A Few Words About Lube....The Great WD-40 Controversy

[Guest CJRogue]

I'm a Hoppes #9 and Rem Oil guy myself.

CLP seems pretty universal around these parts.

I've been reading some rather polarized opinions about the use of WD-40 penetrating oil to clean or lube guns with. It makes sense, the stuff is always available, seems to work well on other stuff, and my grandpa (rest his soul) even sprayed it on his arthritic knees and claimed better results than his high-falootin' doctor pills.

So, some of the claims against WD-40 are:

1 - it evaporates making it a lousy lube

2 - it gets gummy and makes a mess itself resulting in performance issues

3 - may (or may not) be hard on wood finishes

4 - penetrates primers and turns otherwise good rounds into fizzling duds

Their official website, http://www.wd40.com/faqs/ , says:

What surfaces or materials are OK to use WD-40 on?

WD-40 can be used on just about everything. It is safe for metal, rubber, wood and plastic.

What about using WD-40 on my sports equipment?

...Use WD-40 to clean and protect your gun. It will prevent corrosion and it won't damage bluing.

They wouldn't be trying to **** me, would they?

Even a page dedicated to WD-40 and guns:

http://www.wd40.com/news/in-the-news/wd-40andreg-can-be-an-effective-maintenance-tool-for-gun-owners/

WD-40 has been used in the gun industry for many years. It is not only safe to use on your gun, but comes highly recommended by many experts in the industry due to its cleaning, rust preventing, moisture displacing, penetrating and lubricating properties.

[Guest bkelm18]

WD-40 is not a lubricant. It's a penetrant that dissolves rust and displaces water but also evaporates quickly. I don't think it would make a good lubricant in a firearm.

[bubbadavis]

+1. WD-40 might be OK for cleaning but there is no way I'd use it to lube a gun. Buy a decent lubricant -- they are really cheap compared to the gun.

[Guest ColdEspresso]

WD stands for water disbursement. Good to clean and bad to lube.

[Luckyforward]

The solvent properties of WD-40 render it useless as a firearm protectant.

[Guest CJRogue]

So far, the concensus here seems to be that it isn't harmful, but akin to miking a cat...useless.

[Im Neero]

It's not harmful to the gun, but it is very harmful to ammo, as you mentioned in your above post. Since the two often go together, I keep it away from both.

[Guest sling]

On top of all that its also quite flammable too...

Use real oil... WD40 is for squeaks. Rem oil is for your gun.

[cadillacdude1975]

i bought a bottle of gun oil from Glockmeister 2 years ago. it is a 1 ounce bottle of their G-Lube. 4 or 5 drops on the key spots for the glock, and its all set. i paid probably 10 bucks for it, i really forget what i paid, but anyways, it has that molecular formula that bonds to metal parts blah blah................

anyway, it is some great stuff. i have more than 3/4ths the bottle left after 2 years. drops go along way.

[TripleDigitRide]

I don't believe WD-40 is harmful to firearms when used as a solvent/cleaner, but it makes for a horrible lubricant.

[DWARREN123]

It's great for spraying inside a wet distributor cap and cleaning off stickum from labels but I will not use as a lube for most things. Gun oil for guns.

[molonlabetn]

I use it when cleaning my guns... it's certainly not a heavy lubricant, but since my XDs run better when mostly dry anyways, it's a no-brainer. It is one of the best anti-corrosion sprays out there, and as long as you don't drench your gun in it, it will never build up to cause a problem. The nice thing is, you can get it anywhere cheaply, it doesn't fumigate the area you are working in with horrible/acrid odor, and it doesn't leave an oily residue when it dries... but it leaves a light waxy coating, sort of a dry-lubricant in a solvent solution. I haven't found anything that works better, and it's never proven to be worse (unless used in a way which any solvent/lubricant would gunk something up).

[Guest c.a.s.]

Actually, in a normal period of time, WD-40 will NOT ruin your ammo.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot39.htm

[Marswolf]

Actually, in a normal period of time, WD-40 will NOT ruin your ammo.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot39.htm

Absolutely correct. Still, I don't let WD-40 anywhere near my guns. It cruds up stuff after a while. If you need a penetrating oil, use Kroil or CRC-556 then re-lube with a decent gun oil.

[Guest Phantom6]

Absolutely correct. Still, I don't let WD-40 anywhere near my guns. It cruds up stuff after a while. If you need a penetrating oil, use Kroil or CRC-556 then re-lube with a decent gun oil.

+1. WD 40 is a good rust buster but since I keep my guns clean and well lubed I don't have a need for that sort of thing. Use a good gun oil. That's why they call it G U N O I L.

[Guest abailey362]

So far, the concensus here seems to be that it isn't harmful, but akin to miking a cat...useless.

I thought you could milk anything with nipples?

But seriously, as most mentioned above, there are many things made for cleaning/lubing guns, and I try to stick to them.

[Will]

WD 40 is it,lifetime of hot dovefields to ice storms in duckblinds and not a speck of rust or gun action failure. It works why try to reinvent the wheel.

[Guest bkelm18]

WD 40 is it,lifetime of hot dovefields to ice storms in duckblinds and not a speck of rust or gun action failure. It works why try to reinvent the wheel.

Because its not a lubricant?

[Luckyforward]

I don't believe WD-40 is harmful to firearms when used as a solvent/cleaner, but it makes for a horrible lubricant.

Exactly. If used as a solvent, it is great. To use nothing but WD-40 is not the best because of its solvency.

[Guest c_o_jones]

WD makes an excellent (and cheap) cleaner, but a poor lubricator.

I usually use break free or weaponshield for that purpose.

[molonlabetn]

Few quality firearms actually need much more lubrication than WD-40 provides (which is indeed very minimal)... but if you know that yours does like to run a bit wet, there are many options for grease and oil to provide necessary lubrication.

For instance... if I carried a 1911, I would certainly have a little bit of grease on the slide-rails and locking lugs.

[Marswolf]

I have to agree that different lubes work best for different guns and conditions. Frequently that means grease as well as oil.

There are certainly some gimmick "super lubes" out there, but generally the tried and true lubricants specifically formulated for guns are the safest and best way to go. Special conditions, like desert sand and dust situations may call for something a bit different. But I can't think of any situation where something sticky and gooey would be the best choice. You might get away with it, but other choices are better IMHO.

[Guest jth_3s]

Anybody ever used Lithium Grease and brake cleaner to clean an AR? My friend does and he never seems to have any problems.

[Marswolf]

Anybody ever used Lithium Grease and brake cleaner to clean an AR? My friend does and he never seems to have any problems.

Sure do! brake cleaner is great for the gas tube. And grease is good for general lube. See my desert comments above for an exception.

[gunsablazin]

I had to go swimming with my 649 Smith a few weeks back, WD-40 was used to blow thw water out of it once I was back at home. Then the gun was dried and properly (lightly) lubed with CLP. No rust no fuss, I don't generally swim with guns, but when your raft is stuck on rocks you gotta get out of the boat.

One of the "wonder" lubes I have used with great sucess is Slide-Glide, it performs as advertised and stays in the gun for hundreds even thousands of rounds. I ran my Springfield Loaded SS .45 over 1,000 rds. without any cleaning or additional lube just to see if it would do it. The gun ran with 0 malfunctions and was still greasy when I stripped and cleaned it. I would not recommend this practice other than as an experiment, this pistol is used for practice and IDPA only. Guns used for defensive purposes should be cleaned and lubed as their manufacturer recommends, even Glocks!