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Tri-Flow is supposed to be good for guns, fishing tackle, sewing machines, etc. as
a lubricant. Don't think it would be good for electrical stuff. Here

 

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My neighbor who works on lawn mower engines for a living uses it as a starting fluid.... I forgot that one. I gave him my can of WD-40 that my wife brought home.

 

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JIMBO83 wrote:

I would like to hear what gsmaclean or sandiegobrass has to say about this subject. Many people use WD40 on electronics and swear by it. I'dlike a definitive answer from someone qualified to give one.

I respect their opinion and I mentioned that there are about a million people who would disagree with me. I do almost take offense to your statement. Almost but not. I have been working on cars and trucks etc for a very long time. I started in 1966. I worked as an Avionics Bench Technician for a number of years. I workded on Digital and analogflight control systems. Digital Radar and DME. Nav and Comm equipment and DF equipmentso I feel that I am qualified to make that statement about WD-40 or virtually any electronic device. Currently I am a Senior System Analyst for AT&T and am 3rd level support on OS based software and hardware on mid range UNIX systems.



Please don'ttake this wrongway, but I am qualified!

 

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Wolfman wrote:

Rudy wrote:

You should see what WD-40 will do to the lockwork on a revolver. We had a standing rule. If the owner used WD-40 on it, we would not accept it as a trade in at any price.

What does it do?

It gums up the lockwork just like it does with switches if allowed to sit there.

 

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jdvorchak wrote:

JIMBO83 wrote:

I would like to hear what gsmaclean or sandiegobrass has to say about this subject. Many people use WD40 on electronics and swear by it. I'dlike a definitive answer from someone qualified to give one.

I respect their opinion and I mentioned that there are about a million people who would disagree with me. I do almost take offense to your statement. Almost but not. I have been working on cars and trucks etc for a very long time. I started in 1966. I worked as an Avionics Bench Technician for a number of years. I workded on Digital and analogflight control systems. Digital Radar and DME. Nav and Comm equipment and DF equipmentso I feel that I am qualified to make that statement about WD-40 or virtually any electronic device. Currently I am a Senior System Analyst for AT&T and am 3rd level support on OS based software and hardware on mid range UNIX systems.



Please don'ttake this wrongway, but I am qualified!

One thing to note is that certain contact cleaners can damage plastic and cause it to distort. Many times switches may not work from buildup of grime in the plastic workings even if the contacts themselves remain clean. In this respect, contact cleaner can be just as or more damaging to a switch.

A concentrated blast of compressed air avail at radio shack is (the kind with the tiny tube) is probably the safest thing to try first.

I too was an avionics tech, but on the actual aircraft. We would use contact cleaner on yoke switches and the like to get them moving but sooner or later they would wind upsticking/not workingagain and would have to be replaced.

Personally, I think WD-40 is about as likely to mess up a switch a some contact cleaners. It does work however and from my experience doesn't seem to cause damage to the plastic(rubber is another story).

Usually the real fix is to disassemble the switch and clean it, but you risk little flying parts and the possibilty of lost riding time. If you have to spritz again in a couple weeks-no biggie.

Just my opinion.

Also direct from WD-40's website...



What does WD-40 stand for?
WD-40 literally stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt. That's the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who developed WD-40 back in 1953. The chemist, Norm Larsen, was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion-a task which is done by displacing water. Norm's persistence paid off when he perfected the formula on his 40th try.

 

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I know this is not what yall wont to here But the real cleaner for contacts and connections are in 3 diffrent tools small enough to fit in your pocket called contact and spade brush and scraper and straightener they make diffrent sizes of these and I have used them for years.
WD 40 is best for starting fires on expensive equipment.
anyone that wonts to question a Persons Knowleledge on any subject shold first take experience in the working field hands on over any degree or training .
I hold an earned Master of Technology. but its just the name of that training and testing .
The hands on in the trenches has been my best teacher.

 

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In my career I've worked on Radars, Missile Launchers, Computers, Remotely Controlled Waldo's, Very Large Robotic Assemblers, and now for the last 20 years High Speed Currency Processors (large 12+ foot long 40 bank note/second machines used by the federal reserve and major banks). In each and every case we have outlawed the use of WD40 because of the film it leaves behind after the solvents have dissipated. The film attracts dust and over a period of time gums up the moving parts.

While it may clear up your problem initially it will cause more problems than it cures. It does have its uses but not on switches, wire cables inside sheathes, bearings or anything that must operate freely. Especially if the item is used as a safety limit switch etc.

