WD 40 on rubber seals

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JessF

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In the airgun community, using WD 40 as a lubricant or cleaner is a big no no. With the c02 power guns packing around 850psi at 72 F, compressed airgun at 3000psi, anything that compromises your rubber seals is a bad idea.

WD 40 eats rubber seals, so why do we spray it in the engine which contains o-rings on the carb and back plate?

Is there a silicon base lube we can spray into our engines, or might that be a bad idea for reason I'm not aware of.
 
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Personally I've never bothered with WD-40 in my engines, mostly because the WD-40 evaporates over time.
I've been using Marvel Mystery Oil can be found in most auto parts stores for around 5$ a quart, I've had the same quart for almost ten years now that's all I use in my engines as after run oil even use it to lube bearings as well as to lube up the engines internals during a rebuild.

I know a few guys that swear by WD-40 but I never really liked the idea of using it didn't know it attacked rubber seals.
 
WD40 is a bad idea. I used to use it and i once had a flame come out the exhaust!! And i think it killed my HSN o-ring.

Marvel Mistery Oil is the same thing as hobbico after run oil from people say. A 5 dollar quart should last you a long time ;)
 
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I have used a lot of WD-40 and have never had a problem with it. Also never had flame out of the pipe either....Sam that called putting WAY too much in there buddy...lol. As far as attacking rubber seals. I am not sure about. That is the first time I have heard that. I do know Marvel Oil is good stuff but it is not in Japan so WD-40 it is. **EDIT** I checked the site for WD-40, they say it is safe for rubber but not good for polycarbonate or polystyrene.
 
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I have used a lot of WD-40 and have never had a problem with it. Also never had flame out of the pipe either....Sam that called putting WAY too much in there buddy...lol. As far as attacking rubber seals. I am not sure about. That is the first time I have heard that. I do know Marvel Oil is good stuff but it is not in Japan so WD-40 it is. **EDIT** I checked the site for WD-40, they say it is safe for rubber but not good for polycarbonate or polystyrene.

Their site is lying then. WD-40 eats plastic and rubber. The airsoft community doesn't use it for this reason.
 
I found it odd when the Traxxas start up video gave WD-40 as an option to the afterun oil, since I thought WD-40 was used primarily as a degreaser and not a lubricant.

It makes sense to use a degreaser in the engine after a run to clean out any oil residue left from the burning of fuel.

I'm going to do a small experiment on these fluids we use continuously on our engines. I want to see if they use on a frequent basis is harmful to our engine o-rings. On the block will be: Distilled water as a control, WD-40, Denatured Alcohol, and nitro fuel. I'll immerse a rubber o-ring in each fluid for a 24 hour period and record any changes.

In the second part of the experiment I want to see what happens with these fuids if left unchecked in the engine for an extended period of time and they dry up, like a storage scenario.

I have a bunch of o-rings from other projects but none from the RC stuff, so perhaps I should purchase a pack of new RC specific o-rings to eliminate that variable.
 
Thanks for doing that...I was about to spray down an entire RC tires and all to prove my point...but your will work just as well. ;)
 
From: http://www.wd40.com/faqs/

What surfaces or materials are OK to use WD-40 on?

WD-40 can be used on just about everything. It is safe for metal, rubber, wood and plastic. WD-40 can be applied to painted metal surfaces without harming the paint. Polycarbonate and clear polystyrene plastic are among the few surfaces on which to avoid using a petroleum-based product like WD-40.
 
Blindly trusting a manufacturer isn't a good idea when everyone in the airsoft community avoids WD-40, because it eats rubber.
 
Are there actual facts to support the claim of WD-40 eating rubber seals, or are you just basing your opinions on what others say? I've never had this problem first hand and I've been using WD-40 for over 15 years, from bicycles to motorcycles to airsoft to firearms. I've never had a single problem with using WD-40. Rubber seals do wear out, regardless of whether it was due to some outside influence or normal wear and tear.

I'm sure Traxxas wouldn't say WD40 is an acceptable product for after-run procedures if it caused problems with the engines they warranty. Either way, why are we trying to reinvent the wheel? A $4.99 bottle of after-run oil will last over a year.
 
I've sprayed a light coat of wd40 on all my rc's through the years when they were in storage. It's never ate anything but dirt. As far as expensive equipment(engines, guns, ect...), I just use what the manufacturer recommends. Boring but effective.
 
WD-40 has its benefits at times but spraying it into my nitro engine is a big "NO"for me.If I was the manufacurer Id tell people to use something that seems to work but on the other hand actually hinders.How are they gonna get repeat business and money from selling replacement parts/engines if everything lasts longer than they expect it to?.I had a friend who rebuilt a 409 W engine in a rare car.He sprayed WD all over the engine,carb,linkages and covered the car...2 months later he uncovered the car to add more parts and his brand new carb,linkages and chrome valvecovers plus someother parts were rusty and looked like the car sat for way longer....my friend was devastated....Id use the Marvel over the WD any day.After run oil seems the same as Marvel to me because it smells the same and is also the same color and viscosity...For years I've always used CRC and Stabil fogging oils in my motorbikes,lawnmowers,boat engines and jet skis and its never let me down......I also use it in my Nitro engines after every useage plus as an engine pre-lube before starting up and breaking-in a new one...
 

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when you invest over $1000 into an airgun and scope and someone tells you to avoid WD40 for the following reason, you tend to listen.

the headaches of tuning an airgun are the same with tuning an engine. If the slightest air leak in a nitro engine causes it to lean out, then I would think any solvent that dries out rubber seals is a no no. The question is, does it actually do what people claim it does. I've heard a lot against using 40 on a variety of items, including bike chains, airguns and rubber seals. I've had the experience with airguns, so I only use lithium grease to lube parts. Using wd40 as a lube on bike chains I would avoid, but as a degrease i would say I've done that.
 
Polycarbonate and clear polystyrene plastic are among the few surfaces on which to avoid using a petroleum-based product like WD-40.


I'm guessing that a lot of the little bits are some type of polycarbonate in airguns.
 
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