WD40 and a Resurrection Story

Status
Not open for further replies.
E

edwardware

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2010
Messages
4,424
A friend of mine with the sort of fortune we'd all be jealous of bought an estate of firearms last month, for ~50% on the dollar. He told them as much, but they liked him more than the next guy.

Among the collection was a barely-used Ithica 37 (serial of 1970 vintage) with a 20" cylinder bore, corncob fore, and honest to goodness parkerizing. When he handed it to me it was completely inoperative; none of the controls worked. Up the skirt I looked and behold. . . eww.

3 hours with a toothbrush and ATF, and it's like new. . . my diagnosis is a healthy soaking of WD40 sometime in the 90s or earlier turned into varnish somewhere between peanut butter and cold carmel sauce. There must have been a half a can in there.

It's the first 37 I've had apart, and I admire that clever mechanism, pump-fire and all!
 
Nice find. Post some pics. WD-40 was the bain of firearms in the 60s and 70s or more. Many were told "Don't clean it just spray it down with WD-40. Works ok for awhile then it gums and varnishes. But It did protect the outside good sitting in closets for years with that brown varnish. A couple local gunsmiths said it was the best thing for business, especially on one of the local favorites the Rem 1100. Gummed up the gas system so they wouldn't function.
 
.38 Special said:
I don't know why it's still legal, really.
Click to expand...
I know an old guy who swears it eases his aching knees.
And I like to douse (I used a word that generally means a vinegar/water delicate flush, but it ********’d it) my snow plow and shovels with it...

I had a friend bring me a Rohm 38spcl once because it wouldn’t work. (Pretty odd for a Rohm! Haha)
Turns out it was his dads, who lubed it with the dreaded wd40. Cleaned it up, and it actually turned out to be a half decent revolver
 
Ironicaintit said:
I know an old guy who swears it eases his aching knees.
And I like to douse (I used a word that generally means a vinegar/water delicate flush, but it ********’d it) my snow plow and shovels with it...

I had a friend bring me a Rohm 38spcl once because it wouldn’t work. (Pretty odd for a Rohm! Haha)
Turns out it was his dads, who lubed it with the dreaded wd40. Cleaned it up, and it actually turned out to be a half decent revolver
Click to expand...
Boy he must smell good. For shovels get the generic PAM spray. I get mine at ALDIs for under a buck. Works great. I can't stand the smell of WD-40 these days because I used it so much back in the day working under my cars in the driveway.
 
I have found that the best way to clean up WD overdose is tri-sodium phosphate (TSP) dissolved in hot water. TSP won’t harm bluing and will emulsify the sticky gunk so it will wash away with more hot water. Bad cases may take as much as a 30 minute soak. The metal will be chemically clean so it will need a shot of oil, NOT WD, to protect from rust.
 
That stuff was used on everything back then for sure!

I recall handling a S&W Model 36 revolver that had been WD'ed to death...you literally could not open the cylinder or pull the trigger it was so solidified inside. I told the guy who owned it to find a good gunsmith to crack it open and clean it out...or use it as an inoperative paperweight for the rest of his life. I don't recall if he did either, he wasn't much into guns and I haven't seen him since.

Stay safe.
 
Many, many years ago LEO's would spray their service revolver down with
WD40 when coming in from a rain storm.
That went on till they found out the solvents in the stuff killed
the primers in the loaded cartridges!!
 
Kp321 said:
I have found that the best way to clean up WD overdose is tri-sodium phosphate (TSP) dissolved in hot water.
Click to expand...
Interesting, I didn't think of TSP.

I considered immersing the assembled receiver in boiling water, but after I got the buttstock off, I was able to get the FCG retention screw turning and got away without.
 
WD40 -- Water Displacement formula #40 - is basicly a waxy protectant in a pentrating solvent, originally designed to get under watersoaked components and protect electrical contacts.
Spray some WD40 in a metal cup and set it aside, then check on it every weekend or so. As the solvent evaporates, the protectant gets thicker and sludgier.

WD40's great for cleaning metal parts (if it is wiped off) but WD40 is not a long term storage protectant, especially inside a mechanism like a revolver lockworks.or Marlin Model 60 that was never cleaned just sprayed with WD40 then later left in a closet for decades after a friend's uncle stopped hunting.

