WD-40 in revolvers

[Don]

A while back there was a long thread on cleaning cap and ball revolvers. A few of you guys would put your guns, minus the grips, into the dishwasher, heat dry and then spray the guts with WD-40 before reassembling. My question is, will the WD get tacky and gum up the works in the revolver? I know the use of petrolium based lubricants is discouraged because of its tendency to get sticky and cause problems, will WD do the same thing? The reason I ask is because I recently bought one of those hand held steam cleaners and I was thinking it might be a good way to clean the inside of a revolver without having to completely disassemble the gun. But I'm not sure if using a blow drier and spraying with WD-40 will prevent rust without causing other problems.

Thanks

Don

 

[wwfeatherston]

I use the WD-40 (or Ballistol) to dispell any water left from the cleaning, then wipe down again with a heavier oil, such as CLP.

 

[jdixon]

I am not certain that the WD-40 will really cause that much of a problem. However, since I have heard as you have about petrolum based lubes, I dry my revolver parts out with denatured alcohol, then lube with Ballistol. This process is serving me well for the moment anyway.

 

[Pittsburghunter]

My experience is that WD40 is a fairly light oil so I would not be worried about using it I just think other oils are better.

Not sure about the steam cleaner though :hmm:

 

[John Taylor]

WD 40 is a water displacer, not much for lube. It can cause a gun not to function if there is enough left to dry in the works. I get a few gun in every year that are gummed up with the stuff. It does work great for drying out distributor caps on cars but don't get any on the points. The main ingrediants in WD 40 is kerosene and perfume. Found out the hard way that it won't work in an old pocket watch.

 

[RedFeather]

J. B. Woods, the gunsmith who made those excellent assembly/dissasembly guides for Gun Digest, says in them that WD40 is vegetable based and will likely gum up if it accumulates too much. There are a lot of better gun products out there that smell a whole lot better.

RedFeather

 

[wwfeatherston]

Could be why I'm having trouble getting powder into the drum for that first shot!

Don't bother my pistols.

 

[JIMinPHX]

WD-40 is good for cutting through rust, gunk & general crud. It is a good short-term lubricant in applications where thin oils are suitable. It is not a good long-term storage lubricant. It does turn to glue after a year or so. Also, it has mildly corrosive properties over a long period of time. The same stuff in that makes it eat through rust, also makes it eat through some metals over a long period of time (years). If you are going to use it to clean your gun, that is fine. If you are going to store your gun for a long time before using it again, then it is best to rub it down with some regular oil that does not have a penetrant or a rust remover mixed with it.

 

[Don]

Thanks for the feedback gentlemen.

Don

 

[graybeard]

I'm one of the guys advocating a dishwashing machine and WD40. My revolver never goes more than a week or two without beingfired. Even so, I've read too many warnings about WD40 and now use Remoil. Probably WD40 would continue to be fine with frequent shooting. Never had a rust or gunk problem. graybeard

 

[OldNo7]

According to documented Police Reports, the regular use of WD-40 in a firearm is a pretty good way to get SHOT by a perp! It will eventually gum up the works...

I can't remember all the details, but my Dad was a locksmith north of Boston (family business since 1899!) and we had a posting about it hung up in the shop. WD-40 has it's places, but long-term or regular use as a lube is not one, not in locks -- and especially not in guns. It will leave a gummy residue over time. We used WD-40 in keyed lock mechanisms, which share many design features & materials with gun locks, but only to free a stuck mechanism or clean out some crud. But then we'd flush all the WD-40 out before a final lube with graphite (on key locks or cylinders).

In the story we had posted in the shop, a cop's gun misfired and he was only saved by the sudden appearance of a K9 Officer with one LARGE MEAN DOG. :cursing: Investigation showed that the WD-40 slowed the hammer "just enough" -- not a good situation when responding to a felony in progress.

Tight groups, and use the right lube.

