imported post
I constantly read how well-intentioned folks tell others to use WD-40 to clean electrical connections and switches. I have been wrenching on cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc for over 40 years and so far the only good use I've found for WD-40 is to dry up a water-laden distributor cap. Give your WD-40 to a neighbor or person that you don't like so you won't be tempted to use it yourself.
Contact cleaner or in a pinch lacquer thinner or denatured alcohol should be the only thing you use to clean an electrical contact. WD-40 should never be used near anything that you want to remain free-moving for any length of time. Within a couple of months, WD-40 turns into a gummy substance that attracts all kinds of dust and dirt.
Yes, it will free up a switch, for a while. But be aware that so will light machine oil. Neither of which you want on your electrical contact, especially ones that move, like in a switch. So will soap and water, kerosene, gasoline, and on and on. The reality is that only contact cleaners should be used on contacts. Kinda what it was made for.
Now there are about a million people out there who will disagree with me and that's fine. We are each entitled to our own opinion. Just please don't tell some unsuspecting soul to use WD-40 on electrical contacts and switches. Keep using it yourself. You will as in a couple of months when it turns your switch into a dirt magnet you'll have to reapply. That's fine. But please don't suggest to others that they do the same.
Ok, my tirade is over... let the games begin...
I constantly read how well-intentioned folks tell others to use WD-40 to clean electrical connections and switches. I have been wrenching on cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc for over 40 years and so far the only good use I've found for WD-40 is to dry up a water-laden distributor cap. Give your WD-40 to a neighbor or person that you don't like so you won't be tempted to use it yourself.
Contact cleaner or in a pinch lacquer thinner or denatured alcohol should be the only thing you use to clean an electrical contact. WD-40 should never be used near anything that you want to remain free-moving for any length of time. Within a couple of months, WD-40 turns into a gummy substance that attracts all kinds of dust and dirt.
Yes, it will free up a switch, for a while. But be aware that so will light machine oil. Neither of which you want on your electrical contact, especially ones that move, like in a switch. So will soap and water, kerosene, gasoline, and on and on. The reality is that only contact cleaners should be used on contacts. Kinda what it was made for.
Now there are about a million people out there who will disagree with me and that's fine. We are each entitled to our own opinion. Just please don't tell some unsuspecting soul to use WD-40 on electrical contacts and switches. Keep using it yourself. You will as in a couple of months when it turns your switch into a dirt magnet you'll have to reapply. That's fine. But please don't suggest to others that they do the same.
Ok, my tirade is over... let the games begin...
