Hacker News Reader

Comment by CamperBob2 | Hacker News Reader

It requires a special key, nondisclosure agreements, passage through a bank vault and, typically, an executive title. The drinks don’t flow, members don’t rub elbows with notable people and chefs aren’t filling plates with tasty bites. The only perk is knowing the secrets of the world’s most famous lubricant. And yet, for those in the know, there’s no greater privilege.

In other news, WD-40 is not a lubricant.

View on HN

It is absolutely a lubricant - it is a combination "lubricant, rust preventive, penetrant and moisture displacer". Whether it's the correct or best lubricant for many applications is iffy, but that doesn't mean it isn't a lubricant!

Point being, if you're using it as a lubricant, you're using the wrong stuff. What it leaves behind isn't very useful as a lubricant... unlike, you know, an actual lubricant.

WD-40 is now the designation of a whole bunch of products, including chain grease.

My recent trip to the ground was sufficient proof to me that even water is a lubricant.

Depending on where you apply it, it's absolutely a lubricant.

Is it? Please explain and provide sources. Just because it feels like a lubricant and maybe advertised as a lubricant it might not actually be a lubricant.

> Just because it feels like a lubricant and maybe advertised as a lubricant

Not the parent comment, but sometimes comments are so outrageous it makes me laugh.

Like what else do you even want at that point?

Source that you can put gas in your car? That pop tarts are food? Like yes, it's advertised as food, I can tell it's food, I've eaten it - but where is your source for it being food other than all that?

If it reduces friction, it's a lubricant.

From personal experience, I can count on one hand the number of times that wd40 (edit: at least the canonical formulation) has been the best lubricant for a given application.

for me its that its not at all long lasting. I guess it's fine as a cleaner, but even light mineral oil hangs around longer.

oh right, it also seems to leave a gummy residue, which is really not great for machine tools

yeah, most of my use-cases for classic wd-40 have always been getting things unstuck rather than long-term lubrication. The lubricating action tends to evaporate with the solvent(s) and leaves, as you've pointed out, the famous gummy residue that is good for keeping moisture out but not at being a lubricant

why not use penetrating oil?

if I have my druthers, it's kroil but there was a time before I knew better, haha.

Being a recognized household name makes it infinity less likely you'll have someone complaining if you use it in a "nice" setting.

That makes it the "best" for a lot of "anything works" applications.

The WD-40 website says that is a myth, and it is a lubricant

https://www.wd40.com/myths-legends-fun-facts/

Myth: WD-40 Multi-Use Product is not really a lubricant.

Fact: While the “W-D” in WD-40 stands for Water Displacement, WD-40 Multi-Use Product is a unique, special blend of lubricants. The product’s formulation also contains anti-corrosion agents and ingredients for penetration, water displacement and soil removal.

Yeah and water and gas are maybe a "lubricants" too. It's a pretty shitty lubricant.

Lubricates well enough for 99% of the homeowner things it gets used for.

That number goes down by a lot if you want lasting lubrication.

"WD-40 Multi-Use Product is a...blend of lubricants"

How does the author of that fun facts page know this for sure? I just heard that only executives get to see the ingredient list. Is this fun fact author an executive?

Sure, and sand is a lubricant in the right scenario. This of course completely misses the point.

Anyone who actually use wd40 will eventually notice it not only has poor ability to stick around under load, but also likes to oxidize, forming a varnish or horrible goo depending on how thick it was left on. While this doesn’t matter (or is even desirable) for loosening a bolt, it’s a poor choice on tools, hinges, etc.

If long term lubrication is needed, then people should just use an appropriate grease or a non-oxidating* oil meant for staying around and lubricating.

*Plant based oils generally contain high amounts of polyunsaturated fats, which love to oxidize. Great for seasoning cast iron, but bad for other things. The goo/lacquer you get on kitchen pans and around the oven is oxidized fats linking together. There are rare exceptions to plant based oils being a bad idea for lubrication, involving genetic modification to produce mostly monounsaturated fats and further processing, like with alg’s “go juice”.

Yeah WD-40 is good for cleaning up old grease or loosing up seized mates more than anything but pretty much as soon as you get it moving you want to clean it up, let it boil off, and then replace it with lithium grease.

Agree fundamentally WD-40 is a cleaner, but it does offer some lubricant outcomes.

Yep, there are lubricants listed in the ingredients, but the stuff it actually leaves behind when the volatiles are gone is mostly good at displacing water (as the article points out.) Very little in the way of friction reduction.

It also makes a superb bug killer, especially in combination with a barbecue lighter.

Interesting use case. lol. I use it to remove sticker residue from the insufferable companies that use stickers on their products attached with super-glue like adhesive.

Does it work better than something like Goo-Gone?

I hate that. In particular, there is a special place in hell reserved for businesses which put those stickers on books. It's almost impossible to get some of those stickers off without leaving residue or harming the paper.

Using the sticker itself, along with some patience, usually does the trick. But yes, every time I bump into the worst offenders I always feel tempted to just keep sending their product back as damaged until I get a sticker that comes off clean.

It's definitely a lubricant.

See their old school ad campaign

> Do you have tight nuts or a rusty tool? [0]

[0] https://thedutchluthier.wordpress.com/2016/09/13/tight-nuts-...

The line below the pic says it was a hoax.

Aww, shucks!

It IS a lubricant, although not a very good one.

3-in-1 is the best bang for the buck lubricant. I use it everywhere. Well, not for that, but for everything else.

I am not sure why you are being downvoted but you are absolutely right: it is even in the name (WD stands for 'Water Displacement'). My reaction to this article was a huge: 'why?'. WD-40 is at best mediocre at everything it is used for. Wurth makes much more capable compounds for the came purposes. Their penetrating oil is unmatched. I guess as part of the popular culture, WD-40 has its value but I am not sure its chemical properties are all that unique.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com