Old No7

 

[Gatofeo]

I stopped using WD-40 in firearms years ago.
It will create a hard, sticky gum after a while. It will also creep in around primers and affect ignition, often making the round a dud.
I don't use any petroleum-based products in my cap and ball sixguns. I use olive oil to coat the revolver, bore and chambers before storage.
The innards and cylinder pin get a light coat of CVA Grease Patch or plain ol' Crisco. The rear of the cylinder, around the ratchets, gets a little grease too. This keeps it firing longer than if only oil were used on these parts.
I wouldn't use WD-40 on a 39-cent padlock!
Interestingly, I knew fishermen in northern Idaho who sprayed their lures with WD-40 before trolling. They claimed it removed human scent and somehow attracted the fish.
Actually, I never saw the WD-40 anglers get any more fish than I did --- and sometimes we all got skunked.
I'm not sure what it's made of, but it stinks. And it ain't a good stink like Chanel No. 5 or bacon frying, either.
Olive oil works fine for me and it's cheap. Don't buy the fancy, expensive stuff; just regular olive oil will do. It's good for lubricating rifle patches too.

 

[doc tc]

put me down as one who discourages the use of WD. forty years ago the army supplied us cans of it for use in rifles and[url] sidearms...in[/url] the jungle...and it worked sorta...but it didn't work very long. but then i dumped the 16, because it was a piece of s%6t in those days (and in my view it still is), for a grease gun...and, well, gear oil works ok for one of those.

so i have a low opinion of WD. it is not a lube and not much else either. m16's and WD deserve each other.

nowadays i use teflon in all my guns, including the remington cap and ball (not in the cylinder and not on the nipples), and have had no problems. the only other lube i use now is tetragun grease on the 1911's slide.

am not much into animal fat, what can i say. i remember too well a bear hide left fat side down on the concrete floor of a friend's garage a few decades ago. nasty.

teflon, men. it'll cure what ails ya.

doc

 

[rebel727]

I'm not saying there's not better things to use but I've used WD-40 for many years and never had any problems with it. Some of my guns never get used or even handled except for being cleaned once a year or so. Some of them get used quite often. Never saw any corrosion or gumminess.

 

[Tight_Wad]

Don

On the idea of using a hand-held steam cleaner - I bought one and tried it last year - it was a flop! I guess if you perhaps had a very powerful one it might work but all it did for me was fill the internals up with seam and condensed water. I even dismantled the gun and jetted the steam dierectly onto the grimy parts. BP fouling just sat there smiling back at me! You'd achieve more with an old tooth brush and soapy water.

The steam gun now sits on a shelf in my garage waiting for some other future use.

Tight Wad :hatsoff:

 

[Old40Rod]

http://www.wd40.com/Brands/pdfs/msds-wd40_bulk.us.pdf

Its not animal or vegetable... and it doesn't cause cancer.

Here is Breakfree CLP:[url] http://www.wfrfire.com/website/msds/break.htm[/url]

 

[roo shooter]

Ive used a lot of wd40 on center fire rifles over the years without any problems,these rifles were used in dry dusty conditions about 40 weeks of the year,Then i changed to rem-oil which i realy like.now that im shooting muzzleloaders i have started using Inox,its half the price of rem-oil and non petroleum.

 

[Old Ironsights]

I stopped using WD-40 in firearms years ago.
It will create a hard, sticky gum after a while. It will also creep in around primers and affect ignition, often making the round a dud.

That's not the fault of the WD-40, that's a simple Operator Headspace and Timing no-go.

I too have seen dud rounds in revolvers from idiot cops who think that just spraying WD on A LOADED GUN counts for "cleaning" it after they ave spilled god-knows-what on it in the patrol car. :shake:

Using WD as a water-displacer and EXTREMELY light oil on agun that you shoot and clean regularly is just fine.

However, if you plan on not using the gun, there are better lubes you can use - including some dry lubes for the Frozen Chosen.

 

[JimG]

The WD-40 that comes in the steel 1 gallon bulk cans and uses a pump sprayer is different than the aresol variety. I've been using the bulk kind for years with no issues. Buy some and compare.

 

[Bear Rider]

I have a stainless '58 by Pietta, and I find that nothing beats Windex for ease of cleaining. I have no idea how it would work on blued steel as I lack the courage to try it.