WD40 - any substitute?

pvb said:
I'm sure it's excellent stuff, but the OP was asking about penetrating oils, not corrosion protection compounds.
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It is a (very)thin film penetrant and lubricant that doesn't dry or evaporate

Kills existing corrosion and prevents new
'ACTIVE' for up to 12 months
Excellent lubricant and penetrant
Approved for use on electrics and engines
Easily applied non-drying, ultra thin, clear film
Very economical
Contains no wax, silicon, Teflon or water
 
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Acetone and EP90 gear oil is utterly superb as a penetrating oil.

I saw an intarweb test a few years ago, and this beat all of the brands.
 
I'd second Diesel as something pretty effective & which you're likely to have on board if you dont have a specialist product to hand. (unless you only have a petrol o/b of course!)
 
I too use white spirit as a penetrating solvent and occasionally even mix some of whatever oil or grease I have to hand if I feel the job wants continued lubrication. Much cheaper than spray cans and the plastic bottles don't rust and deposit a load of butane in the bilges.

Plus it can be (admittedly harmfully) used to clean the worst of the grime off oneself and the boat afterwards.

Come to think of it, maybe onboard gas installations are actually perfectly safe and we should really worry about all those spray cans in the lockers instead... :0)
 
SAPurdie said:
... the plastic bottles don't rust and deposit a load of butane in the bilges.

Come to think of it, maybe onboard gas installations are actually perfectly safe and we should really worry about all those spray cans in the lockers instead... :0)
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You must have had your cans for a very long time, propellants used in recent years are inert, often carbon dioxide.
 
pvb said:
WD40 isn't a penetrating oil. PlusGas is a good penetrating oil, but there are others.
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I realise that Wikipedia is not 100% accurate, but both it and the WD40 website describe the product as a penetrating fluid. My experience of it is that it is pretty successful at freeing siezed components.
 
boguing said:
Acetone and EP90 gear oil is utterly superb as a penetrating oil.

I saw an intarweb test a few years ago, and this beat all of the brands.
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I think you will find it is acetone mixed 50:50 with automatic transmission fluid. It works exceptionally well. Gear oil would work as well but the smell would be unpleasant.
 
maby said:
I realise that Wikipedia is not 100% accurate, but both it and the WD40 website describe the product as a penetrating fluid. My experience of it is that it is pretty successful at freeing siezed components.
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I'm pleased you've been happy with WD40 as a penetrating fluid; when you next have a particularly stubborn component, try PlusGas penetrating oil - as a number of posters have agreed it's very good.
 
Agree PlusGas much better than WD40 for freeing things.
Surprised to see from the MSDS that it is 60-100% "regular kerosene".
Plus small amounts of OLEYL HYDROXYETHYL IMIDAZOLINE and OLEOYL SARCOSINE - no idea if they have common names (Nicolas maybe :)
VicS - help!!
 
cmedsailor said:
Everybody (including myself) seems to know and probably use WD40. Are there any other penetrating oils equally good or even better?
I used in the past a few times another penetrating oil ("contact 60" or "contact 72" was probably called; cannot remember the exact name number and cannot even google it) with very good results.

Edit: I have managed to remember it! It was KONTAKT 60.
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As mentioned WD40 is not a penetrating oil. The best thing I have used to date is "PB Blaster" Brilliant. For the UK market buy Plus Gas... been around I am told for longer than you

http://www.frost.co.uk/plus-gas-dismantling-spray-220ml.html
 
Troubadour said:
OLEYL HYDROXYETHYL IMIDAZOLINE and OLEOYL SARCOSINE - no idea if they have common names
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Afraid those are common names, unless this would be better: "(Z)-2-(8-heptadecenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-1-ethanol "? :p VicS - help...
My English being too poor for this, but they are just modified natural fats (Oleoyl sarcosine is made from common oleic fatty acid with methylglicine IIRC) - much more soluble; better mixing with water.
Probably there to penetrate into wet areas.
Oleoyl sarcosine is used in cosmetics for this reason, face cleaners, hair treatment and such, easy to rinse off with water.
 
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