Wd40

zorkmundsson

Do we, the forum, hate it? Friend of mine swears by it for cleaning; i've an idea it might play merry hell when you apply actual lube afterwards but i am interested in yizzer thoughts.

N.B. copy this post into another forum and see the "looks" you get.

Jharrb

I was never a real fan of it but used it to lube the brake and gear cable casings.

niceonetom

zorkmundsson wrote: »

N.B. copy this post into another forum and see the "looks" you get.

there are many such threads round these parts. we may be a strange people. where else can one ask "what's your favourite lube?".

i use wd40 for what it was originally intended: water dispersal. after degreasing a chain i rinse the hell out of it with hot water, dry it, then use wd40 to get the water out of the nooks. wipe it away, give it a while to evaporate and then lube up.

this is someone's cue to tell me this is all arseways and i should be doing things totally differently.

kenmc

It does smell nice though...

kona

a load of ****e tbh,
and the myth that it is a lube does my head in. The amount of people that are ignorant to this fact is amazing,

"do you lube your chain???"
"yes"
"then why is it noisy and worn and its only a month old???"
"you put crappy parts on"
"no i didnt, what lube do you use??"
"wd40 ive used it for years and never had problems"
"thats not a lube"
"yes its is, you shouldnt be fixing bikes you dont have a clue get me the manager!"
:D:D:D:D:D
the manager says what i told him and the customer accepts it:rolleyes:
Manager = God.


there are products that are cheaper that do a better job both lubing and dispersing water at the same time, cleans up nice too(GT85).

but i just use it as a general thing, i prefer to have a product for each specific job, it works better.

kona

bedlam wrote: »

Maybe you should tell the manufacturers that, they seem to be of the impression it is a light lubricant
.

The problem with wd40 is that it does not last, as in your example, on a chain for very long so you need to reapply it a lot more frequently for it to be of any use. So while it is a lubricant and can be used on bikes there are better suited products.

light lube????lol

what would you use light lube for??i wouldnt even use it on a sqeeky hinge, waste of time, and most definatly not on parts that move for maybe a hour a day, for a month, in rain hail and shine.

just because they say that its a light lube doesnt mean it is. Dealing with this **** every day will soon change your opinion.

as i said there are better products for cheaper, usually found right beside wd40.

Bicyclegadabout

I asked this before but got no response: What lube should I be going for???!

kona

Bicyclegadabout wrote: »

I asked this before but got no response: What lube should I be going for???!

finishline.

buy two, one is dry lube one is wet lube, both have teflon in them although it will still attract dirt.

you use dry for the summer(or dry)
and wet for the winter(or when its wet)

you can get wax but ive found it **** tbh:o

kona

bedlam wrote: »

Just because it is not suitable for the bike world does not stop it acts as a lube (among other things). Despite being shown that it is a lube, you still are unable to grasp that fact as it doesn't meet with your insular needs.

It would seem that you are getting confused in the point you are trying to make. Your argument that it is not a lube is incorrect .What you are not getting across properly but you do hint at is that it is not suitable for bike is correct and was never disagreed with.



Having been a bike mechanic in my earlier life and work on my own bikes I have dealt with these things on a daily basis (not that it is relevant to this discussion), I'm sure though that this fact will be disregarded by you for some obscure reason or other.

whatever

this whole discussion is in a cycling forum, hence the wd40 is referring to a bike situation.
it is not adequate for a bike.
end of.

personally its only good as a dispersant/protective film for exposed metal on bikes, and to get engines going but gt85 does the same job cheaper, and is a better lube.

just out of curiosity what would you lube up with wd40

just checked out their website.........they make 3 in 1 oil too. the 2nd biggest pain in the hole.

Gavin

Here's a video of Kona explaining why not to use WD40
http://www.instructables.com/id/Why-WD40-Should-Never-Be-Used-on-Your-Bike-Chain/

The wikipedia page describing WD40
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

Ghost Rider

I like the way he ends that piece: "We'll talk more about lubricants later..."

