Pet Peeves, gun related

[JRH6856]

Isn't WD40 a solvent???

I wouldn't use it on firearms.

No, it is an oil based (fish oil may well be one component as the exact formula is still unpublished) mixture heavily diluted by a solvent for application. As such, it can initially act as a solvent when applied but when the solvent evaporates, the oil base is left behind.

It can be useful on guns as a penetrating oil for certain specific uses, but not as a general purpose lubricant.

I knew one guy who regularly sprayed his duty weapon with WD-40 everyday when he got off shift...without unloading He quit doing that after a trip to the range where all six rounds failed to fire because WD-40 had penetrated around the unsealed primers.

 

[JRH6856]

One of my peeves is people at gun shows who pick up guns from tables, oblivious to the security cable running through the trigger guard and then stand there trying to aim at the ceiling with all the other guns on the table dangling like catfish on a trotline.

 

[Cee Zee]

The people who make WD-40 advertise it as having 2000 uses. It was designed to prevent rust originally and if you spray it on metal that doesn't move it will do that pretty well. They also claim it is a lubricant. And it is. But it changes as it dries and becomes sticky. For certain applications it's not a problem to use it as a lube. I use it for locks and anything that just needs to be protected from rust. Locks often rust up inside so I ignore the fact it can make them gum up eventually. Generally a new dose of the stuff will make the residue break down into a lube again if you spray enough of it inside a lock.

But firearms are certainly different. Small parts that need to move freely and often can be gummed up by the stuff. I wouldn't use it on a gun for any reason except maybe to coat the outside of a barrel maybe or possibly a receiver. But I've seen people spray half a can of the stuff a day through a gun. They make it so they have to keep adding more to keep the action working.

Again newbies need to learn to use the right kinds of lube and the right solvents etc. before they tear into putting lube on a gun. It's no different than a car really. If you think you can spray WD-40 down the oil fill hole and it will keep your engine from seizing up you have made a major mistake. However they learn it they need to learn.

If you've ever worked on electronic equipment you might know this. If you put the wrong lube on a dial switch it can instantly lock up that dial switch. Certain lubes just do not mix well together. If you try to clean the pots on a piece of equipment with the wrong stuff you'll ruin it in a heart beat. It's like my son's Pinewood Derby car when he was a cub scout. We had a great lube on the wheels and his car was beating everything in sight. Then some joker talked us into using another lube saying it was really special and should make the car even faster. Yeah it was special alright. His car lost terribly the next race because the lubes didn't play well together. It was more like glue than lube. I knew we were taking a chance but my son wanted to win. And he trusted the people with the new lube. Bad idea. Guns are like that. They come with protecting oil in some places and lube that should last in other places. I prefer waiting for problems to happen (after an inspection of course) so they can be fixed without causing worse problems right off the bat. It has worked well for me over the years.