WD40 And Displacing Water

[bassjam]

So I often go wade fishing where I'm standing in knee to waist deep water for hours and hours. These are midwest streams, meaning a mix of mud, sand and rock; water is clearish but certainly not mountain stream clear. Inside my pocket on these outings is an LCP, which sees plenty of time submerged throughout the day. I wanted some folks take on my cleaning procedure:

1) Field strip gun and disassemble the mag.
2) Rinse all parts under running tap water to remove river water grit, towel dry.
3) Heavily spray anything metal with WD40 to displace the tap water, wipe dry.
4) Clean with solvent to remove WD 40, normally Hoppe's 9.
5) Let dry and re-lube.

Too much? Am I missing anything? Anything you'd do differently? I used to just rinse, use compressed air to blow out the tap water and go right to re-lubing, but I figured WD 40 is better at getting into the nooks and crannies in the frame and slide than a jet of air.

 

[rdnktrkr]

Only thing I see that could cause a problem is the WD40 creating a "varnish" like coating that can cause problems

 

[chicharrones]

So I often go wade fishing where I'm standing in knee to waist deep water for hours and hours. These are midwest streams, meaning a mix of mud, sand and rock; water is clearish but certainly not mountain stream clear. Inside my pocket on these outings is an LCP, which sees plenty of time submerged throughout the day. I wanted some folks take on my cleaning procedure:

1) Field strip gun and disassemble the mag.
2) Rinse all parts under running tap water to remove river water grit, towel dry.
3) Heavily spray anything metal with WD40 to displace the tap water, wipe dry.
4) Clean with solvent to remove WD 40, normally Hoppe's 9.
5) Let dry and re-lube.

Too much? Am I missing anything? Anything you'd do differently? I used to just rinse, use compressed air to blow out the tap water and go right to re-lubing, but I figured WD 40 is better at getting into the nooks and crannies in the frame and slide than a jet of air.

Do you have an air compressor? Everything you list is pretty much what I do, but I also use an air compressor to blow out guns (and other non-gun things) after rinsing and WD-40 steps.

Other than that, I'd figure out a way to not keep my gun submerged for hours on end.

 

[Reloadron]

While I am not out wading in local rivers what you are doing pretty much mimics what I was doing after a week in mud and snow deer hunting in West Virginia. Rifles were totally stripped down including removal of stocks and I pretty much duplicated what you are doing leaving only a very light coating of WD 40. Worked for me for decades.

Ron

 

[nettlle]

I blow mine out with an air nozzle and relube with gun oil.

 

[.38 Special]

I think it is fine. WD-40 triggers some folks, but I believe the concern is overdone. Applied repeatedly over the years it can gum up. Used with any kind of sense it works well.

(I'm more worried about your ammunition than your gun!)

 

[Slamfire]

What the OP does sounds fine to me. I do have an air compressor and that is a wonderful thing, blows the gunk out of areas I cannot reach.

I pulled targets at Camp Perry with a Dupont tribologist and he said WD40 is made with a light evaporative oil which leaves a silicon layer on the surface. As long as the oil is still there, it will lubricate.

I have put high capacity magazines into "long term storage". I sprayed the heck out of them with WD 40 and slipped them into zip lock bags. I have opened a couple of ziplock bags over the years, and the WD40 is still oily. I am sure, if the magazines were out in the open, they would feel gummy due to the silicone layer.

 

[nettlle]

I want everything dry on the inside before lubing. WD40 can displace oil just as well as water.

 

[tws3b2]

I spray/clean my mags with wd40 every couple weeks. And wipe my guns down with wd40 after every cleaning. My plan is to let you guys know exactly how long it takes it to start building up. "I wish It would hurry up and start building. I'm getting tired and bored. I been doing it for nearly 50 years now." """"ON THE SAME GUNS. OVER & OVER & OVER AGAIN"""""

 

[dogtown tom]

Too much? Am I missing anything? Anything you'd do differently?

IMO, Waaaaay to much.
Some of your steps are illogical, if its dry in #2, no need to use WD40 at all.
1. Field strip, rinse out sand/grit/bugs.
2. Dry using towels/canned air/air compressor/desk fan or gently blowing while whispering sweet words of love.
3. Reassemble and lube.

 

[dodo bird]

I’m gonna go with simple here. Ziplock bag.

 

[nickshave]

The internet says WD 40 is Stoddard solvent ,which is crude mineral spirits, and mineral oil they both would repel water. I think the stoddard solvent is what gums up in time.

 

[whisler]

Stoddard solvent is just another name for mineral spirits, not crude in any way. Mineral spirits will not leave a varnish deposit. (paint chemist in former occupation)

 

[kidneyboy]

I think every forum I have ever been on, regardless of subject, has WD 40 threads. The stuff is like magic. I do agree with post #10 although nothing wrong with what you're doing.