We use a combination of non-crazing contact cleaners that evaporate away, burnishing tools (small diamond embedded paper thin contact files - 4,000 grit), Silicone or Teflon lubricants that are not dust attracting, and various solvents to clean away the previous dust attracting lubricants.

If you want reliable switches do them right and don't use WD40.

If you want a wild ride just use WD 40 on your throttle cable and wait about 3-4 months. One day you'll flick the throttle and it will not return to idle. Hopefully you'll have the presence of mind to use the kill switch(hopefully you haven't used WD40 on it).

Henry

 

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FeButter wrote:

So why did they stop at 40? :surprised:

These guys didn't.....

 

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Nice marketing "Twice as Good"...

Henry

 

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Used to watch guys use it on Router bearings..Then when the bearing burned up and blew apart..Bingo there goes the work.

Army and military use it extensively for cleaning weapons so that should tell you something about the formula.

Here is a good site to see how to use it.

http://www.wd40.com/uses-tips/

 

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One of the best use's I can think of for WD40 is for getting tar/oil off of your car after you have driven through it. JB80 is awesome for getting compression fittings loose or pretty much anything that is rusty and sticking. We use JB80 alot where I work to loosen up the fittings on the State plow trucks, tractors and all of the heavy equipment.

 

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WD40 is good for freeing rusty parts, and cleaning rust off of metals using scotch-brite if your not concerned about scratches, and yes its good for loosening up just about anything. But wouldn't use it as a lube, it does evaporate
leaving behind the original lubricant making it sticky, ( problem is back ).
I use lacquer thinner, its cheap, goes a long way, and the compressor works great to blow off any parts, but you do have to be careful what you use it on.
I also heard it has kerosene it. (Gentlemen start your engines !)



















i

 

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wingsam41 wrote:

jdvorchak wrote:

JIMBO83 wrote:

I would like to hear what gsmaclean or sandiegobrass has to say about this subject. Many people use WD40 on electronics and swear by it. I'dlike a definitive answer from someone qualified to give one.

I respect their opinion and I mentioned that there are about a million people who would disagree with me. I do almost take offense to your statement. Almost but not. I have been working on cars and trucks etc for a very long time. I started in 1966. I worked as an Avionics Bench Technician for a number of years. I workded on Digital and analogflight control systems. Digital Radar and DME. Nav and Comm equipment and DF equipmentso I feel that I am qualified to make that statement about WD-40 or virtually any electronic device. Currently I am a Senior System Analyst for AT&T and am 3rd level support on OS based software and hardware on mid range UNIX systems.



Please don'ttake this wrongway, but I am qualified!

One thing to note is that certain contact cleaners can damage plastic and cause it to distort. Many times switches may not work from buildup of grime in the plastic workings even if the contacts themselves remain clean. In this respect, contact cleaner can be just as or more damaging to a switch.

A concentrated blast of compressed air avail at radio shack is (the kind with the tiny tube) is probably the safest thing to try first.

I too was an avionics tech, but on the actual aircraft. We would use contact cleaner on yoke switches and the like to get them moving but sooner or later they would wind upsticking/not workingagain and would have to be replaced.

Personally, I think WD-40 is about as likely to mess up a switch a some contact cleaners. It does work however and from my experience doesn't seem to cause damage to the plastic(rubber is another story).

Usually the real fix is to disassemble the switch and clean it, but you risk little flying parts and the possibilty of lost riding time. If you have to spritz again in a couple weeks-no biggie.

Just my opinion.

Also direct from WD-40's website...



What does WD-40 stand for?
WD-40 literally stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt. That's the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who developed WD-40 back in 1953. The chemist, Norm Larsen, was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion-a task which is done by displacing water. Norm's persistence paid off when he perfected the formula on his 40t

How would a person reading your original post be aware of your qualifications? I'm glad you only "almost took offense" to my comment but even if you did take offense, it wouldn't be justified since I didn't know of your curriculum vitae.

 

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I'm a qualified nut-case. ...In Fact, qualified as being so by many here...

With yearly maintenance (Winter-time shut-down type maintenance), the usual routine would be to go-over your bike; all of it, front-to-back and top-to-bottom. Being that I do that almost perpetually anyway, this must be why I have never had a problem with WD-40 and electrical connections.

If I were to service a connector w/WD-40 and leta bike sit on a charger over the winter and do nothing more, well then, ...I suppose I'll get what is due to me for my PM efforts. Let it go for years? ... I can't tolerate the thought.

