There is an old wives tail here in the UK that you shouldn't use WD40 for cleaning rifles something along the lines that as it prevents rust it's bad for bluing.

I ran out of my hideously expensive Napier cleaner (funny that has a rust preventer yet it's for rifles...) and used a spare tin of WD40 which seems really good for wiping down a rifle after use and leaves a nice film for rust prevention.

Any basis to the old wives tail?

1894--

WD-40 leaves a waxy residue that's nearly useless for rust proofing and only serves as a dust magnet.
WD-40 is demonstrably bad for firearms and should only be used as a solvent to be blown out and off before *real* oil is used.

ATF is still the best gun oil you can buy but it has no smell. Smell cost MONEY.

My gunsmith wants all gun makes to include a can of WD-40 with every gun, along with his address and phone number.

(That way in a year or so, every gun will have to come into him for a complete tear down and cleaning).

If you've ever used WD40 on any close fitting parts, you'll soon see the reason for not using it on firearms. After the solvent carriers evaporate, they leave behind a waxy finish that will eventually harden into a varnish-like coating that is almost impossible to remove without aggressive solvents. If that is in your trigger group, bolt, or chamber, you will have some serious problems to deal with.
Good gun oil isn't that expensive and only takes a few drops to provide the protection you require. I've used everything from Remington gun oil, to Hoppes and never seen any real difference from one to another.- Sheister

[ 04-08-2003, 21:00: Message edited by: Sheister ]

For rust prevention, try Birchwood/Casey "Sheath" which works really well and does not even show fingerprints.

This quote:

"If you've ever used WD40 on any close fitting parts, you'll soon see the reason for not using it on firearms. After the solvent carriers evaporate, they leave behind a waxy finish that will eventually harden into a varnish-like coating"

...is 100% correct. WD40 is a no-no in locks for the same reasons (third-generation locksmith). And I have friends in law enforcement who have told me there are documented cases of firearms failing to discharge during a "high stress dangerous encounter" (Hint: When you really need it!) due to the buildup of gum from WD40.

WD40 is a great product -- for "WD" (water displacement) -- but keep it away from your guns if you value them and your life.

Old No7

These gentlemen cite results from abuse and not use of an excellent product. Funny how after 30+ years of USE I don't have these problems that are cited. Not everyone's perfect I guess. That waxy residue is removed by any gun cleaning solvent before long term storage. ATF may be a good gun oil, but it too should be refreshed periodicly by removal and reapplying. nothing is perfect in this world and results can vary by climateic conditions.

The law enforcement sources I have don't like WD-40 because it will "creep" past the primer/primer pocket junction and kill the primer. This was discovered by officers who sprayed their guns and duty ammunition to clean them.

They switched to other products.

jim dodd

Do a search for "Ed's Red" on the internet. It's a simple formula, and works well. And it's cheap!

If you look at the WD-40 MSDS sheet you see it is nothing but Stoddard (sp?) solvent and a petroleum based oil plus some co2 to push it out of the can. My experience is like everyone else's, it gets gunky with time. I have also read that it will kill primers.
C.G.B.

I use silicone spray avaliable at most auto supply store. I clean with brake parts cleaner. some plastics and finish cant handle it so test first.

I have stopped using WD40 for almost everying, now it gets used on the lawnmower blade before mowing, and interestingly enough it helps get tru-oil off my fingers. Doesn't go anywhere near the guns or any thing that needs to be lubricated in my house.

REally, if you can get ahold of a spray made by Amsco I believe, about 6" can, used in hospitals, best LUBRICANT ever. you can see it so it doesn't look good on the outside and I still use sheath for that, but for slicking things up without attracting a single particle of dirt it is the best.

Red

Although its not my choice, I still use WD-40 some, I think its bad reputation is from improper use..It has never built up a film on any of my guns and none of my guns ever rusted when I used it...You soak a revolver in any oil and your inviting primer damage..

I doubt that a very thin coat of any commercial product is going to hurt anything in a well cared for rifle, shotgun or pistol...Just don't gob it on.

I have to say that my experiences are similar to Atkinsons. I don't really is it anymore on guns when I have more suitable stuff laying around but in a pinch I won't hesitate to use it. My favorite homebrew recipe is 70-90% ATF and the remainder mineral spirits. The stuff works great for a lot of things, keep it in an old fashioned pump oiler, and lubricates well. And I don't use a secret mixture, just fill the oiler up to an inch or so from the top and top it off with mineral spirits.

But getting back to WD40, whereas I wouldn't hose a gun down with it and put it in the safe for 10 years I also see no harm in using it in a pinch.

