Solvent for WD 40?

[jem375]

WD40 sucks bigtime. Get some Kroil, it's everything WD40 wishes it was. Soak it down and let it set for a while, then start working it, things should start freeing up.

I learned my lesson about WD40 years ago deer hunting in sub-zero weather, turns to gunk and the firing pins wouldn't work on the rifles that I used to use WD40. I also use Kroil Oil and it works great.

 

[patrol120]

WD40 does not suck in any way. It is the very, very best at what it was designed for...water displacment. It makes a poor lubricant, but a very good waterproofer.

Kroil is a good penetrating oil, as is PB Blaster, but neither are nearly as good at water displacement.

 

[49hudson]

charcoal starter

Charcoal lighter fluid is cheap and contains naptha, which is an excellent solvent for petroleum distillates.

 

[JohnKSa]

wd40 disolves wd40 varnish

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Just make sure to get rid of any excess WD-40 after you're done cleaning and replace it with some good stuff.

 

[EddieCoyle]

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Just make sure to get rid of any excess WD-40 after you're done cleaning and replace it with some good stuff.

I got it submerged in WD 40 right now. It seems to be softening up, but slowly. I did get the magazine out. I'll post a pic after I get it ungunked, detail stripped, and cleaned.

I should've taken a "before" pic.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

Charcoal lighter fluid is cheap and contains naptha, which is an excellent solvent for petroleum distillates.

You can buy VM&P naphtha at the lumberyard even cheaper by the gallon. It's a great solvent for decals, price tags, glue etc. It is a staple at my shop, a squeeze bottle on every workbench. Also, it won't hurt hardly any finish.

 

[entropy]

Brake Cleaner, or Mineral Spirits, or your basic solvent tank-type solvent will work about the fastest, but as you are finding out, WD-40 does indeed work.
I can't afford to wait that long.

I was brought a Remington 7400 that a guy had and said it would not fire. He thought the firing pin was broken. What had actually happened was he used WD-40 to lube his firearms and generally would spray inside the action. It was so gummed up the firing pin could not build enough energy to mark the primer. Once clean it worked fine. I used the technique above to clean it.

I get about six to a dozen of them each fall; guys will meticulously [as best they can] clean their 742/7400, then soak it in WD-40 to store it. They wait till two days before deer season to sight in, or don't bother at all, and then wonder why it doesn't fire. We use BreakFree CLP to lube them when we're done, and these yahoos wipe it off and out WD-40 back on, then come in hoppin' mad because it wouldn't fire when they had Ol' Mossyhorns in the scope.... Keeps me workin, I guess, but frustrating...

 

[molonlabe]

Doesn’t surprise me. WD40 is highly refined kerosene with some waxes (paraffin) in it. It really isn’t designed as a rust inhibitor since it will dry out.

 

[TooTaxed]

WD-40 is a solvent, not a lubricant! DON'T use it to protect your firearms!

I mostly use it for removing gummed labels from plastic containers I want to reuse for something else...and even then you have to use a degreaser to get the WD-40 residue off so labels will stick!

 

[Sheldon J]

Doesn’t surprise me. WD40 is highly refined kerosene with some waxes (paraffin) in it. It really isn’t designed as a rust inhibitor since it will dry out.

Actually consumers reports did a test of several rust inhibitors a few years back, and ol WD was there. The sprayed it on a hunk of iron then put it in a salt spay. Did this with quite a few different spray oils. Even had a untreated hunk for a standard. Although WD was not the best it rated in the top 5.

 

[tube_ee]

WD-40 is, as has been said, a water dispersant and rust preventative, not a lubricant. The fact that it has some slight lubricating proerties has led more people astray than I can count. I used to work at a bike shop. I've seen what WD-40 does to a chain.

The stuff was actually developed for coating ICBM bodies, to keep water from condensing on them and causing corrosion. It was the 40th formula the company tried. Last I heard, it was still used for that purpose. They apply it with a mop.

Bottom line, use it for what it's for... which is NOT lubricating stuff.

--Shannon

 

[ScottsGT]

I think I encountered the same problem last week with my used Colt 1911 I bought. I think the PO used WD-40 as a wipe down solvent after each range session. It had a yellow crust caked up under the grips. I had to use Aircraft Paint Stripper to remove the crap.
If the WD-40 bath does not work, try "Aircraft Stripper" paint remover available at auto body supply houses and parts stores. Don't use it on aluminum! But you should not have that problem with an M-1 Carbine.

 

[EddieCoyle]

The WD 40 bath worked! I got everything loose and apart, cleaned the residual WD 40 off with some brake cleaner, then cleaned the whole mess with CLP. I took it to the range today and it shoots great.

Thanks everyone for your help.

P.S. I told my friend that if he ever gets another gun that he intends to put away for a decade, to call me and I'll give him something to treat it with.