WD40 is great for freeing rusted parts and the solvent in WD40 will disolve sludged up WD40.

added bold because ithe solvent may be unkind to non-metal parts.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: wgf
I use a old slow cooker, a couple of hours at close to boiling with a touch of cleaner will remove the
most stubborn dirt. Sometimes all the paint too.
 
edwardware said:
Among the collection was a barely-used Ithica 37 (serial of 1970 vintage) with a 20" cylinder bore, corncob fore, and honest to goodness parkerizing. When he handed it to me it was completely inoperative; none of the controls worked. Up the skirt I looked and behold. . . eww.

3 hours with a toothbrush and ATF, and it's like new. . . my diagnosis is a healthy soaking of WD40 sometime in the 90s or earlier turned into varnish somewhere between peanut butter and cold carmel sauce. There must have been a half a can in there.
Click to expand...
So you found a gummed up shotgun. Then you decided that WD40 must be the cause, even though there's not a shred of evidence that WD40 was ever used on it. That's some Olympic class jumping to conclusions.

I've heard many similar stories, and almost all are the same thing, gummed up gun, decided WD40 must be the cause. Well, I've tried to get WD40 to gum up and have been unable to do it. Five years ago there was a similar thread, and a poster swore that WD40 would quickly gum a padlock into a solid block. So I took a clean Master padlock and doused it in WD40 until it leaked out between the steel plates. Two weeks went by, no gumming. Not enough time said the poster. Six weeks went by, no gumming. Well it's been five years now and the padlock still works as if it were well lubricated. Which it is.

Now there is a lot of solvent in WD40, and it's possible that the solvent might interact with something and cause it to gum up once the solvent evaporates. But I've been unable to get it to do it on clean parts, and I'll take the results of actual experimentation over internet myth.
 
I cleaned guns through the years that WD 40 was used on. It is junk. A few in particular when I was living in MS a co-worker had just lost her dad and somehow she ended up with his guns from Michigan. She told me he used nothing but WD 40 on his guns to lube them and stored them in open air in a finished basement. When I got them (Winchester Model 70 7MM Mag and Marlin 30-30) they were nearly froze up. The surface looked like it had been coated in spar varnish (the bolt had a yellow hue to it) and the actions were both sticky to the point of not working. I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and got them freed up and looking good again. It was a job.
 
natman said:
So you found a gummed up shotgun. Then you decided that WD40 must be the cause, even though there's not a shred of evidence that WD40 was ever used on it. That's some Olympic class jumping to conclusions.

I've heard many similar stories, and almost all are the same thing, gummed up gun, decided WD40 must be the cause. Well, I've tried to get WD40 to gum up and have been unable to do it. Five years ago there was a similar thread, and a poster swore that WD40 would quickly gum a padlock into a solid block. So I took a clean Master padlock and doused it in WD40 until it leaked out between the steel plates. Two weeks went by, no gumming. Not enough time said the poster. Six weeks went by, no gumming. Well it's been five years now and the padlock still works as if it were well lubricated. Which it is.

Now there is a lot of solvent in WD40, and it's possible that the solvent might interact with something and cause it to gum up once the solvent evaporates. But I've been unable to get it to do it on clean parts, and I'll take the results of actual experimentation over internet myth.
Click to expand...

WD-40 is a popular fish attractant in some circles in the Pacific Northwest. I've seen some of those boats where it's used. You can't touch the area without sticking to it.

As suggested above. Spray some WD-40 into a container. Let it sit out, you'll notice it gets thicker and thicker, and it gets really sticky.
 
Texas10mm said:
WD-40 is a popular fish attractant in some circles in the Pacific Northwest. I've seen some of those boats where it's used. You can't touch the area without sticking to it.

As suggested above. Spray some WD-40 into a container. Let it sit out, you'll notice it gets thicker and thicker, and it gets really sticky.
Click to expand...

I've never been on a fishing boat that wasn't sticky. Next you'll tell us that WD-40 makes fishing boats smell like dead fish. :p
 
natman said:
So you found a gummed up shotgun. Then you decided that WD40 must be the cause, even though there's not a shred of evidence that WD40 was ever used on it. That's some Olympic class jumping to conclusions.
Click to expand...

