WD-40 as the ideal bore cleaner?

[fallujah]

Ive had several guns which had severe leading problems in the barrel. basically, i negelected to clean them for several years. I tried all the solvents: Birchwood Case, Hoppes, CLP, plain oil, etc. None seemed to clean out the lead from my barels- even after i nearly wore them out endlessly scrubbing with brass brushes!

Then, as a joke, i tried wd-40 which was just lying around the house. Lo and behold everything came out, lead, fouling, etc, with a few minor strokes with the brush. Since then i use wd-40 for just about anything, mainly cleaning out my guns after shooting. It's cheap, readily available, and darned effective. A new friend re-discovered.

Anyone with any similar or contrary experiences?

 

[Snake45]

Very interesting. I shall be watching this thread.

I've heard of others reporting similar bore-cleaning results with Kroil. Never tried cleaning a bore with either, personally. Yet.

 

[Big Bubba]

Just a question, are you talking about leading from shooting cast bullets or copper fowling from jacketed bullets?

I might try it if is cleans well after using cast bullets.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

I occasionally use WD-40 when cleaning a gun, particularly a cruddy one. It does seem to work quite nicely for some applications. However, I do not leave the WD-40 in place as the final treatment as it tends to leave a somewhat gummy residue that will accumulate over time and "gum up the works".

So I only consider it a cleaner, not a lubricant or preservative. And plain ol' kerosene works just as well without the leftover residue, particularly if you blow it out with compressed air afterwards.

JMHO

 

[Revolver-Time]

I also use WD-40 as a cleaner. After I run a wet patch of #9 thru the bore and chambers, I run a brass brush thru. Then I use a patch soaked in WD-40. After that I just use dry patches until clean. I have used this procedure since the early 1970s.

 

[rugerguy]

same here, we still use the stuff after ALL these years and all the internet horror stories and complaints, but like said, if it works for YOU , then do it....as I have often said over the years, the ONLY issue we ever found was the "propellant" in the spray cans is what caused the issues for us...and I always buy it in the bulk ( gallon) and put it in spray ( pump ) bottle, and use it..........stuff works on most everything around the house.
I would NOT use it for long term storage, or slather it it on any guns 'exterior' ( or any other oil...) as if it runs down, into the wood ( butt stock) and gets into open pours ( end of the grain) it can and will cause oil rot in the wood..but that goes for ANY oil....seen a lot of old guns that the stocks are ruined by too much oil running out of the guns action,into the 'end grain' (wrist) area,where the receiver meets the wood.

 

[fallujah]

Just a question, are you talking about leading from shooting cast bullets or copper fowling from jacketed bullets?

I might try it if is cleans well after using cast bullets.

All lead bullets from reloads which my range uses. Im not sure if they're cast, but yes i think they are.

 

[fallujah]

I occasionally use WD-40 when cleaning a gun, particularly a cruddy one. It does seem to work quite nicely for some applications. However, I do not leave the WD-40 in place as the final treatment as it tends to leave a somewhat gummy residue that will accumulate over time and "gum up the works".

Agree. Wd-40 is a good cleaner, but i dries up over time. So i find it better to use birchwood gun oil as a final treatment. (see next statement)

So I only consider it a cleaner, not a lubricant or preservative. And plain ol' kerosene works just as well without the leftover residue, particularly if you blow it out with compressed air afterwards.

You're right! WD-40 is a bit thin on its consistency. But i found out that if you simply apply it more often (you will have to do this) it's a pretty decent lubricant and preservative as well. I saw some pics of the u.s navy seals using Wd-40 as a weapons oil in vietnam, and this is confirmed in several books on the seals.

 

[BuckJM53]

falluja ... I expected your question to draw a significant firestorm from the "NO WD40 EVER ON MY GUNS" folks :lol:. I have personally used it for years as a cleaner, and have found it to work very well (even use a little bit on my bore snake for a quick clean-up). Coupled with a good lubricant (my preference is FP-10), I think it is a good tool to have on the cleaning table (JMHO) :wink:

 

[fallujah]

The worst i heard about WD-40 was that it actually PENETRATES METAL. hehe perhaps they got that from the writings on the can, "lubricates, PENETRATES, stops squeaks" hehe

 

[Big Bubba]

Just a question, are you talking about leading from shooting cast bullets or copper fowling from jacketed bullets?

I might try it if is cleans well after using cast bullets.

All lead bullets from reloads which my range uses. Im not sure if they're cast, but yes i think they are.

Great! I shoot alot of swaged and cast slugs, so anything that works to make cleaning easier is greatly appreciated. Thanks for the tip!

