WD 40

e999sam

There seems to be some argument as to what WD40 should be used for.

Monty Dog

WD = Water Dispersant & 90% solvent

nickwill

I said no! Nor do I use butter to grease bearings.

balthazar

It doesn't even displace or disperse water, despite the name: water wets metal surfaces much more keenly. Applied to a dry steel surface and left to evaporate, it leaves an oily residue which resists rusting from humidity, which I guess leads to the misunderstanding. Wet things stay wet, just with some WD40 on top.

As a chain lubricant, WD40 is pretty terrible but better than nothing, which itself isn't that bad except for the squeaking. The chains on many bikes contain a grinding paste slurry –of oil, water, and grit– which is far worse, but their owners don't mind much because they shined up the outside with a baby wipe.

BelgianBeerGeek

In the right circumstances/conditions and on the right materials yep...good stuff

Pseudonym

it can be used as a lubricant, because it contains a light mineral oil. It's ok for gates, hinges or locks, but there are more suitable cycle lubes out there.....

buckmulligan

Can an admin PLEASE shoot e999sam. This subject has been done to death.

Since you obviously can't use a search function, let me summarise for you:

YES, WD40 just about works as a lubricant/water disperser/degreaser/penetrant.

NO, WD40 is not the best product for any of these functions. (1) It's too thin to be used as a lube (2) It will *not* displace water effectively (and even if it does, you're chain will still be covered in WD40, which you don't want to apply lube over the top of, so it's completely pointless) (3) It functions passably as a degreaser, but plenty of better and cheaper products out there (4) If something is stuck enough to require penetrant, WD40 is going to provide little help.

In my opinion, WD40 is a product that *can* do a lot of jobs, but does them all poorly and you're better off spending your money on something decent for each.

Using it as a lube is probably the worst of it's many applications, I'd rather use engine oil (seriously)!

al2098

Smells funny..

pete.whelan

WD40 = Robot deodorant

Twostage

I've got a jam jar full of wd40 which I use to clean my chains. I put the chains in and give it a good shake then take them out and hang them up to dry. I use a proper lube once the chain is back on.

I used to use a jam jar full of degreaser but it was a pain having to wash it off.

silverpigeon

Never, ever, ever.

http://bicycletutor.com/no-wd40-bike-chain/

mattup

I think WD40 does have its uses.

It’s good for freeing off seized components.
It’s good for cleaning old lube and crud off.
It’s great at displacing or repelling water.

It’s too thin to be a useful lubricant.

Matt

rothers_bikeo

WD40 is great at cleaning off lubricant :shock:

Pseudonym

silverpigeon wrote:

Never, ever, ever.

http://bicycletutor.com/no-wd40-bike-chain/

that link usually gets trotted out on threads like this.

Interestingly, a lot of motocross riders use WD40 as a chain lube on sand tracks, as it provides an acceptable level of lubrication, without attracting too much sand or grit onto the chain.

silverpigeon

that link usually gets trotted out on threads like this.

Maybe so but a I've yet to find a bicycle mechanic anywhere who agrees WD40 is suitable as a lubricant. It is a penetrating solvent.

The only place I ever remember seeing it recommended for bicycle use is www.wd40.com

. :roll:

nicklouse

silverpigeon wrote:

that link usually gets trotted out on threads like this.

Maybe so but a I've yet to find a bicycle mechanic anywhere who agrees WD40 is suitable as a lubricant. It is a penetrating solvent.

The only place I ever remember seeing it recommended for bicycle use is www.wd40.com

. :roll:

and it is a very poor penetrating solvent at that. Plus Gas is way better.

Pseudonym

silverpigeon wrote:

that link usually gets trotted out on threads like this.

Maybe so but a I've yet to find a bicycle mechanic anywhere who agrees WD40 is suitable as a lubricant. It is a penetrating solvent.

The only place I ever remember seeing it recommended for bicycle use is www.wd40.com

. :roll:

I don't think anyone is claiming that it is a 'suitable' lubricant - but it is 'adequate' in some circumstances. It's not really worth getting excited about...

navrig

It's useful for getting some lubricant into areas where more viscous lubes wont go (quickly).

estampida

ah wd....

this stuff should be kept clear of bikes unless it is the only thing to hand

due to the solvents within the wd it can be used as a cleaner / degreaseant, as its very thin fluid this can wick into places it should'nt (such as cartridge bearings & bushes) and degrade the grease inside.

It also improves electrical contact, with modern bikes a combination of steel, alloy, titanium, and carbon such fluids will increase galvonic corrosion between components, and lead to more stuck components or unexpected failure's

and even with the straw on the vapour will still get on to your disc's

GT85 is not much better, if you are not in a rush use 3 in 1 (keep clear of carbon bits) on stuck components. Remember stuck components should never be rushed.

and assemble with high quality grease, as bearings that use oil, are used on parts that move really fast (land speed record for example)

rolf_f

Pseudonym wrote:

silverpigeon wrote:

that link usually gets trotted out on threads like this.

Maybe so but a I've yet to find a bicycle mechanic anywhere who agrees WD40 is suitable as a lubricant. It is a penetrating solvent.

The only place I ever remember seeing it recommended for bicycle use is www.wd40.com

. :roll:

I don't think anyone is claiming that it is a 'suitable' lubricant - but it is 'adequate' in some circumstances. It's not really worth getting excited about...

You need to read some of Procyclists posts

Bobbinogs

You need to read some of Procyclists posts

Heh heh