 

[Some_Mook]

An LCP will fit inside a small dry bag. Might be better to just keep the thing dry to begin with and not have to worry about sand and grit. It's all well and good to clean the gunk out when you get home, but I am not sure how well it would run full of water and sand if you had a sudden need to use it in the field.

It's an opinion obviously, but you asked what someone might do differently.

I carry a revolver in a chest holster when wearing waders. The gun is much more readily accessible than it would be in a pocket, doesn't get submerged unless I do, so while it can (and does) get wet it doesn't have silt getting into the nether regions under most conditions and while I have never had a malfunction with my LCP I haven't put mine through what you are describing, nor would I want to.

Larry Vickers has done some unkind things to Glocks and they still run for the most part. Never seen a LCP torture test. Maybe we need one.

 

[Deus Machina]

On one hand, my instinct is just to keep things dry in the first place.
On the other, if you need to use both hands to open a separate bag to retrieve a gun in a panic, you either don't really need it or you're defeating the purpose of an LCP.

Also, FWIW, WD40 only really gums up and turns into something like varnish when it's allowed to dry in place, usually in layers. Ever hear the complaint "this thing keeps sticking and I have to keep WD40-ing it?" in regards to a hinge or slide of some sort?
Yeah, if you clean the old stuff off and don't let a heavy coat dry on it, it doesn't do that.
That's why I'm not ashamed to use WD40 in a pinch, with the caveat that it's great at getting things moving, not keeping them moving. Otherwise it's good at breaking up other cruds, moderate preservation, and--who would have guessed?--water displacement.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

WD-40 sucks long term, so the plan to immediately clean and properly lube is good.

But I generally don't bother with WD-40 at all. My guns already have a coating of oils throughout anyway, because of routine maintenance. So I'm not worried about dunking in the river while I'm out and about. I shake the gun of water and let it dry in the heat/air. First opportunity afterwards, I'll field strip, clean, and lube again.

No worries.

Bit of an overkill with WD-40, I think, but so long as you thoroughly clean it later and properly relube, there's no harm to be had.

 

[Speedo66]

How about rinsing the gun with very hot water, then heating to a moderate temperature to evaporate the water?

Save a couple of steps.

The previous mention of a zip lock bag is also a good idea, prevent the intrusion of water to begin with. In an emergency, your fingers can penetrate the bag if necessary.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

.38 Special: ... Applied repeatedly over the years it can gum up. ...

Bad thing is that WD40 leaves behind a wax as the solvent evaporates.
Good thing is that the solvent in fresh WD40 dissolves the waxy buildup.

WD40 is inexpensive and available. I don't use it to clean any parts I can't wipe off.

 

[jdsingleshot]

I second the hot water/hot air method. I don't teach guns to swim, but heat and air work very well. Just don't call it done till it's done, and then baste with oil.

 

[Zerodefect]

Sounds fine to me. Skip the solvent though. There is no need to strip the wd40 away. Let leftover WD mix with your lube.


Personally, I'd just detail strip, then hose down with CLP.

 

[doubleh]

WD-40 turns into varnish if left to dry as I found out the hard way and no it wasn't on a firearm. It is also a vey useful product and does displace water. Back years ago I owned a 1 ton Ford truck for a work truck and it had a 6 cylinder engine. The distributor was mounted low on the left side of the block. This meant that anytime I had to drive through a mudhole after a decent rain the thing would drown out. I carried WD-40 just to get it running again. Raise the hood, spray the distributor and wiring, crank up and go on my way was the drill. I grew to hate that truck before I got rid of it and not just for it's failure to creep through a mud hole without quitting. WD-40 is a fairly decent cutting lubricant in a pinch, removes that sticky glue residue left on things when the price sticker is removed, and some people claim it is good for arthritic joints . No, I haven't used it for arthritis.

If I were to treat a gun like the OP I would spray it out with SuperTech (Walmart) carb cleaner, blow it dry with compressed air, spray the internals with a good dry lube, paste wax for the outside and it's protected until it next swimming trip. Better yet I would carry it in a chest or shoulder rig where it would stay of the water.

 

[The Night Rider]

Only thing I see that could cause a problem is the WD40 creating a "varnish" like coating that can cause problems

But he says he uses the solvent to take the WD-40 off

 

[robin banks]

Only thing I see that could cause a problem is the WD40 creating a "varnish" like coating that can cause problems

my friend works in a naval ship yard. they had a nuke carrier in dry dock working on it and he used WD 40 on the props. well the ship broke down at sea cause the WD 40 gummed up the props the ship had to be towed back.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

my friend works in a naval ship yard. they had a nuke carrier in dry dock working on it and he used WD 40 on the props. well the ship broke down at sea cause the WD 40 gummed up the props the ship had to be towed back.

Hmmm...don't recall hearing about that with any of the carriers in our yard!