I have to agree with Ray on this. The way to use WD-40 is to spray some on a cloth and wipe you firearm down. A patch with WD-40 will protect the bore.
I lived in San Francisco for many years and although I left even more years ago, while there, I lived about a mile from the ocean with the fog and salt air. Any gun I treated that way with WD-40 never rusted. Even now, I open up the safe and wipe all my firearms down with a cloth and WD-40 at least once a year. Ain't nary a spec of rust on any of them.
Now, I use other oils specifically for the purpose of lubricating my firearms, and those very sparingly.
Remember, the WD in WD-40 stands forwater displacement, or so I've been told.
Paul B.

I have never heard of WD-40 causing problems to blueing, but i believe there are better rust preventers out there these days. Saeed ran some tests on various oil to see how they worked as a rust preventative and i believe the results are still about somewhere.

I know WD-40 has been banned in the areo-industry; something to do with it "chasing" and "trapping" water in small cracks and crevises which results in corrosion. I have heard of similar horror stories on shotguns with water being trapped under the rib.

Having said that i think I quick wipe over with a rag with a touch of wd on it is ok...I just would not soak a firearm in it thats all...

I use Dexron because I bought a whole case of it a a yard sale in Eureka for 5 bucks! and I don't have an automatic transmission on the place! Apart from the dexron I always used Hoppes #9 and like it. Regards, Bill.

I believe that WD40 has a very usefull spot in gun care, however it has a tendency to "fill" small places, and dry out to a "gel" or grease state that can cause problems. Extreme cold has the same effect, from what I have seen. To all the comments about spraying it on a cloth, use sparingly, etc., I concur. Just don't spray it on the gun or in the gun's action directly, or at least be prepared to clean it well if you do. The amount of material that can cause a problem is exceedingly small, under the right conditions. Used with care, it has a place.

We have a lot of WD-40 spray cans in fathers workshop but nobody is going to use it except as cheap oil for very short rust prevention and solvent or like smell absorber . It realy makes tight parts (after evaporating) to work "seizure", hard, I mean bearings, precise gears etc.

For that time, I use exlusively industrial oil named "megaolej", in english "megaoil" by Novato, it contain teflone, rust prevention is great and parts are working realy "smooth and silent". There is also great industrial cleaner/solvent from the same company.

Jiri

What's ATF?

I like Breakfree CLP because my wife can't smell it.

Oooooh. ATF is the same thing as Dexron or Ed's Red without the solvent, eh?

H. C.

Not sure what the debate is here. Perhaps both parties are correct? I know several skeet shooters who will, once or twice a year, remove the butt stock and spray down the entire action (over and under) with WD40, reassemble, and use the gun. They have been doing this for 20 years without a problem. Now if you are going to spray and store the gun, perhaps that is a different situation?
Peter.

I've seen WD-40 be a problem twice in the field. Both rifles were semi-autos in relatively cold weather. One was a Rem 7400 and the other a Winchester 100. The Remington wouldn't chamber the ammo that the hunter brought; however, it would chamber ammo another hunter had brought. We tried cleaning the chamber, but we did not have an agressive enough solvent to remove the varnish from his chamber. The Winchester would chamber manually, but the WD-40 gummed it up enough that it would not function except manually.

I see Jiri is still posting, turn on CNN Jiri. Oh and I almost forgot, F--k you.
I had read that WD-40 is actully used as a thread locking product in some industrial uses.

I use WD-40 as an initial cleaner on guns -- when I get home from the range I put a shot through the cylinder and/or barrel and let it sit before I do my full strength cleaning. Yes, it does leave a gummy residue so I wouldn't use it alone on complex, tight fitting small parts. My all-around favorite is Breakfree CLP. ATF fluid, by the way, is a very good honing oil for your sharpening stones -- won't gum up.

WD-40 is a wonderful product for certain things! Simply spray your mini-marshmallows with WD-40 before using them as underwater fish bait and you will outfish your buddies 4 to 1! I have done this many many times so don't argue with me on this one. Also Steelhead fishing when using diving crankbaits (like Hot-Shots and Clatter-Taddies etc) spray your diving plugwith WD-40 and you will out fish your buddies 2 to 1! Don't argue with me on this either as I have done it hundreds of times! Also when deep sea Salmon fishing spray your bait or lure (herring or artificial plugs and jigs) with WD-40 and you will out fish your buddies 2 to 1! Don't argue with me as I have done this dozens of times!
You see WD-40 is made from (among other things) fish oil!
For sporadic immersions in water or Hunting in SE Alaska or Washington state nothing protects your firearms like daily applications of WD-40. I was assigned to the Seattle Police Departments Harbor Unit for the last 10 years of my 29 years service with SPD and immersions of myself and my sidearms in both salt and fresh water often occurred. WD-40 was the best protection our unit found for repelling water quickly from a dunking in water. Often it would be hours before a proper pressurized aircleaning and relubrication of the wet firearms (and new ammunition) could be conducted.
Those things being said I no longer live in the misty Northwest (salt laden mist at that) and no longer dunk my firearms in salt or fresh water and I do not use much WD-40 anymore. I have also taken up fly fishing here in the Rocky Mountains and WD-40 does not work as well on my dry flies as does a proper dry fly water repellant. I do use WD-40 to dilute certain bore cleaners to make sure the bores are free of strong copper cleaners. I then coat my ultra clean bores for long term storage with Break-Free.
I have always used care to not get WD-40 on my nice Rifle stocks. I do not know why - I just prefer Browning Gun Oil to revive and protect the wood finish on my Rifles. This oil came in a Black and Gold can and I have not seen it on store shelves in a few years. I have a lifetime supply of it so no concern there.
Waterfowl Hunters and SE Alaska Hunters or anyone using firearms in wet situations WD-40 is a good protectant. It has never failed me during lots of extreme situations!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Varmint Guy---

