Is WD40 my friend?

[fish]

I have a habbit of using WD40 on Everything!

Is it okay for Bearings? Overall parts?

Its great for cleaning and lubing at the same time but...

But is it an RC Friend or Enemy? Of is it like Switzerland?

 

[Velodromed]

No. It’s the devil. Seriously bad stuff.

 

[Diem Turner]

The WD in WD40 actually stands for Water Dispersion. It's more of a protectant than it is a lubricant. You can use it on plastic parts to keep them from becoming brittle but I would not use it for bearing lubricant. Use a proper oil like sewing machine oil or grease if you're running off road.

Edit: WD40 is great for making the mirrors in your bathroom fog proof. Water dispersion. It works.

 

[jkflow]

Do not use on bearings, it leaves a nasty film which will destroy them rather quickly. WD40 is only OK for plastic or the trash can, stop using it. Plastic will get softer which prevent breakage but so will boiling in water.
Throw away that evil stuff and start using better methods.
FYI, it will penetrate epoxy on the ESC and ultimately kill it as well.

 

[Jon NC RC]

Some have used to soften plastic parts....I have , but I haven't for a while.....

Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES get it into bearings ...... shortens life expectancy exponentially

EDIT: Yep, like JK said above, will get funky on your electronics, as well

I switched to simple green to clean..... still avoid electronic exposure as much as possible, and try to avoid bearings....it cleans pretty good and it is much more forgiving for bearings and electronics. Good advice to service the bearings, I use marine grease, which has water-repellent qualities

 

[fish]

THANKS!

I had that feeling. I know its not great for electronics.

Wasn't sure about bearings.

 

[Liquid SSSnake]

I use it to clean diffs and shock silicone, works better than anything else I tried.

 

[fish]

Ive been using DeoxIT on electronics for many years.
https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-D5S-6-D...electric+motor+cleaner&qid=1655907429&sr=8-28

I have Liberty Oil for most moving parts.

Im going to install Fast Eddy bearings in the cars when I can. They are sealed so i assume need little servicing.

 

[Jon NC RC]

I use it to clean diffs and shock silicone, works better than anything else I tried.

A long timer suggested naphtha - its what he uses for servicing diffs - I haven't used anything else to compare - Im satisfied with it - but it is a cousin of gasoline and is highly flammable.

 

[Liquid SSSnake]

A long timer suggested naphtha - its what he uses for servicing diffs - I haven't used anything else to compare - Im satisfied with it.

Naphtha was my last resort, but I already had WD-40 laying around it's probably the second best thing.

 

[Adiabatic]

It's a mixture of hydrocarbons in the kerosene to light oil range, which means it will work fine as a solvent, cleaner, short-term corrosion protector, and light-duty lubricant.

If you spray it on bearings you'll only wash the grease out and leave a much inferior oil film that might last for a few seconds before they're essentially running dry. For displacing water after running in wet conditions it's okay, but silicone spray has similar water-displacing properties and will leave a hydrophobic coating that's also less likely to attract dirt, so it's better here and for general chassis cleaning and lubrication. Naphtha and brake cleaner with solvents in the hexane/heptane range are better for degreasing as they evaporate more quickly and completely.

In short, it can be your friend for some things (mainly displacing water) if it's all you have on hand, but I can't think of anything R/C related it does better than alternatives.

 

[FJC_GUY]

In the off road industry we use Tri-Flow dry lube on a lot of bushings and joints because it tends to not collect grime like other lubricants.

I've been running it on the bearings in my Vorteks and I haven't had any issues yet and they stay pretty clean. Bearing sets are pretty cheap so I figured I'd give it a shot since I have it for my bicycles anyway.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

This thread makes me happy...

 

[AIan]

Wd40 is good for my cleaning my rc’s, but I always make sure to oil bearings. I don’t spray my bearings directly usuall, unless cove in dirt/dust & stuffs.
I like this thread
https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/how-do-you-clean-your-rc.1978/

 

[fish]

Wd40 is good for my cleaning my rc’s, but I always make sure to oil bearings. I don’t spray my bearings directly usuall, unless cove in dirt/dust & stuffs.
I like this thread
https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/how-do-you-clean-your-rc.1978/

Awesome read. I use car Armor-all wash, bucket and sponge to get the grime off, light water spray.
I need a damn air compressor but I do use cans of compressed air to blow water out of parts.

I Do use an ultrasonic cleaning machine for my vinyl records and its Great! But mine is purposely built for records, not parts.

In the off road industry we use Tri-Flow dry lube on a lot of bushings and joints because it tends to not collect grime like other lubricants.

