WD-40 causes a sticky goo and hard varnish?

[Kira]

A friend works on lawn tractors and OPE.
When he's done with a riding mower, he sprays and wipes it with WD-40 for that "happy customer shine".

I never sprayed a tool drawer (full of tools) with the stuff.

 

[Oldwolf]

I use it now and then myself. An interesting experiment would be to spray some WD-40 into a shallow pan an let it evaporate away. Wonder what you'd get?

 

[SHOZ]

I just bought two cans yesterday. It's great for what it's suppose to do. I bet that hard varnish and sticky goo kept it from rusting and was still waterproofing.

Great for spraying on electrical connections. It is not polar so no current carrying. If you saw sparks it was something else that got displaced.

It has a petroleum solvent base so it can attack some plastics. Pretty sure it's just naphthalene derived though. They used it at the battery factory to wipe down the cells and remove the grime and grease pencil markings. Got it in a 55 gallon barrel. it was supposed to be agitated when used as the active ingredient settles.

I still have 5 gallons of the concentrate here somewhere.....

 

[dnewton3]

I, for one, appreciate the "sticky goo and varnish" as it seems to hold oxidation/rust at bay. It's job, after all, is to displace moisture; hence the moniker of its name. Yes- it's a bit of a pain to clean off, but not impossible and certainly more desirable than rust eating into my tools, projects, guns, etc.

I accept that there are trade-offs in life. WD-40 over long periods of time has its uses.

 

[Overfill]

I've sprayed down a folding knife pivot trying to get it to rotate quicker. Turned to gum for me too. I don't know why people are surprised.. it can have unsaturated hc that can polymerize.

 

[Bud_One]

Interesting, I've never heard of WD-40 leaving sticky good residue behind.
In fact we use it to spray down the insides of our CNC mills and lathes so they don't rust when not in use.
Never have had any residue issues.

 

[Trav]

For long term storage I have good luck with Ballistol.

 

[oil pan 4]

I use WD-40 like a farmer and I can't say that it leaves behind sticky gunk or varnish. Most of the time I'm using WD-40 to wash away sticky residue or varnish that definitely isn't the result of previously using WD-40.

 

[Astro14]

I use it now and then myself. An interesting experiment would be to spray some WD-40 into a shallow pan a let it evaporate away. Wonder what you'd get?

Goo and hard varnish - I promise. You are proposing to replicate my tap & die set conditions.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I, for one, appreciate the "sticky goo and varnish" as it seems to hold oxidation/rust at bay. It's job, after all, is to displace moisture; hence the moniker of its name. Yes- it's a bit of a pain to clean off, but not impossible and certainly more desirable than rust eating into my tools, projects, guns, etc.

I accept that there are trade-offs in life. WD-40 over long periods of time has its uses.

I am glad someone mentioned this - because that is exactly what WD40 was designed for - Water Dispersant 40. It was designed originally as a corrosion protector for the military I believe. Just turns out it has other uses as well.

Its also like half mineral spirits, which is why it acts like a solvent or cleaner as well.

I suspect those that get the sticky varnish - and I have seen that also - is because there lifting whatever was there before and the mixture of everything causes the issue. Just a guess.

Not a huge fan but nothing works as well at abating rust as WD40. Works really well on aluminum and pot metal that has oxidized as well. Another huge benefit is it does not seem to affect plastic, rubber etc either, which can be useful.

 

[nomas]

I use it now and then myself. An interesting experiment would be to spray some WD-40 into a shallow pan an let it evaporate away. Wonder what you'd get?

I'll try it .

 

[nomas]

It's job, after all, is to displace moisture; hence the moniker of its name.

You need to read the label .

 

[D60]

I am glad someone mentioned this - because that is exactly what WD40 was designed for - Water Dispersant 40. It was designed originally as a corrosion protector for the military I believe. Just turns out it has other uses as well.

Its also like half mineral spirits, which is why it acts like a solvent or cleaner as well.

I suspect those that get the sticky varnish - and I have seen that also - is because there lifting whatever was there before and the mixture of everything causes the issue. Just a guess.