In my real-World, WD-40 and electrical connectors are a good thing. I'm not operating aircraft or using it on PC boards. It's 12V DC, ...and it's OK to use. Motorcycles and dirt are a part of life, hence Preventive Maintenance beyond that of most other road-going private transportation. If dirt collecting on a serviced connector is a issue, then start using sealed connectors. No other way around keeping "dirt" of your connector. The cleaned metal to metal connection is what is important. Surface dirt surrounding it is of little concern at 12Vdc.

If all of the previous owners of my '78 would've kept-up with their PM on the electrical connections, I wouldn't have had to cut-out and solder the connections that I did.

Good Preventive Maintenance habits is the real issue, asWD-40 is getting a bad rap here IMO.

Theory is meaningless to experience in my World. Someone up above mentioned something along this line. Re-reading the thread to find it is just not that important though... I'm a "Theory-Man" myself, but my experience says that the majority of the content in this thread is meaningless in the real World as it pertains to my motorcycles and my practices of maintaining them..

Not a flame, just a little injection of my reality withthe subject. :smiler::waving:

 

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CaptainMidnight85 wrote:

I'm a qualified nut-case. ...In Fact, qualified as being so by many here...

With yearly maintenance (Winter-time shut-down type maintenance), the usual routine would be to go-over your bike; all of it, front-to-back and top-to-bottom. Being that I do that almost perpetually anyway, this must be why I have never had a problem with WD-40 and electrical connections.

If I were to service a connector w/WD-40 and leta bike sit on a charger over the winter and do nothing more, well then, ...I suppose I'll get what is due to me for my PM efforts. Let it go for years? ... I can't tolerate the thought.

In my real-World, WD-40 and electrical connectors are a good thing. I'm not operating aircraft or using it on PC boards. It's 12V DC, ...and it's OK to use. Motorcycles and dirt are a part of life, hence Preventive Maintenance beyond that of most other road-going private transportation. If dirt collecting on a serviced connector is a issue, then start using sealed connectors. No other way around keeping "dirt" of your connector. The cleaned metal to metal connection is what is important. Surface dirt surrounding it is of little concern at 12Vdc.

If all of the previous owners of my '78 would've kept-up with their PM on the electrical connections, I wouldn't have had to cut-out and solder the connections that I did.

Good Preventive Maintenance habits is the real issue, asWD-40 is getting a bad rap here IMO.

Theory is meaningless to experience in my World. Someone up above mentioned something along this line. Re-reading the thread to find it is just not that important though... I'm a "Theory-Man" myself, but my experience says that the majority of the content in this thread is meaningless in the real World as it pertains to my motorcycles and my practices of maintaining them..

Not a flame, just a little injection of my reality withthe subject. :smiler::waving:

This is why I am addicted to this forum! I admit it. I love a good debate and I also love people with an opinion who aren't afraid to express it. :applause:

 

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Well let me ask this, what should we use if we have something like the EMG button stuck? I just got a very small can of WD 40 to carry with me but now I will replace it, but with what?

 

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JIMBO83 wrote:

wingsam41 wrote:

jdvorchak wrote:

JIMBO83 wrote:

I would like to hear what gsmaclean or sandiegobrass has to say about this subject. Many people use WD40 on electronics and swear by it. I'dlike a definitive answer from someone qualified to give one.

I respect their opinion and I mentioned that there are about a million people who would disagree with me. I do almost take offense to your statement. Almost but not. I have been working on cars and trucks etc for a very long time. I started in 1966. I worked as an Avionics Bench Technician for a number of years. I workded on Digital and analogflight control systems. Digital Radar and DME. Nav and Comm equipment and DF equipmentso I feel that I am qualified to make that statement about WD-40 or virtually any electronic device. Currently I am a Senior System Analyst for AT&T and am 3rd level support on OS based software and hardware on mid range UNIX systems.



Please don'ttake this wrongway, but I am qualified!

One thing to note is that certain contact cleaners can damage plastic and cause it to distort. Many times switches may not work from buildup of grime in the plastic workings even if the contacts themselves remain clean. In this respect, contact cleaner can be just as or more damaging to a switch.

A concentrated blast of compressed air avail at radio shack is (the kind with the tiny tube) is probably the safest thing to try first.

I too was an avionics tech, but on the actual aircraft. We would use contact cleaner on yoke switches and the like to get them moving but sooner or later they would wind upsticking/not workingagain and would have to be replaced.

Personally, I think WD-40 is about as likely to mess up a switch a some contact cleaners. It does work however and from my experience doesn't seem to cause damage to the plastic(rubber is another story).

Usually the real fix is to disassemble the switch and clean it, but you risk little flying parts and the possibilty of lost riding time. If you have to spritz again in a couple weeks-no biggie.

