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It's come to my attention that some people believe WD-40 to be a lubricant.
I figured I'd inform those that weren't aware of WD-40's purpose.
The W D stands for Water Displacement. which roughly translates to: "I will remove any form of grease or lubrication from whatever I'm applied to."
I guess you could say I'm here to warn you of the evils of WD-40, inform you of its intended use and offer replacement substances for whatever you've been using it on.
WD-40 is silicone based and was originally intended for use on bare-metal rocket parts, to prevent corrosion. The formula (which took 40 tries to perfect, hence the name) does its job well.
It repels water, preventing metal from rusting, or corroding.
However, it also repels paint, causing it to "fisheye" when applied over it. So don't go spraying it on, or near anything you plan on applying paint to. In addition to paint, it repels grease, oil, and other lubricants.
So if you've sprayed it on your bike chain, your door hinges, or bearings of any sort; you've done harm, rather than good.
A number of people use WD-40 to free rusted nuts and bolts, it works, but I haven't had much luck with it in that application either.
When I'm working on seized or rusted hardware, I use PB-blaster. It's the same concept, with less silicone and better results.
If you have something metal that you'd like to keep looking new, but don't plan on painting.. for example, an intake manifold or transmission case that you've cleaned up with a wire wheel or sandblaster, destroying the protective surface, this is where WD-40 really shines. (...quite literally, in some cases.)
Due to its high silicone content, other properties,and the fact that this was its intended purpose, it works well.
I use it to prevent rust on exhaust manifolds, pipes and headers where paint would flake off from the heat.
If you have raw sheet metal, square stock, tubing, etc. in the corner of your shop waiting to be made into something, it likely has a protective coating of some sort. If not, shoot some WD-40 on it to protect it.
By the time you're finished welding, grinding, bending and shaping it into something worthy of paint, a little degreaser should clean it right up.
If you have a rusty automobile like the one pictured below that you don't plan on painting, and you'd like to protect the bare, or rusted areas from the elements, WD-40 can help you there as well. However, it turns rust a much darker shade and gives it a "wet" look, so I'd suggest a hardcore automotive wax, unless you're cheap, lazy, or simply don't care what it looks like.
Let's return now, to those hinges and pivot points on your Cabby's top, your bicycle chain, clutch, throttle and speedometer cables, and anything else requiring lubrication.
This is Marvel Mystery Oil. It's pretty amazing stuff.
Lucky and I recently picked up another Cabby I and I noticed the top was extremely stiff.
It felt like it was going to bend or break when I tried to put it down.
So, I left it in the half-up position which, despite the blown top-struts, it had no problem staying in and grabbed the mystery oil.
I applied it to all the pivot points I could see, let it work its way in, then moved the top up and down a few times. It was better, but still pretty stiff.
I figured the struts were seized, put the top back up, and forgot about it.
A few days later I went to put the top down, and it was a night and day difference.
So, if something is in need of lubrication, steer clear of the WD, and grab some mystery oil.
If you're feeling extra wealthy and looking to drop a little coin, pick up some Tri-flow. Our resident cyclists and gun owners are likely familiar with this stuff. It's got tiny Teflon particles in it, and works extremely well.
That's about it, I hope this was helpful. Thanks for reading.
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