1st Carbine acquisition

[DaveHH]

Uses fish oil and was made to spray on aircraft to protect the metal from corrosion during long ship rides. It is a coating and not a lubricant. It does however lubricate well in a sliding situation, like on a wiper board of a pinball machine. It is also a solvent of some note as it will help remove existing coatings of old junk (as suggested). Funny thing is that the best thing to use to remove WD 40 is MORE WD 40. If I had nothing better to use on a firearm I would use WD 40 and there are hundreds of thousands of guns that have been cleaned and run with nothing else. I have heard opinions that WD 40 attacks rust or bluing on guns, I have never found that to be true.

[esu]

Will work the stock some more and see what how it comes out. Im still going to look into either finding a nice inland stock or maye a repop paratrooper and leave the rest of the stock work to the next buyer. Too many options,,,,,,

[ChipS]

Regarding INLAND44 and DaveHH comments/opinions on WD40 I could not agree more. I have used the stuff religiously for over 50 years on all of my guns, blued and parked, primarily to protect against rust. It does lubricate some when wet, and may soften old corrosion, but its main function is protection of the metal and I don't know of any other product that does it so well. It displaces moisture from the pores of the metal on a molecular level and moisture means rust, no matter how much oil you slap over it (sorry about the grammer).

I have sporting firearms that I have personally owned for more than 50 years that have been protected (not lubricated) with nothing but WD40 and the blued finishes are like factory new. Like DaveHH, I have listened to the critics bemoan how WD40 will lift the blue finish all this time but I have never seen this happen. I won't even start on the many other uses for the stuff in which it performs so well.

Concerning your carbine surface rust, I have had very good results using 'Liquid Wrench' penetrating oil and a soft bronze brush (like an old shotgun bore brush) to remove the surface rust on blued and parked surfaces. I have never soaked the parts but just repeatedly place the oil and scrub gently with the brush a few times until the visible rust is gone without degrading the original finish. Cleanup with Hoppes #9 removes any residual bronze from the surface and I have been well pleased with the result. A final shot of WD40 and it's good to go. Good luck. JMHO

[wtmr]

I have two guns ruined by relying on wd40 to protect. Never use and forget about it evaporates and then in right conditions rust sets in

[imarangemaster]

+1 that WD40 is an awesome rust preventative. For long term storage, I soak the metal in WD40 and put it in one of those silcone treated rifle socks. My Universal 101 12 GA I got when I was 16 (44 years ago) has been treated with WD40 for rust prevention since I first got it. Its finish is still 100% When I get anew weapon, I break it down and scrub it with WD-40 or Ballistol, then lube it with CLP.

[phil441]

Funny thing is that the best thing to use to remove WD 40 is MORE WD 40.

And that is the only good use I've found for it.

wtmr and I are on the same page on this one.

Many years ago I ordered a really nice drill stand for our machine shop guys. Wiped the pedestal down on a Friday and liberally hosed it with WD-40. Monday morning found a very light rust colored patina on the whole thing.

I just started going thru my recently deceased fathers guns. He believed in soaking everything metal with WD-40. I now have several rather gummed up and rusting actions to clean up.

My shop is not air-conditioned so when I built it I just sprayed all the tools to be stored out there with WD-40. All my tools now have a light coat of oil over a light layer of WD-40 rust.

Sorry, Guys, but don't try to convince me that it's much good for anything other than a solvent.... And I use Kroil for that.....

[DaveHH]

Out here in the People's Republic of CA, the weather is so nice that there just isn't a lot of moisture in the air. I live about 45 minutes from the ocean, it is 65 degrees today with bright sunshine. I just discovered some rust on my 10/22 but you can see it is from handling without wiping it off. I just used a bit of steel wool and some WD40 and it came right off and looks great. I don't use WD on a regular basis, preferring LSA wiped down on the metal, but I certainly wouldn't hesitate to use it. In places like Houston where there is very high humidity, it would be a challenge to keep anything rust free. Some people are reluctant to put a lot of LSA on the metal, but it is the key to the kingdom once it gets into the pores of the metal.

[imarangemaster]

I typically oil down my storage weapons about every 4-6 months with WD40. It does dry out. I am also in California, and it is fairly dry in the Sierra. I had to do it about every two months in Mississippi when I lived there!

[esu]

Sorry, had a super busy week at work. As for the WD40, much to the consternation of several of my gun buddies I am a believer in WD. Yes it doesnt last forever but I love it for a quick wipedown to protect metal surfaces and as a temporary lubricant. Ive used it on my guns, my cars, my classic vette, my wifes dishwasher, my bum knee (just kidding) well you get the idea. I'll pick up some stripper and do some more work on the stock and see how it comes out, then I'll try the boiled linseed mixed 50/50 with mineral spirits and see how it turns out. I picked up a sling, oiler, a few mags and a box of ammo so maybe this Sunday will be range day.

---------- Post added at 02:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:43 PM ----------

wtmr, like you said, it wasnt the wd40 that ruined tour firearms it was your reliance on it to do something it was probably never intended to do. Long term storage/protection most definitely requires a different product,,, sorry about the guns though

[USGI]

I didn't even know WD-40 existed until about 1980. Since "discovering" it, I've used it to protect and "fix" an awful lot of things, but don't use it very often on guns. A few years ago, I bought a can of CorrosionX which was highly recommended by some of the gun writers, but haven't heard much about it since. Does anyone have any opinions, good or bad on that product? It seems to have some interesting properties, and tends to stay put. I've also tried CLP and kind of like it. - Bob