WD40 alternative – any good?

[MikeParticipant @mike89748]

Just wonder if anyone has tried the new "green" alternative to WD40. It's called XCP, is claimed to be better than WD40, and is said to be available at B&Q. I have no interest in promoting this substance – just curious, and don't want to waste my cash if the claims are just advertising hype..

[MikeParticipant @mike89748]

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

Not tried it but from past experience if it's 'green it's either twice the cost or no good

[ronan walshParticipant @ronanwalsh98054]

Whats wd40 good for anyway ?

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Whale oil is very good

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

Posted by ronan walsh on 13/06/2014 18:09:40:

Whats wd40 good for anyway ?

The only thing I have ever found it any good for is as a solvent for cleaning away old oil and grease. – Which is nothing that parafin at a fraction of the cost would also do equally well.

Nick

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

What's WD40 good for anyway?

Before I installed equipment heaters on my equipment, I used to suffer dreadfull corrosion (rusting) on my equipment. WD40 helped to keep it at bay, the downside being the smell, the messyness. and having to clean the equipment before I could use it.

It's also reasonably good at softening and helping to remove that sticky muckment left behind by labels etc after one has attempted to remove them.

It's also helpful at removing light corrosion from metal objects.

Like Nick though, I would use parafin in preference to WD40 for shifting oily, greasy muck.

I would point out that it can be bought in 5ltr containers: this being much cheaper than the aerosol versions. Mine, bought perhaps 20+ years ago and still going strong, came with a pump operated spray applicator similar to garden sprays. Unfortunately, they don't seem to last that long, but fortunately, the garden spray type fits the same container and work just as well.

Regards,

Peter G. Shaw

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

WD40 seems to get a bad press on here, I don't know why. The green alternative I have not heard of, but as said above probably will not be as good, just from past experience of such things. First time I came across WD40 was after buying an old open Landrover that had been stood in a field for years ,a good spray all round, esp. the dash switches had everything working. Just bought 5ltrs. wish I'd done it years ago.

[Barnaby WildeParticipant @barnabywilde70941]

So . . . How much has the hedge fund that owns the rights to WD40 invested in this little bit of promotion?

WD40 is good as a water dispersant, but not as cheap as the common alternatives, which disperse water better at a fraction of the £price.

Can we carry on & slag off WD40 for the rip off that it is?

No, I think that we're gonna lose that battle. The hedge fund that now owns the rights to market WD40 is omnipotent. It is simply NOT allowed to point out to the 'mug punters' that WD40 doesn't actually do most of what it claims to.

P.S. Anyone who dares to point out that WD40 is nothing more than an overpriced can of 'TAT' is either slagged down or ridiculed.

Wd40 would make a good cleaner if it wasn't so damn expensive, it's expensive because the hedge fund that owns the rights to it . . . . exists solely to 'mug' the punters.

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

.

It was originally designed / marketed as a water displacer. Hence the WD designation. Over the years is has evolved with much enthusiasm from their marketing department (for obvious reasons) into a fix-all magic product which was not what it was initially conceived as.

Nick

[Phil PParticipant @philp]

WD40 is good for the clock repair business.

People think a quick squirt into the mechanism will be good for it, initially it does free things up, but after a while it sets like a green wax and bungs everything up worse than it was before.

I have had quite a few clocks through my hands that only needed the WD40 removing and correct oil applied to get them working again.

Phil

[modeng2000Participant @modeng2000]

Mick, so what are the common alternatives?

John

[Swarf, Mostly!Participant @swarfmostly]

Hi there, all,

When I was in my 'Amateur Radio' phase, a fellow Radio Club member squirted the wave-change switch of her communications receiver with WD40 – it never worked again!

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

My Dad always had WD40 in the workshop, and so do I. But he impressed on me at an early age "WD40 is not a lubricant". So we both always have 3in1 in the workshop too (which is no good for clocks either as it is castor-oil based so it goes gummy).

Many green products are good. Ironically, many 'eco-improvements' don't get any press because the manufacturers think people will stop buying the product! I recall that in the 80s used computer listing paper was worth a fortune as the quality meant it was used for high-end toilet paper, but you never saw these products advertised as 'recycled'.

You get more eco-washing up liquid for the same price from the Co-op range and it works well (yes, dishwasher out of commission). The allegedly more planet-friendly blue 'Diall' (B&Q own brand) brush cleaner knocks the spots off white spirit for cleaning brushes used with oil-based paints.

