WD40 uses (If been posted before sorry)

[Ian P.Jones]

WD 40 chain cleaner

WD is NOT harmful to any chains - at least in my experience. I just replaced the original chain on my '97 Bandit 1200 after 30,000 miles. I use this on all my bikes, and have done so for at least 15 years. It is a water dispersant, not so much a (heavy duty) lube, but cleans really well. I always keep my chains properly adjusted and clean - the main reason i don't use those sticky, dirt attracting chain lubes. True, WD does fly-off easily, and needs to be reapplied regularly - especially after getting wet, but in my experience it's a much better product than any of the supposed purpose made chain lubes. Just keep it clean and adjusted correctly, and it'll last a lot longer.

[derwood]

w e a s e l
p i s s

[tkent02]

Used some yesterday inside a gas tank to prevent flash rust after water rinsing out a load of Evaoprust. Seemed to work well.

I have used it to keep things from rusting, it works for a while but then seems to promote more rust, I don't know why. Tested by spraying it in one of the four cylinders of a GS 750 that was sitting here, in about six months that one cylinder had some rust, the other three didn't.
Ed, I hope you have that tank on a bike full of gas sooner than that, or treat it with something else.

[woodman]

It may be bad for chains but years back a saw a guy at the Daytona AMI Dyno Shootout pick up a quick 15 hp by doing nothing else but spraying the chain with WD40 on the dyno

[Nessism]

I have used it to keep things from rusting, it works for a while but then seems to promote more rust, I don't know why. Tested by spraying it in one of the four cylinders of a GS 750 that was sitting here, in about six months that one cylinder had some rust, the other three didn't.
Ed, I hope you have that tank on a bike full of gas sooner than that, or treat it with something else.

I'm well aware of how poorly WD-40 is with regarding to preventing rust. It works well as a water drying agent though.

[MassJosh]

I have used it to keep things from rusting, it works for a while but then seems to promote more rust, I don't know why. Tested by spraying it in one of the four cylinders of a GS 750 that was sitting here, in about six months that one cylinder had some rust, the other three didn't.
Ed, I hope you have that tank on a bike full of gas sooner than that, or treat it with something else.

I had some chrome valve covers on my fiero that I put wd-40 on to keep them from rusting in storage. They ended up rusting up badly.

[MassJosh]

Ran a test this week, I milled a piece of steel down flat and taped off areas to try different oils on. I wiped each area with a saturated paper towel soaked in the different oils to see what would rust the most. I put the sample outside at work for 1 week. Here is the result.

When I get a chance I will run the test again with some motor oils, Amsoil, Rotella, mobil 1, and some others that I have sitting around. I was shocked that the havoline did so bad.

[Skateguy50]

Pretty cool, that 3 in 1 oil is what I always used on my skateboard bearings and bike chains growing up. Im not stuck riding in the rain as much as I used to be, but it did great back then.

[Flyboy]

Stupid question, I know, but a serious one, what is the difference between WD40 and Q20?

[Nessism]

Ran a test this week, I milled a piece of steel down flat and taped off areas to try different oils on. I wiped each area with a saturated paper towel soaked in the different oils to see what would rust the most. I put the sample outside at work for 1 week. Here is the result.

When I get a chance I will run the test again with some motor oils, Amsoil, Rotella, mobil 1, and some others that I have sitting around. I was shocked that the havoline did so bad.

Nice work Josh! Thanks for sharing.

[Mysuzyq]

Nice work Josh! Thanks for sharing.

Something similar has been done, on the local Toronto bike forum.

[willie]

Having read the many uses I'm compelled to add one that I didn't see. Every year I use WD-40 to destroy catepiller nests. I just poke the tube into the side of the nest, give it a couple of long shots and within a couple of days every catepiller is history. I can only imagine how many leaves I save from those mighty munchers.
Willie

[Texasgs]

Wd

I buy the stuff by the gallon, and use it in spray bottles. One thing that was missed is the main ingreideny in WD40, and it is hidden in the msds under Non-Hazardous Ingredients. It is silicone. Years ago is was needing a spray silicone lube and I searched around. I called WD and asked them if they had the product I was looking for. That is when I found that WD40 has silicone in it, about 9%. Also fish oil smells like fish, and really stinks bad.

[81GS750]

Don't use WD40 on guns. I've had several customers bring in guns they have "cleaned" and lubricated with WD40 that were covered in light surface rust.

[raistian77]

If WD-40 contains kerosene then that would make lots of sense. WD-40 makes a terrible lubricator or anti-rust. WD is more of a degreaser than anything else, it is a great product for cleaning parts.

When I was a 67U in the military (helicopter technician) WD was banned as it failed testing as a lubricant. What we used to clean parts and prevent them from rusting was good old ATF. However I found WD make a great decarbonizing fluid for cleaning pistons off.