The Browning gun oil was SAE 5 weight non-foaming hydraulic oil. In this area it about $30 per 5 gallon pail. I use it for "way oil" on the lathe, too.

It's ATF without the red dye.

JBelk: My tiny can of the Browning oil has $2.95 on it for 4 fluid ounces! So using some mathematical figgering here.... I come up with paying $472.00 for 5 gallons of "Browning Gun Oil" the way I was paying for it! I did not know the correlation between ATF and lubricating oil! Interesting!
Thanks for the info.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Although there are better lubes and rust protectors than WD 40, I think it gets a bad rap.
I once went overseas, Korea, for two years. Not knowing any better I coated the bores and outside of my guns with WD 40. Guess what! No rust after 2 years.

I once burned some black powder on a piece of steel, and used several oils to see what would be the best to prevent rust.
The WD 40 was as good as any and better than most including Breakfree CLP.

If I did not have anything else, I do not believe I would ever have a problem with my guns rusting or operating.

Jerry

Talking to an antique firearms specialist, he reckoned to protect all external wood and metal with Kiwi boot polish.
Some of his weapons were 400 years old and irreplaceable and he swore by a good waxing whenever they were handled.
I don't think WD40 is much good as internal cleaner, and 3 in 1 is better for lubrication; but for weather , sweat, ext. rust its cheap, easily available and good stuff.

I quit using WD-40 on guns about 25 years ago; I noticed a gummy build up on actions. I use Break-Free CLP. We had it in the military, it cleans, lubes, and rust protects. Best stuff out there, IMO. Just FWIW.

The smell of WD-40 brings back some very pleasant memories of my father cleaning his guns in our garage when I was a kid. I still use it sparingly and prefer "brake free".

Regards,

JohnTheGreek

My father-in-law is an official member of the WD-40 Fan Club. For his membership he received a certificate, a Fan Club T-Shirt, and a really cool AM/FM radio disguised as a can of WD-40.
He swears by the stuff. The casette tape player in his old Toyota quit working, so he held open the little door you push the tapes through and gave it a good dose of WD-40, and now the thing works great! I told him that it would only work for a little while and then gum up the works, but he shrugged and said, "If it gums up, I'll just give 'er another blast from the can!" What can you do? There's no reasoning with the man - and the cassette player has been working great for over a year now. He sprays it on his arthritic knees, he says that it soaks in and takes the pain away in minutes. Probably drinks the damn stuff for all I know. Just as long as he keeps it from the insides of my guns we'll get along great.

WD-40 is slightly better then water for lubrication.

Just a bit of trivia. The man who invented WD-40 was going for an aerosol spray that would displace water. Thus WD-1, equals-- Water Displacement formula number 1, or WD-1. It took him forty trys to get one that worked to his satisfaction.

Don't use WD-40, but don't much care for BreakFree either, too toxic. I've been using LPS products ever since I can remember. For a good spray degreeser you can't beat their NoFlash Elec. Contact Cleaner that leaves no residue, and their LPS 1 Greeseless Lubircant, displaces water, penetrates fast, atacks rust, and doesn't attract dust. Both are meant for delicate mechinisms and work great on triggers. Niether have clorinated solvants, or CFC's.

Phil

My May '03 American Riflewman was at the Post Office this morning, and the Q&A section on p.42 had some interesting stuff on WD 40 and primers. David Andrews wrote that he checked with primer manufacturer CCI who stated WD40 won't kill "unused primers".

They do say that "Many chemicals, oils, solvents, etc. will temporarily kill modern primer mixes, but when the primer mix dries out or the solvent evaporates, the explosive mix returns to its original sensitivity".

So I guess if the WD40 creeps in and the primer mix goes to sleep, all you have to do is deprime the case, dry the primer and reprime.

jim dodd

There have been a few cases of police officers' weapons failing to fire, (WHEN NEEDED!!) which were traced to the effects of WD40 on their ammo. They had probably left the ammo in the guns too long after spraying the weapons with the stuff.....

JIRI: We want to thank your country for so graciously supporting the coalition during our recent bru-ha-ha in Baghdad! Keep up the good work!!

[ 04-19-2003, 23:28: Message edited by: eldeguello ]