Honestly when it was new on the market it may have been the best thing for rusted/stuck nuts and bolts. But I’ve found the newer breed of penetrative oils, like PB Blaster, do a better job.
Google: “rusted bolt test Machinist’s Workshop”
50 / 50 acetone / automatic transmission fluid
OT - Penetrating Oil
In a thread in the antique machinery forum, there was a discussion what to use to free up a part. Southbendmodel34 had mentioned a study in Machinist Workshop stating that Automatic transmission fluid and Acetone mixed was the best.
I just received a newsletter today from Tim Carter mentioning the same study. He had included the results of the test, which I thought interesting.
A study done by Machinist's Workshop magazine in their April 2007 issue looked at different penetrating oils to see which one did the best job of removing a rusted bolt by measuring the pounds of torque required to loosen the bolt once treated. If the study was scientifically accurate, it turns out a home brew works best!
Here's the summary of the test results:
Penetrating oil ..... Average load
None ...................... 516 pounds
WD-40 ................... 238 pounds
PB Blaster .............. 214 pounds
Liquid Wrench ...... 127 pounds
Kano Kroil ............. 106 pounds
ATF-Acetone mix....53 pounds
WD-40 is good for lots of things. Removing sticker tags from items you buy on vacation is one use I can think of off the top of my head.
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Likely, using naphta would have done the same thing.
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Sooo, what’s it like breathing WD-40 all day?
I’ve been carrying this for the past few years.
It’s not magic. It’s not a proper lubricant.
But it is an ok emergency squeek-stopper. I realize that it is not the ideal lubricant for - well - anything, but it’s useable in absence of the ideal stuff that would require you to carry N bottles of IdealLubricantForSpecializedPurpose…
I use mine perhaps bi-weekly and wouldn’t leave home without it 
Massive points in the office for un-squeeking stuff.
Because the application of WD-40 to bananas is not entirely obvious?
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