Not a huge fan but nothing works as well at abating rust as WD40. Works really well on aluminum and pot metal that has oxidized as well. Another huge benefit is it does not seem to affect plastic, rubber etc either, which can be useful.

Pedantic alert: I was always taught it was Water Displacement and google seems to back me up.

I would argue that to disperse and to displace are similar but not the same thing.

BUT YEAH, we get the point either way. Just sayin' I think it's Water Displacement

 

[nomas]

Sometimes when you invent something , you find out it has other uses . This was the case with WD40 , but people just can't let it go .
https://www.wd40.com/uses/

 

[JHZR2]

For long term storage I have good luck with Ballistol.

Same and it will have a bit of a heavier coating after some of the solvents evaporate. Super lube is the same.

It does seem to evaporate from some tools, so I’ll brush those with a bit of lanolin. No smell and it lasts. But it does leave a sticky goo indefinitely…

 

[SHOZ]

The active ingredient is a white milky like liquid. I use to spray it on my yard shoes for moisture protection. Kind a of worked but you need to let it dry and reapply all the time.

Anyone want to analyze it I can send a sample....

It's my go to electrical cleaner unless I don't want a film left behind.

Had Ford 302 with wet plug wires missing like crazy after a wash once. Sprayed the outside of the distro and wires with WD40 went away immediately.

 

[burbguy82]

Why do people keep saying this. I've been using WD-40 and Walmart's version for years and no sticky residue or hard varnish.

I spray tools, hinges, other metal parts, etc. I will admit that WD-40 for tools needs to be reapplied more often than I like, but it does work.

Can people stop perpetuating this myth.

Wow, what a heated debate.

I am not so sure that this is completely a myth. Is is the WD-40 that causes "adverse" reactions or creates and "adverse" condition? I am not so sure of that.

In the past I have used Wd40 for many different things. I works very well as a cleaner, very well. I used to use it to clean off brake dust off wheels, of course in a nice a proper manner, not spraying it all over the wheels, but using a rag with WD applied to it. It works very well on guns, for cleaning carbon and whatever some use for sealing primers in some cases. It does for a limited time, stop skeaks in hinges and such, although there are better application for it.

As a profession plumber for 20 years, I do not use it for tools. If you use it to clean and lubricate copper cutters for example, it makes soldering copper tubing nearly impossible, as it will leave a thin coating of oil on the copper.

I think the "myth" has more to do with the conditions of part and its use or storage than anything else. It does "attract" dust. If it attracts dust, it must attract other things in the air like pollen and other nasties, which leads to a situation where contamination is the key factor in the "adverse condition".

Does WD40 suck? No, but it is likely used in many conditions where it is not optimal. It is not a good lube, more like a cutting oil. It works very nicely when machining aluminum.

 

[nomas]

People used to say that you shouldn't use WD40 to clean or lube a firearm because the fumes would kill the primers . They cited all sorts of stories about various Police Departments banning it and Internet stories , etc. I conducted my own experiment using .22 LR . 9mm , and 5.56 ammo . I took six of each caliber and thoroughly soaked them down with WD40 , placed them in a sealed Rubbermaid container , and left them on my workbench for over a month . When I took them to the range every single round fired normally . I'm going to conduct a test by spraying down a pair of pliers and seeing if it turns to " goo and hard varnish " . I don't know why because I've lubed hand tools with WD40 a 100 times but this time it will be a controlled experiment . I have plenty of free time ...

 

[Exhaustgases]

Funny stuff here. I've heard all sorts of things about WD-40, some say its full of water, some say it does not leave any protective film.
And now I hear it is similar to cosmoline in this thread. I've worked in machine shops where this stuff was used all the time to protect tooling from rust, I also use it on tools etc. I never have all the goofy problems everyone is talking about. Maybe the thick varnish is from using it in gallon cans and pouring into a sprayer, that had some think oil in it? The spray cans usually have decent product in them. Till the cans stop spraying when still half full. That is the only issue I have with the product.

 

[clinebarger]

I spray WD-40 on a rag & clean my battery impacts & ratchets....Cleans the crap off without damaging the rubber or plastic.

I use it to install coolant hoses, Once dry.....That hose will not blow off.

That's really my only 2 uses for it, Better products exist for everything else.