Neil

[frank brownParticipant @frankbrown22225]

I find that WD40 is excellent as a electrical plug and socket lubricant. It totally transformed the feel of my 110V plugs and sockets. I believe the active ingredient is palm oil, trouble is that most of it is carrier and evaporates away . Its also superb as a ali cutting/tapping fluid.

Frank

[VersabossParticipant @versaboss]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 13/06/2014 19:58:53:

… But he impressed on me at an early age "WD40 is not a lubricant". ,,,,,

Neil

How true. I advise anybody who thinks that WD40 contains any kind of oil, take a sheet of white paper off your printer and put a splash of WD40 on it. It will get translucent, at least a bit. Now leave it for a day or two, and see what happens. You will not see the lightest remains, the paper is just as good and white as it was before. Repeat this with your preferred light oil and see the difference…

Before I forget: I use WD40 too, as a cleaner. For machining Aluminium I prefer the bespoke products of the trade.

Greetings, Hansrudolf

[Billy MillsParticipant @billymills]

If you want to know the formulation of something like WD40 you can always look at the Material Data Sheet.

An old sheet described it as white spirit, light oil and an oderiser. It is interesting that the current sheet uses different terms but I don't think that it has changed much.

WD40 often gets used as a cutting lube however a few people mix up their own from white spirit and multigrade oil. Much less volatile than light oil some kinds of which can quickly evaporate.

Billy.

[Bob PerkinsParticipant @bobperkins67044]

Best thing for getting sticky paper labels and the glue residue off things.

[Danny M2ZParticipant @dannym2z]

Try Inox MX-3. It's lanolin based and works very well to protect slideways and is also a handy cutting fluid for aluminium. Of course it's Australian so maybe I am a bit biased, but it's very good.

* Danny M *

[MikeParticipant @mike89748]

Wow, what have I started? I do use WD40 for cleaning shotgun barrels, and the occasional squirt as a water repellent, but that's about all. As somebody has said, "green" usually means twice the price and doesn't work. It's like gun cleaning stuff advertised as "as used by special forces". I don't think any country's "special forces" are into endorsing products.

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

Posted by Nick_G on 13/06/2014 18:18:24:

Posted by ronan walsh on 13/06/2014 18:09:40:

Whats wd40 good for anyway ?

The only thing I have ever found it any good for is as a solvent for cleaning away old oil and grease. – Which is nothing that parafin at a fraction of the cost would also do equally well.

Nick

Nick, parafin is £10 for four litres in my local Market Hall. But I wouldn't use WD40 for anything even if it was free. I do use GT85 quite liberally though and it is cheaper than both Paraffin and WD40. £3 a tin at Halfrauds at the moment.

graham.

[ronan walshParticipant @ronanwalsh98054]

The only time i use it is if aldi or lidl have it cheap, no way would i pay full whack for it as imho it is overhyped. To preserve machinery during the winter i buy a litre of cheap super market oil and apply it with a rag or brush.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Bob Perkins on 13/06/2014 21:03:13:

Best thing for getting sticky paper labels and the glue residue off things.

Sorry, Bob; I have to disagree … The stuff sold specifically for that job, by Servisol and Maplin [probably just badge-engineering] is much more effective.

MichaelG.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

My anti rust cure on non bearing/sliding surfaces is clear Waxoyle diluted with white spirit. I keep a jam jar and brush around all the time. It dries to a water repellant coat that is much nicer to handle than anything with oil yet can be cleaned off with white spirit or meths. It is rather like the equivalent of post it tackiness to glue.

[Cyril BonnettParticipant @cyrilbonnett24790]

I've used WD40 since the end of the 60's keeping rust at bay on motorcycles and latterly in my unheated shed full of tools and machinery. The bike also gets washed with hot water with a small amount of paraffin tipped in. The last 5 litres cost £20 and came with a dispenser. I once had a reliant regal van that stopped running at the slightest hint of moisture, a quick spray and it ran like a dream, that is if a 3 wheeled under powered fibre glass bodied van with loose windows and an engine half way into the cab could be called a dream! There is a lot of negative comments about WD40 around but since my father came home from work, MOD, with a can of the stuff I have never had any problems with it, here's a link to the WD40 data sheets

**LINK**

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