems to have been changed from some years ago when I spent time with the reps due to the problems we were having with this product. The stoddard solvent would be better than kerosene because it is non flammable.The light mineral oil would have replaced the linseed oil and would not be prone to gumming. I would bet there is still silicone tucked in the inert ingredients as pure silicone is considered inert. Thanks for the updated ingredients.

spdrcr5
06-27-2007, 04:27 PM
Where does that information come from? This might change your mind:


Formulation:
Main ingredients, from the material safety data sheet, are:
• 50%: Stoddard solvent (mineral spirits, also commonly known as dry cleaning solvent)
• 25%: Liquefied petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant, carbon dioxide is used now to reduce considerable flammability)
• 15+%: Mineral oil (light lubricating oil)
• 10-%: Inert ingredients

I got the information from two sources, both of whom worked for WD-40 at the time. One worked in their R&D Lab the other was a salesman. They receive between 2 and 4 train tanker cars loaded with kerosene every day for production. WD-40 has the same properties as kerosene, the differences are color, taste and smell.

perfdata
06-27-2007, 05:03 PM
As it was explained me a LONG time ago WD stands for water dispersant and the 40 stands for the 40th attempt to create the product. And what was the product for? To spray on top of ICBM missles so the nosecones didn't rust while sitting in silos. I have never investigated to check this out.

Anyway, here's the part not to try. Almost 30 years ago I was in the bicycle business and there was a trade show that WD-40 had a booth at. They were promoting their product to the industry as repelling water and therefore preventing rust. To illustrate this, they sprayed the base of a light bulb and a light bumb socket with the product them proceeded to plug in the light bulb and put in a fish tank full of water. The bulb stayed lit, didn't short out. Then the WD-40 guy dared me to stick my hand in the water and I was probably with some cute young thing that I wanted to impress so I did it! Right up there with other stupid things I have done and thought like owning a Ford (one was enough), the 84 Cubs were going to win the World Series, and not excaping from Illinois until 3 years ago.

TimD
06-27-2007, 05:06 PM
WD40 also makes an excellent flame thrower, as most teenage boys in shop class can tell you. not that I have ever tried it myself. :evil:

perfdata
06-27-2007, 05:17 PM
WD40 also makes an excellent flame thrower, as most teenage boys in shop class can tell you. not that I have ever tried it myself. :evil:

Yes, I went through cans of it having fun like that. Maybe I'll try it again when I find those pesty mice than run around here in the summer.

spdrcr5
06-27-2007, 05:33 PM
As it was explained me a LONG time ago WD stands for water dispersant and the 40 stands for the 40th attempt to create the product. And what was the product for? To spray on top of ICBM missles so the nosecones didn't rust while sitting in silos. I have never investigated to check this out.

Anyway, here's the part not to try. Almost 30 years ago I was in the bicycle business and there was a trade show that WD-40 had a booth at. They were promoting their product to the industry as repelling water and therefore preventing rust. To illustrate this, they sprayed the base of a light bulb and a light bumb socket with the product them proceeded to plug in the light bulb and put in a fish tank full of water. The bulb stayed lit, didn't short out. Then the WD-40 guy dared me to stick my hand in the water and I was probably with some cute young thing that I wanted to impress so I did it! Right up there with other stupid things I have done and thought like owning a Ford (one was enough), the 84 Cubs were going to win the World Series, and not excaping from Illinois until 3 years ago.

Yes, the WD does stand for Water Displacement and the 40 means it was the 40th formula that they ended up using. Was not told that story about the ICBM though, that's a new one.

lizzurd
06-27-2007, 05:37 PM
Heres a link to the Wd-40 website with a short blurb about the company history.

http://www.wd40.com/AboutUs/our_history.html

Rocket Dog
06-27-2007, 05:40 PM
Hold it you two...WD-40 is also a dessert topping! Isn't that amazing??? :D

PVR
06-27-2007, 05:49 PM
...WD-40 is also a dessert topping! Isn't that amazing??? :D

Yeah, yeah ... like I'll really want to try that on the recommendation of a dog with flames coming out of his butt!

Rocket Dog
06-27-2007, 09:43 PM
Yeah, yeah ... like I'll really want to try that on the recommendation of a dog with flames coming out of his butt!

Yeah well....monkies out the butt was already taken. :rolleyes:

perfdata
06-27-2007, 09:58 PM
Yes, the WD does stand for Water Displacement and the 40 means it was the 40th formula that they ended up using. Was not told that story about the ICBM though, that's a new one.

Their web site says Atlas rocket, were those used as ICBMs? I know they were used for satellite launches for a long time.

richie rich
06-27-2007, 09:59 PM
Tastes Great--------less Filling:d

PostShooter
04-18-2008, 03:53 PM
Hold it you two...WD-40 is also a dessert topping! Isn't that amazing??? :D

Excellent Old School SNL reference, RocketDog! Brings back memories...

Chris