Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Timesmyth t1_jcpmmem wrote

FYI: WD-40 is not a lubricant, so don't ever use it to lubricate anything.

That company makes lubricants, but WD-40 itself is for cleaning, or specifically water displacement.

Spray grease, white lithium grease, or silicone are all fine, but I personally don't use silicone because it doesn't seem to last as long as the other two. I like lithium grease better in "clean" areas, so not the garage, meaning spray grease is the winner.

2

Sluisifer t1_jcpupyc wrote

FYI: you're right and you're wrong.

WD-40 isn't a very good lubricant, so recommending other things is totally justified. But it is a lubricant. It's a mix of light oils, along with the water-displacing solvents and corrosion inhibitors. It was designed as a multi-purpose product. One of those purposes absolutely was lubrication.

6

Sunfuels t1_jcpunz8 wrote

That's incorrect. WD-40's website says that it is a lubricant and can be used as one. It was originally designed as a water displacer by combining several lubricants and adding volatiles to help penetration.

It has some downsides as a lubricant - the volatiles make it thin so it's not a very long-lasting lubricant. And the soil removers in it tend to create black streaks after some time. But it's still a fine short-term lubricant for many things. It's poor for garage doors because you want something long lasting, so I would agree with your recommendations, but wanted to correct the info on WD-40.

5

mr78rpm t1_jcq6eff wrote

"WD40" means "The fortieth formulation we've tried for the purpose of shooting it into an oil well and occupying the space where the oil had been; must do this better than water just seeping into a void; in fact, must specifically do this better than water."

1