I've been running it on the bearings in my Vorteks and I haven't had any issues yet and they stay pretty clean. Bearing sets are pretty cheap so I figured I'd give it a shot since I have it for my bicycles anyway.

Isn't WD40 a dry lube? Any difference between Tri-Flow dry lube and WD40?

https://www.amazon.com/Tri-Flow-TF2...5911618&sprefix=Tri+lube+,aps,105&sr=8-2&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Blaster-16-S...silicone+spray+for+rc+cars,aps,95&sr=8-5&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/WD-40-Specia...silicone+spray+for+rc+cars,aps,95&sr=8-4&th=1

 

[Jerry-rigged]

WD40 is a cleaner/solvent/water absorber that has light oil as a component. It will leave a light film of oil, but it is a light oil that does not do much for lube, and it will evaporate in a few days, leaving the surface un-protected from both oxidation (rust) and friction.

 

[Diem Turner]

I use the following product on a lot of things because it doesn't attract dirt/dust like a lot of oils do:

 

[sumguy75]

I experienced first hand how bad WD-40 is for bearings. Doesn't help that the Traxxas website specifically recommends it for bearings, that is why I used it to start with.
https://traxxas.com/support/importance-WD-40-when-running-wet-conditions
Out of the 8 bearings in the hub carriers on my Stampede I used it on, all 8 of them disintegrated within a few battery packs. They were almost brand new when I first started spraying them with it, and since Traxxas said WD-40 was ideal, I just assumed I had gotten a bad batch of bearings, so I replaced them and used WD-40 again. Within a few packs, 8 out of 8 bearings had disintegrated again, a different batch and brand of bearings so I knew it wasn't just a bad batch.
Now I dry my rigs in front of a high speed fan for about 45 minutes after a wet run and use an artist brush to apply 3 in 1 oil to the bearings. Zero issues since I started doing that.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

I experienced first hand how bad WD-40 is for bearings. Doesn't help that the Traxxas website specifically recommends it for bearings, that is why I used it to start with.
https://traxxas.com/support/importance-WD-40-when-running-wet-conditions
Out of the 8 bearings in the hub carriers on my Stampede I used it on, all 8 of them disintegrated within a few battery packs. They were almost brand new when I first started spraying them with it, and since Traxxas said WD-40 was ideal, I just assumed I had gotten a bad batch of bearings, so I replaced them and used WD-40 again. Within a few packs, 8 out of 8 bearings had disintegrated again, a different batch and brand of bearings so I knew it wasn't just a bad batch.
Now I dry my rigs in front of a high speed fan for about 45 minutes after a wet run and use an artist brush to apply 3 in 1 oil to the bearings. Zero issues since I started doing that.

Yes, but part of the Traxxas business model is profit off parts sales...

 

[FJC_GUY]

Awesome read. I use car Armor-all wash, bucket and sponge to get the grime off, light water spray.
I need a damn air compressor but I do use cans of compressed air to blow water out of parts.

I Do use an ultrasonic cleaning machine for my vinyl records and its Great! But mine is purposely built for records, not parts.


Isn't WD40 a dry lube? Any difference between Tri-Flow dry lube and WD40?

https://www.amazon.com/Tri-Flow-TF20006-Superior-Lubricant-12-Ounce/dp/B000SKY3GO/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=tri+lube+lubricant&qid=1655911618&sprefix=Tri+lube+,aps,105&sr=8-2&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Blaster-16-SL-Industrial-Strength-Lubricant/dp/B0019LV3GO/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2HUG8QZVEGE3K&keywords=silicone+spray+for+RC+Cars&qid=1655911747&sprefix=silicone+spray+for+rc+cars,aps,95&sr=8-5&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/WD-40-Specialist-White-Lithium-Grease/dp/B00L35DAWQ/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2HUG8QZVEGE3K&keywords=silicone+spray+for+RC+Cars&qid=1655911747&sprefix=silicone+spray+for+rc+cars,aps,95&sr=8-4&th=1

Tri-Flow is uses PTFE, I haven't compared it to any of the RC specific stuff and I haven't had a can of WD-40 since I started using Penetrol as a penetrating oil for rusty stuff on 1:1 cars and trucks.

I decided to try it based on our experience with Tri-Flow and bike chains, it's excellent, and the large uni-ball and Heim joints used in suspension components of 1:1 vehicles. It's very effective at prolonging the life of those joints so I decided to give it a try. Still on the same bearings that I put in 30-40 packs ago and they are still very smooth.