Any of us who was alive in the 70's knows what a WD-40 soaked gun looks and smells like. The gummy residue and smell would be prima facie evidence.

Texas10mm said:
WD-40 is a popular fish attractant in some circles in the Pacific Northwest.
Click to expand...

Works great for crappies in the Midwest, also.

Scooter22 said:
Nice find. Post some pics. WD-40 was the bain of firearms in the 60s and 70s or more. Many were told "Don't clean it just spray it down with WD-40. Works ok for awhile then it gums and varnishes. But It did protect the outside good sitting in closets for years with that brown varnish. A couple local gunsmiths said it was the best thing for business, especially on one of the local favorites the Rem 1100. Gummed up the gas system so they wouldn't function.
Click to expand...

I made a lot of money cleaning WD-40 out of guns of all kinds, particularly 1100's. I'd leave a note on the repair tag to tell the owner to not use WD-40 at all on the gun, and it would be in the next fall, drenched in WD-40 and gummed up......:rofl:

.38 Special said:
I've never been on a fishing boat that wasn't sticky. Next you'll tell us that WD-40 makes fishing boats smell like dead fish. :p
Click to expand...

It does, from all the fish you catch using it.
 
Well, I'll say now what I said 5 years ago: Describe a scenario where WD40 is sure to gum up and I'll try it and publish the results for all to see. I have no vested interest in the outcome either way, except to set the record straight based on an actual start to finish example.
 
Mossberg bought from Pawn Shop looked like it was soaked WD - 40 and thrown in the dirt
 
edwardware said:
A friend of mine with the sort of fortune we'd all be jealous of bought an estate of firearms last month, for ~50% on the dollar. He told them as much, but they liked him more than the next guy.

Among the collection was a barely-used Ithica 37 (serial of 1970 vintage) with a 20" cylinder bore, corncob fore, and honest to goodness parkerizing. When he handed it to me it was completely inoperative; none of the controls worked. Up the skirt I looked and behold. . . eww.

3 hours with a toothbrush and ATF, and it's like new. . . my diagnosis is a healthy soaking of WD40 sometime in the 90s or earlier turned into varnish somewhere between peanut butter and cold carmel sauce.
Click to expand...
But was it rusty? ;) ;)
 
natman said:
Well, I'll say now what I said 5 years ago: Describe a scenario where WD40 is sure to gum up and I'll try it and publish the results for all to see. I have no vested interest in the outcome either way, except to set the record straight based on an actual start to finish example.
Click to expand...

Spray a good amount in a small metal container. Now let it sit. It might take 6 months or so but it's going to gum up.
 
entropy said:
I made a lot of money cleaning WD-40 out of guns of all kinds, particularly 1100's. I'd leave a note on the repair tag to tell the owner to not use WD-40. . .
Click to expand...
Dude, business development!

Haven't you noticed the candy bowl at the dentist? You should have given a free sample sized WD40 with each gunsmithing invoice. . . for your outboard motor, of course.
 
natman said:
Well, I'll say now what I said 5 years ago: Describe a scenario where WD40 is sure to gum up and I'll try it and publish the results for all to see. I have no vested interest in the outcome either way, except to set the record straight based on an actual start to finish example.
Click to expand...
Well lets see. Do what average Joe hunter does who goes out opening day and a few more. Take gun and soak the inside of the action, mag ect say 5 different days.. The places where average Joe will never take apart. In my area your hunting guns usually get rained or snowed on. Plus it,s cold so they sweat when you bring them in. So soak it. Its a Water Displacement spray right so more is better. Now the important part. Put in a dark closet until next year . Thats where the magic happens. Now I know everybody knows this but WD-40 was not made to be a lube. It was made to spray on missle nose cones in their silos to protect them from corrosion. Thats why it varnishes up so it doesn't run off. See you in 2021 for the results. Hope it,s a better year.:D
 
A friend of mine complained about his Ruger MK1 not running right, I offered to clean it for him and found the internals covered with a orange like sticky coating. Sure enough he sprayed it with WD40 and put it away for about a year. A good cleaning with an actual gun solvent cleaned it up fine. There are way to many gun cleaning products on the market to mess with WD40. Side thought, a locksmith also told me never spray WD40 in to locks, same reason . hdbiker
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top