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WD-40 is not just for Rick strings any more

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 8:38 am
by elysrand
Every Rickenbacker player should know these cool facts about WD-40 Image especially 3 and 35 :

WD-40 means Water Displacement #40. The product began from a search for a rust preventative solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a "water displacement" compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40. The basic ingredient is FISH OIL.

The Corvair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts. Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you. When you read the "shower door" part, try it. It's the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as glass. It's a miracle! Then try it on your stovetop... Voila! It's now shinier than it's ever been. You'll be amazed. Here are some of the uses:

1) Protects silver from tarnishing.

2) Removes road tar and grime from cars.

3) Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.

4) Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making it slippery.

5) Keeps flies off cows.

6) Restores and cleans chalkboards.

7) Removes lipstick stains.

8) Loosens stubborn zippers.

9) Untangles jewelry chains.

10) Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.

11) Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.

12) Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.

13) Removes tomato stains from clothing.

14) Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.

15) Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.

16) Keeps scissors working smoothly.

17) Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes

18) It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn't seem to harm the finish and you won't have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.

19) Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40!

20) Gives a children's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.

21) Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers.

22) Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.

23) Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.

24) Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.

25) Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.

26) Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.

27) Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.

28) Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.

29) Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.

30) Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.

31) Removes splattered grease on stove.

32) Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.

33) Lubricates prosthetic limbs.

34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).

35) Removes all traces of duct tape, as well as "sticker goo" on Tolex-covered guitar cases, amps, and speaker cabinets, without harming the Tolex!

36) Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.

37) Florida's favorite use is: "cleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers."

38) The favorite use in the state of New York WD-40 protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.

39) WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time. Also, it's a lot cheaper than the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some states.

40) Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.

41) WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.

42) Also, if you've discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and re-wash. Presto! Lipstick is gone!

43) If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start.

44) Removes children's silly putty from carpets.

45) Keep a can of WD-40 in your kitchen cabinet over the stove. It is good for oven burns or any other type of burn. It takes the burned feeling away and helps heal with NO scarring.

46) not sure about this, but another fellow wrote this about WD-40:

"I had a neighbor who had bought a new pickup. I got up very early one Sunday morning and saw that someone had spray painted red all around the sides of this beige truck (for some unknown reason). I went over, woke him up, and told him the bad news. He was very upset and was trying to figure out what to do - probably nothing until Monday morning, since nothing was open. Another neighbor came out and told him to get his WD-40 and clean it off. It removed the unwanted paint beautifully and did not harm his paint job that was on the truck. I'm impressed! WD-40 who knew? "

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 8:59 am
by incubus2432
Wait until Paul sees this! Image

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 9:37 am
by jingle_jangle
That'll sure sell a lot of WD-40, Elys.

I can vouch for the use on fishing lures. It's amazing.

Never sprayed my cow. My dog didn't like it much, though. MSDS lists no fish oil, though; Stoddard Solvent, CO2, mineral oil are major components; small percentage of inert ingredients.

Prevent squirrels from climbing into a birdhouse. Spray WD-40 on the metal pole or wires.

Remove a ring stuck on a finger. Several medical journals claim that WD-40 is the perfect cure for a toe stuck in the bathtub faucet, a finger stuck in soda bottle, or a ring stuck on a finger.

Clean decorative snow from windows. Spray windows with WD-40 before spraying with artificial snow so the decorative spray will wipe off easier.

Make hangers glide over a clothes rod. Spray WD-40 on the clothes rod so hangers can be pushed back and forth easily.

Clean clogged spray paint can nozzles. Remove the nozzles from the spray paint can and the WD-40 can, place the nozzle from the spray paint can on the WD-40 can, give it a couple of quick squirts, and replace both nozzles.

Remove oil spots from driveways. Spray with WD-40, wait, then blot. The mineral spirits and other petroleum distillates in WD 40 work as a curing agent.

Thread electrical wire through conduits. Spray WD-40 on the electrical wire to help it glide through winding conduits.

Prevent grass clippings from clogging up a lawn mower. Spray WD-40 on the underside of lawn mower housing and blade before cutting the grass.

Clean sap from gardening equipment. Spray with WD-40, wait, and wipe clean.

Prevent mud and clay build-up on bicycles. Spray the bicycle with a thin coat of WD-40. NOT the seat, though...

Remove baked-on food from a cookie pan. Spray WD-40 on cookie pan and wipe clean. Then wash with soap and water.

Remove dirt and grime from barbecue grills. Remove the grill from the barbecue, spray with WD-40, wait, and wipe clean. Then wash with soap and water.

Remove chewing gum from the bottom of a shoe or sneaker. Spray on WD-40, wait, and pull the gum free.

Keep dogs, maggots, and flies out of trash cans. Coat the trash cans with a thin layer of WD-40.

Take squeaks out of new shoes. Spray WD-40 into the leather and shine.

Remove grease stains from linen. Spray WD-40 directly to the stain, rub it in, let is soak for a few minutes, then wash through a regular cycle.

Take squeaks out of a box spring mattress. Remove the fabric covering the bottom of the box spring mattress (by simply removing the staples), and spray the springs with WD-40. Staple the fabric covering back in place with a staple gun.

Polish wood furniture. Spray WD-40 on a cloth and wipe.

Free a tongue stuck to frozen metal in winter. Spray WD-40 on the metal around the tongue.