Just my opinion.

Also direct from WD-40's website...



What does WD-40 stand for?
WD-40 literally stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt. That's the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who developed WD-40 back in 1953. The chemist, Norm Larsen, was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion-a task which is done by displacing water. Norm's persistence paid off when he perfected the formula on his 40t

How would a person reading your original post be aware of your qualifications? I'm glad you only "almost took offense" to my comment but even if you did take offense, it wouldn't be justified since I didn't know of your curriculum vitae.

Jimbo-Not only did I not take offense to what you said-I actually caught you up in quotes by mistake-was trying to capture what jay said regarding WD and the fact that he was an avionics tech. Just was pointing out that I too worked in thatfield.The Jist of what I was saying was that the use of WD on electrical contacts is not the most evil thing ever.I did not get offended nor intend toofend anyone. I stated that spraying contact cleaner into a switch can cause as much harm as using WD but for different reasons. Also that was my first post in this thread so not sure what you mean by original post.

Just to be clear I have sprayed WD-40 into my switches. Not proud of it but sometimes you wanna ride and not f**K with tiny switch parts.

 

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Small world. I was also an Avionics tech in the Marine Corps. I was with VMFP-3 in the 3rd Maw, El Toro CA. Worked on aerial recon systems installed on RF4B's. Also did OJT for secondary MOS at MCAS Cherry Point on A4's (yes I'm that old) Did my training at NAS Millington, Memphis TN. Have done Organizational and Intermediate level avionics.

 

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Wow! More opinions than a bunch of old women at an Avon party. Well here's mine, based on experience, the best teacher of all. 1-WD40 beats hell out of nothing at all so throw it in your saddlebag and be glad you have it if you need it. 2- yep, it sure does stink and I hate that nasty odor. 3-it's really good at removing tar, I used to shingle houses for a living (so I know) and you will get tar on your hands and tools. Cuts it right off. Great for cleaning gummed up head of an air powered shingle nailer too. 4-Attracts dirt like nobody's business. About worthless in that respect. Most things in a can do in my experience so use what you got and go back to riding. These aren't Boeings at 40,000 feet with 200 lives in your hands - they're motorcycles. Probably not gonna kill anybody...
Chew on that.

 

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It's interesting that their website www.wd40.com carefully avoids making any claims as to it's uses. They list 2000 uses but if you look at the footnote, their disclaimer states that all 'uses' of WD40 on the website are those submitted by other people and they take no responsibility. Great marketing trick!!! They make a product, make no claims as to what it can be used for and let the customers tell them!

 

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I see wd40 stock went up 40 % today. THANKS GUYS :dance::dance::dance:

 

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Jesus ., nothing like WD40 or " whats the best battery or tire " to get us going .
In my opinion only ... WD40 is great stuff if used as it was originally intented , which is as a water displacement agent with a slight grease cutting and lubricating function included.
I think Hanko hit it on the head by saying this product is fine as are many others of its type , to clean out electrical switches etc. as long as following procedures are done. The problem we see as bikers is that the switches we deal with are all naked and subject to the worst of weather, road grime , spilt coffee/beer etc.
Im surprised they work at all after a couple of years .
In short ., a good shot of whatever cleaner you choose then cycle the switch to clean and then a blast of air to remove
the crap. Then a small shot of Silicone or Teflon to LUBRICATE the switch as dry switch contacts will wear as fast as any other metal to metal contact .

 

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it's perfect for cleaning the black glue that used to be used to fasten VCT (vinyl composite tile) - that's all I use it for - removing road tar, misc cleaning of substances like that

 

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dj I forgot about that. Actually I use enamel reducer or lacquer thinner for those jobs but that's what I have laying around.

 

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machinehead wrote:

Jesus ., nothing like WD40 or " whats the best battery or tire " to get us going .
In my opinion only ... WD40 is great stuff if used as it was originally intented , which is as a water displacement agent with a slight grease cutting and lubricating function included.
I think Hanko hit it on the head by saying this product is fine as are many others of its type , to clean out electrical switches etc. as long as following procedures are done. The problem we see as bikers is that the switches we deal with are all naked and subject to the worst of weather, road grime , spilt coffee/beer etc.
Im surprised they work at all after a couple of years .
In short ., a good shot of whatever cleaner you choose then cycle the switch to clean and then a blast of air to remove
the crap. Then a small shot of Silicone or Teflon to LUBRICATE the switch as dry switch contacts will wear as fast as any other metal to metal contact .

I like to keep things simple. I simply use the one step process of hitting it with contact cleaner from Radio shack and forget about it.