WD-40 on guns
 

Ok I had a guy at work tell me WD-40 was no good to use on guns... I've been using it for the last 30 years with out any prob... I've got a bunch of rifle, pistols and shotguns no problems...

I decided to do a little research and all I came up with was...

Don't use it... Gums up... Evaporates...

Haven't seen any gum up issues
Haven't had a gun rust on me yet
As far as evaporating wouldn't know if it did...

I use it and will always have a can in my position while on hunting trips...

So what you all think about the dreaded WD-40

If put to much around firing pin it could kill the primers of the cartiage. I use rem oil. Never had a problem still don't over oil.

Have used it over 50 years, no problems..

In very cold weather it thickens up and could slow down the firing mechanism enough to cause a failure to fire.
It also damages some stock finishes.
It's not made for guns. Use something made for guns.
WD40 is a great product when used for what it was designed for.

I have and will continue to use it, but as a barrel cleaning agent and rust preventative, never as lubricant. I've not had a problem with it. I think it's one of the best rust preventatives out there.

WD is a good rust preventative, not a lubricant. Here's a good article:
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=1..._Preventatives

They do make a LTCI version of WD-40, but Break Free works for me.

I use Breakfree LP to lube the rifle. I use WD40 to spray all metal parts if im hunting in rain or snow. Let it sit for a few minutes then wipe the gun clean.

I smelled an odd odor in the timber once during a snow squall and went to check it out. Turned out to be a guy's rifle that he had soaked in WD 40.

:)

if you want to protect the metal on your rifle when hunting in rain or snow, put a coat of car wax on the barrel. water runs right off. wouldn't put it on a matte finish though. if you take the stock off make sure you do the bottom of the barrel too. as for wd-40 its not meant for guns. also gives off a scent which could alert deer.

Johnson's paste wax also works great for protecting gun metal from rain and snow.

Me to but it turned out to be johnsons paste wax.:)

Hence the need for stainless rifles. No WD40, no Johnson's paste wax, no nuthin. :)

Exactly. My stainless rifle survived all day in the rain. My blued revolver needed needed an emergency WD-40 cleaning that same day.

Stainless steel will rust if not taken care of properly. Just because you have a stainless rifle.or handgun does not mean it does not need to be oiled after its been wet.

Thanks.
I didn't know that.
;)

Galvanized steel will rust too it will take a long time but it will. My dad's boat trailer has rust around the axles. It took about 12 years or so. But it will rust. Stainless will rust but it takes a long time and has to not be taking care off. Especially if it is wet and taking in and out of warmer temps. Known a lot of people that worked at Bethahelm steel and they will al back me up on stainless rusting.

Used a can of WD 40 for decades
 

I let the sure be sure and just ignore them. Like I'm going to change !!!

I was just kidding. Any steel will rust.

But I can hunt a couple weeks in snow and bring the gun into a warm tent every night without worry.

I just give it a good going over at the end of season.

I've used it for 35 years for quick cleanups and spray down the bore of shotgun for lite plastic remove used it after a rain works great for that and wipe the gun down but when the gun goes in the safe CLP works best

It's not a good idea for any finish of metal blues or stainless to go from cold to warm with out wiping off with oil.

That may be true but I've got a Browning stainless 270 that's been going from bitter cold to warm and back again since about 1986 with not the slightest speck of rust anywhere. This rifle gets one cleaning a year, after the season is over. One wipe down and she's good to go till next fall. That includes summer rock chuck practice.
Love that stainless !

With any preserve or water displacing product, it works until it doesn't. I know WD will work to displace water and prevent oxidation. But its weak. I know I use WD-40 for all my wood working equipment and it sometimes fails to prevent oxidation. It really depends how one uses it. In MD, or PA, you could almost get away with anything. But hunting in brackish swamps, or hardcore duckhunting, in the bay, WD will not and has not stood the test of time for me. Therefore, I use something else.

These posts kinda puzzle me. I am not sure if people try to convince themselves or what.

I hear people all the time say "I never had problems with this or that", and thats fine, keep doing what your doing..

Don't use it...gums up.

It's good at preventing rust, if applied fairly often and properly. Oil may is better for long term storage. Dunno if it gums up; it might. It's also good for rubbing with steel wool to get rid of surface rust.

Lol some people really take this wd40 thing serious!!!

I guess ill gust keep on using it

I did rust blueing since wayback. If a guy wanted a hot blue job, I would prep it and send the parts out to a plating shop I dealt with. They always instructed me to oil the parts down good with WD-40 and let sit for a day before wrapping. Sure enough, the WD-40 was like dried glue and would not run off during shipping. I use car wax on the barrel when hunting in the rain. If you get caught in the rain, it does displace water and is OK for emergencies, but I would not use it to lube anything.

Man, I just read this entire thread chuckling to myself. That’s some funny stuff, I don’t care who you are.

I have been using a product for 30 years but somebody told me it doesn’t work…

The best was WD 40 should only be used for what it was designed for. By the way it was designed as a Water Displacement product for Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles.

I don’t always use WD 40, but when I do….I prefer ICBMs

I've used it with military weapons. It will get gummy if you are at high rate of fire. But I use the heck out of it.

If WD40 cost $4.00 and real gun oil cost $25.00 I'd just use WD40 and suck it up.

But that's not the case.

:party0005:

if it works for you than I would use it, that guy probly hasnt even tryed it on guns, and to people saying its not for guns it says on the back of the can that it is!

I haven't read all of the responses here (some, not all), but I figured I'd throw in my two cents, that nobody asked for, since it seems like this one is hanging around a while.

You can usually tell when a shooter uses a lightweight oil or WD-40 type product on their guns for any substantial time, just by looking at them. A properly weighted gun oil won't do this, but USUALLY the lightweight oils and sprays will find their way to wood, and blacken or darken the wood where it meets the metal. Instantly drops a guns value for aesthetics. Granted, some guys slather on proper gun oils like they're icing a cake, so they'll get the same darkening of the wood, but with a proper light coating for oxidation prevention, proper weight oils won't migrate to the wood as readily and cause the staining.

WD40 is for keeping the padlock on the gate to the south pasture working. Works good on squeaky hinges too.

Yes, it does. Gun collectors often use Johnson's paste wax. It does a fine job protecting my antique Winchester rifles.