Verb wrote: »

Here's a video of Kona explaining why not to use WD40
http://www.instructables.com/id/Why-WD40-Should-Never-Be-Used-on-Your-Bike-Chain/

kona

bedlam wrote: »

Then why even bother saying it is not a lubricant? That has no bearing on a cycle forum other than to make you look like you know something that other people don't.



I'll expand on what I alluded to in my two other posts, I do not use it on a bike. As you are all for staying on topic now I'll assume you aren't asking me this in a general non bike usage scenario.

because unfortunatly people use it for lubing bikes. it is totally unsuitable for this purpose.

i know you dont use it on bikes, what could you lubricate with wd40??? and to a degree that its as good as gt85 etc.

wd40 was never designed to be a lube in anyways.:D

it was designed for what it is great at which is dispersing water, and freeing up seized components.

niceonetom

hate to interrupt your bickering there fellas but does anyone know about wd40's effect on other lubes? i.e. if it's used as dispersant do the solvents in it break down ptfe or whatever else is in proper chain lube if applied after it?

kona

id say so, teflon doesnt respond well to solvents. and wd40 is full of petro-chemicals.
i wouldnt mix any solvents or even petrol unless im desperate.

niceonetom

just looked at a bottle of lube i have to hand (bikehut dry lube w. teflon (can't tell any difference between it and finishline)) and it has: "proprietry blend of aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents (low hexane), naphta (petroleum) and hydrodesulpherised light" listed as ingredients.

(how do you hydrosulpherise light exactly?)

i've checked it out and teflon seems to be very resistant to breakdown by solvents, indeed it's used to line lab containers for this purpose. i reckon wd40 doesn't do any harm to subsequent lubes other than dilluting them them very slightly.

kona

niceonetom wrote: »

just looked at a bottle of lube i have to hand (bikehut dry lube w. teflon (can't tell any difference between it and finishline)) and it has: "proprietry blend of aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents (low hexane), naphta (petroleum) and hydrodesulpherised light" listed as ingredients.

(how do you hydrosulpherise light exactly?)

i've checked it out and teflon seems to be very resistant to breakdown by solvents, indeed it's used to line lab containers for this purpose. i reckon wd40 doesn't do any harm to subsequent lubes other than dilluting them them very slightly.

ptfe(teflon) is anti-stick thats why its used in lab containers, frying pans, lube etc, unless im mixing it up with some other p substance in isnt very resistant.
ill go check it up in my notes and see.

hyrosulpherise sounds like a mild acid possible hyrosulphuric.

the hydrocarbons present in wd40 possibly adds the small lube qualities.

and finish line and bikehut may be the same, as id say large companies manufacture the bikehut stuff.
tioga makes their brakes and the like.

edit:ptfe is actually highly resistant to solvents , so im wrong on this

kona

bedlam wrote: »

I promise this will be the last one and I'll leave it at that It could be used to lubricate most close fitting surfaces as long as you factor in that it will require (much) more frequent applications. The most common example of using wd40 as a lubricant would be on the hinge of a door to stop it squeaking thanks to the (small amount of) mineral oil it contains.

so my point that wd40 is useless as regards to lubing is correct.
and my point that there are superior products for less available (GT85, which is specifically designed for moving parts??)

its just by chance that you can use wd40 as a lube due to its use of hydrocarbons in its ingredients.

sure put a drop of water on a squeeky hinge and it will stop squeeking.
it isnt good for long term though.

wd40 is a rust inhibitor,disperstant and a penetrating fluid, this is what its designed to do.

kona

sorry dude , as much as im tempted to enter a dead end debate, ill have to decline your offer.

okay wd40 is a lube, in the same way you could put petrol on somthing and it will lube it grand...as long as you reapply daily.

where as what i reccomended GT85 & finish line are specifically designed to lubricate, contain ptfe, AND in the case of gt85 cheaper and does the rest of the stuff wd40 does:rolleyes:
both of these products last longer than wd40, in the cas of finishline significantly more.....

wd40 is ****e, and outdated.

Diarmuid

Any opinions on ProLink Chain Lube? It got a great review on mtb review

Likewise with Rock n'Roll Extreme Chain Lube?