Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2013/08/19/wd-40-pen.html
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Half of the joy of WD40 is the odor. Damn kids, get off my lawn.
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Know how to tell mechanics from everyone else? Mechanics don’t use WD-40 as a lubricant.
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In a day bag? How often is this item actually needed for travel purposes?
I’ve managed to travel quite a bit and I’ve never recalled----DAMN I FORGOT THE WD-40.
Well except his one time with a dude I met at the hotel bar and some bad springs…ahhh, it’s a long story.
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With WD40, a Leatherman and a roll of duct tape you would be ready.
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What do mechanics use in your neck of the woods?
My dad, a machinist by trade and shadetree mechanic by occasional necessity, used to use 3-in-One in his youth, but being a native San Diegan, has used WD-40 almost since its inception. But not for every lubricating application, of course. White lithium grease has its uses for which WD-40 would be of course completely inappropriate, as does motor oil and assembly lube and gear oil, etc. But we went through a lot of WD-40 over the years.
Definitely should never be used on bearings or other rapidly moving parts, but for creaky hinges, it’s golden.
I feel as though my life will come back into focus once I start to use WD-40 again.
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My wife bought two twelve packs of this a couple years ago, and gave them away to everyone she could find. I never did see the point, but at least now I know she’s not alone in being insanely enthusiastic about it. 
Uhh… Corey, you might want to check out the toxic effects of WD40 at these links:
http://www.thedogpress.com/Columns/WD40-Danger-0708_Liquorman.asp
http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=23007001
San Diego, eh? I live in Tucson. WD-40 dries out in about a day here.
We use oil to lubricate stuff. The Zoom Spout Oiler that is sold in every hardware store works well on our swamp cooler bearings.
The form factor is practical for a applications where spray just wouldn’t work – squeaky door hinges, for example. That said, watch out for your bag. They can be a little leaky, and any excess tends to ooze rather than evaporating.
so… don’t wax your floor with wd-40. good advice.
what is it with dog people and neurosis?
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Now if only someone will get me a cyanoacrylate that goes where I want it and doesn’t turn out to have dried to a stringy mess when I need it…
When I started as a self-taught mechanic/repairman/technologist a long, long time ago, I used WD-40. Then I quickly found out that it gummed up sleeve bearings, didn’t really provide semi-permanent lubrication, and didn’t free up frozen and rusted bolts.
You have to use the correct lubricant for the job. And for just about every job, WD-40 is not the answer. Just stay away from it. Stop buying it.
WD-40 is a dessicant, not a lubricant. Specifically, e.g., do not use WD-40 in locks-- use graphite powder.
WD-40 is good for getting rusted up bolts moving again, or indeed, any two things that have seized but now need to move.
Once you’ve got them moving, you should look into using the correct lubricant.
Mind you, it also works quite well on cold/damp engines. A quick spray down the air intake works wonders on an old Landrover.
I work in large scale manufacturing, the assembly side, and we go through a lot of a cheap version of WD-40 (like a 6oz can a day just at the station I work at). We use it as a temporary lubricant to ease the insertion of 100+ pound “pins” in the joints of the machines. It works well enough but if you spray and come back in 30 minutes it’ll be almost dry to the touch, it’s not a very good long term lubricant (we use a moly grease for that).
According to Amazon, the item “Frequently bought together” with the stain pen Cory linked to is this banana-shaped baby tooth brush. Surely not a coincidence.
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