Nothing about guitars...and I'd sure think twice about polishing my furniture with it!

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 9:56 am
by melibreits
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

I wish we had known about the "tongue stuck to metal " one this winter, when my son attempted to prove to his friends that it was a myth that your tongue would stick, LOL! Image

This is great info, and I'm gonna try some of these out this week, as we get ready to put our house on the market--there are lots of little details to take care of that I never imagined could be as simple to solve as a shot of WD-40! Image

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 9:57 am
by doctorwho
Elys said:
... The Corvair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts. ...
Ummm, I think you meant the Convair Company - Corvair was a model of car built by Chevrolet, IIRC ... Image

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 9:59 am
by elysrand
Yep, Paul, that last one happens to me all the time in the winter. Can't resist seeing what that new galvanized stop sign pole tastes like in front of the downtown parking garage. You would switch to metal too, if you had gotten enough splinters over your lifetime from those old-fashioned wooden sign posts.

And who among you hasn't had both hands full of packages on a muddy street corner at times and had to use their tongue to push the metal pay phone keypad's digits, so that they did not have to put their nice clean dry packages down in the mud? Yeah! You know what I'm talking about!

So, like most trendy, smartly-dressed commuters these days, I keep a small can in my briefcase just for quick use at bus stops and subways. And nowadays, whenever I get that sudden urge to mark someone else's car door handle as my own in cold weather, I am prepared!

Image

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 10:02 am
by elysrand
OOPS, typo Image

Two of the craziest purposes for WD-40 include a bus driver in Asia who used WD-40 to remove a python snake which had coiled itself around the undercarriage of his bus, and Denver firefighters who used WD-40 to remove a naked burglar trapped in an air conditioning vent.


FROM THE OFFICIAL WD-40 WEB SITE:

Convair, an aerospace contractor, first used WD-40 to protect the outer skin of the Atlas Missile from rust and corrosion. The product actually worked so well that several employees snuck some WD-40 cans out of the plant to use at home.

A few years following WD-40's first industrial use, Rocket Chemical Company founder Norm Larsen experimented with putting WD-40 into aerosol cans, reasoning that consumers might find a use for the product at home as some of the employees had. The product made its first appearance on store shelves in San Diego in 1958.

In 1960 the company nearly doubled in size, growing to seven people, who sold an average of 45 cases per day from the trunk of their cars to hardware and sporting goods stores in the San Diego area.

In 1961 the first full truckload order for WD-40 was filled when employees came in on a Saturday to produce additional concentrate to meet the disaster needs of the victims of hurricane Carla along the U.S. Gulf coast. WD-40 was used to recondition flood and rain damaged vehicles and equipment.

In 1969 the company was renamed after its only product, WD-40.

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 11:02 am
by bassduke49
Convair was the modern contraction for Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Co., makers of the classic B-24 Liberator, humongous B-36 Peacemaker, and the fabulous delta-winged F-102 Delta Dagger, F-106 Delta Dart, and the amazing B-58 Hustler. Later on, Convair became part of General Dynamics, which then was absorbed by Lockheed which is now Lockheed/Martin.

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 1:12 pm
by rick12dr
A couple more uses; soak pitch covered saw blades with it and the **** comes right off in a short while; also[one for Melibee in northern Mn] spray on your snow shovel, and heavy, sticky snow won't stick.I also use it with the skinny tube to blast into latches/locks on old guitar cases.Maybe some success on bird feeder poles to "prevent" squirrel climbing, but you must have klutzy dumb squirrels; the ones in my yard have found a way around Nearly everything I've tried, but I found that Vaseline mixed with a tad of habanero powder seems to annoy them.Want something Really slick on a birdhouse pole? Armor All.

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 2:34 pm
by jimk
I always thought that civilization had arrived when these three crucial items had been invented; duct tape, the bungee cord, and WD-40.

JimK

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 2:36 pm
by marc61
White and post-its? What about that?

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 8:11 pm
by libratune
"Polish wood furniture. Spray WD-40 on a cloth and wipe.

* * * *

Nothing about guitars...and I'd sure think twice about polishing my furniture with it!"

Hey, Paul, like others on the forum, I am becoming fascinated with the many uses of this miracle product. Your helpful post sets forth numerous attributes of WD, yet the two above are contradictory. Was the last remark your personal opinion in contrast to a source you were citing?

I was going to polish my furniture with it, but for now I'll stick to using it as a hair styling gel. And maybe as a deodorant. I have heard that WD-40 smells so good it could be the new "Axe" (if you haven't seen the TV ads, a male deodorant with alleged aphrodisiac qualities).

(insert smiley face here)

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 3:28 pm
by alanz
My can of WD-40 rotates the tires on my car and takes the ice cream out of my freezer 5 minutes before I want to scoop it.

It also separates the trash from the recyclables and feeds the cat for me.

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:06 pm
by joepee
Michael Nesmith's mother invented Whiteout. I believe while he was living in San Antonio. My homestead.

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:28 pm
by charlyg
I loved Wd-40 until the first can of silicone spray came out. Works as well for me and doesn't collect the dirt.

"duct tape, the bungee cord, and WD-40." I would have to add bailing wire, or stove pipe wire. They both seem to work equally well.

What's the old saw? You can fix anything one of two ways, "If it moves and it shouldn't, duct tape it! If it is supposed to move and doesn't, WD-40!"