A word of caution to all. Don't get WD40 anywhere around your scope rings. I have seen guys have the scopes slide in the rings due to WD40 sprayed all over the gun. I also had a friend bring his model 700 Remington to me when it would not cock the firng pin when he closed the bolt. His method of cleaning the rifle after hunting was to spray it down with WD40, everwhere, inside and out.

The trigger mechanism was gummed up so bad, the trigger sear was stuck down in a fire position. Had to spray it down with a can of starting fliud to get it freed up. :shock:

 

[Busterswoodshop]

I have used WD-40 on my guns for years. It is a great cleaner. It not only is good for cleaning guns, it will clean almost anything. It is great for getting tar or paint off your hands. Two of the greatest inventions ever were WD-40 and duct tape. If it don't move and you want it to, put WD-40 on it. If it moves and you don't want it to, put duct tape on it.

 

[J Miller]

I don't use WD-40 as my primary cleaning solvent/lube as I've been using Hoppe's #9 forever.
I live in humid IL and don't have trouble with rust pits. Of course I don't leave my guns dirty for years before I clean them. I learned about neglecting guns many many summers ago at the feet of a very wise and experiences six gunner.

There is once instance where I did, and will again use WD-40 on my guns without hesitation. One day we ( me, my friend, and a bunch of others ) were working feverishly to extract a guys Dodge Ram Charger out of a flooded, normally dry desert river. It was raining hard upstream and we knew the river would rise really deap soon. At some point I was crossing the river when I stepped into a hole. From just below kneed deep to armpit deap in one step. I had my Mdl 28 in a belt holster and it got flooded.
So I hosed it with WD-40. It and the holster, then dried them off with a rag, reloaded and went back to work.
WD stands for water dispersant, and it works great at that.

For getting lead out of my barrels, I wrap copper scrubbing pads around old brass brushes and in about two to three swipes all the lead is out of the barrel. Do it dry, as solvents act as a lube and the scrubber don't work near as well.

Joe

 

[contender]

WD-40 is good for removing a lot of sticky gunk. It'll disolve glue etc. I was talking to a highway patrol guy once who told me how illegals would get a vehicle inspected & tagged. Then, if they needed the inspection sticker or tag sticker, they would use WD-40 on the decals, remove them intact, and re-use them on other tags & windows.
I can see where it could remove gunk from a barrel.

 

[3ME]

You guys seem to have a lot more faith in WD-40 than I do. It was designed to be a Water Displacer, thus the WD in the name. Anything else it does is by accident and not by design. If you get caught in the rain, WD-40 is a good start and suitable to float the water off the surface of the gun. It is not suitable to use as a lubricant or as a storage media. The Seals use it to dry out weapons after they become soaked in rain or during a water breach. They use good old mil-spec gun oil for lubrication and protection.

 

[Drew458]

Personally I think that Kroil Oil is a better penetrant than WD-40. Not only does it smell much worse, it gets the lead fouling out better.

For rust prevention and light lubrication, it's hard to beat TSI 301.

 

[I_Like_Pie]

You guys seem to have a lot more faith in WD-40 than I do.

It is one of the best shotgun cleaners made. Also...Dextron ATF is one of the best lubes...good enough to where many Beretta armorers use it.

 

[fallujah]

ATF Lubricant? Hmmm i ve been hearing a lot about that stuff lately. Good comments, actually.

I think the BEST thing about Wd-40 is the PRICE. i used to use breakfree CLP for years BUT where i live it costs about 4 times more than WD-40.

 

[Shooter33]

I am not an engineer, nor did I sleep in a Holiday Inn last night. Many years ago, before the internet as we know it now, when we used Echoes to communicate, there was a very well documented poster named C. E. Harris. Mr Harris had at one time worked for Ruger as a design engineer, later after he and Mr Bill had several differences of opinion, he also was a regular with well researched articles in the American Rifleman. I believe he is the originator of the home made "Ed's Red" gun cleaning and preservation oil you often read comments concerning.
He was very adamant concerning not using WD 40, BUT as I remember, it was for stainless steel construction, not carbon steel. Mr Harris was of the opinion it would infiltrate and creep into the frame/ barrel thread areas of stainless guns, and in time cause failure. I do not know, however, since reading of this, I have not used WD 40 for stainless or Titanium gun care. I also appreciate the low cost, but not if it might cause future catastrophic failure. Inexpensive ATF works well for me, cleans and is a fair lubricant, as well as preserves.

 

[raw6464]

Gun rust preventive test.

http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.html