If it wasn't eminently obvious, most of these "secrecy" programs are marketing fluff.

The actual ingredients are literally on the safety data sheet: https://files.wd40.com/pdf/sds/mup/wd-40-multi-use-product-a...

The company can brag that their formulation has a special blend of herbs and spices, but someone who wants to can obviously make their own special formulation and say that theirs is secret too.

More importantly, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. And there is nothing particularly special about WD-40's formulation anymore. WD-40 consistently performs worse than nearly any other available penetrating oil. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUEob2oAKVs It's a terrible long term lubricant (because it's designed to evaporate, it actually concentrates gunk and grime).

WD-40 themselves have come out with improved "Specialist" formulations that mostly just copy other, superior products.

> The actual ingredients are literally on the safety data sheet

This is an oversimplification, in a way that is likely not obvious to a lot of people on this (software-focused) forum. An SDS does not have to list exact amounts, does not have to disclose some details of how an ingredient or mix of ingredients was processed, and (depending on jurisdiction) may not have to identify some "safe" ingredients at all. Some ingredients may be identified in relatively vague ways, that are sufficient for safety purposes but do not reveal the exact product. As the SDS you linked to says "The specific chemical identity and exact percentages are a trade secret". An SDS is certainly very helpful to reverse-engineering a product, but it doesn't tell you everything.

All that said, yes, the main strength of WD-40 is its marketing and ubiquity, and claims about its secrecy have more to do with marketing than anything practical.

WD-40's advantage is that it's not terrible to get on your skin when you're out working, and it's cheap.

The people who use it are looking for cheap, mostly.

Source: farming. We have many different lubes and penetrating products for when we're in the actual shop, but in the field, nothing beats wd-40 for getting back to work fast, or unsticking some shit when all you have is a hammer and you just know when that fucking bolt comes loose it's going to throw rust and dirt all over your face.

> actual ingredients are literally on the safety data sheet

From the data sheet: "The specific chemical identity and exact percentages are a trade secret."

The petroleum base oils alone cover thousands of candidate chemicals.

> WD-40 consistently performs worse than nearly any other available penetrating oil.

The video’s test showed wd-40 worked slightly better than kroil and pb blaster, which all performed in the same range, being not much better than nothing. That’s particularly interesting because of how often kroil/pb come up as recommendations to use instead of wd…

Acetone+atf did better and liquid wrench penetrating fluid did the best, but *nothing* beats heat.

“WD-40 performs worse than oils” because WD-40 is not an oil, it’s not even a lubricant. It’s a water protector. many make mistake using WD40 for lubricating everything because it’s mainly for water related applications. There are flavours of WD40 that are more “oil”.

One hilarious fact about WD-40 is that there is a bicycle chain lubricant by Muc-Off that does WORSE than original WD-40 in chain wear tests.

(I know WD-40 is a bad lubricant, that's what makes this so funny)

Lubricant analysis is a commonly available service. It's normally done on lubricating oil for large engines (heavy trucks, locomotives, ships) as a diagnostic tool. The usual tests are mostly to see what properties of the oil or engine are degrading. Full analysis of new oil to validate that it conforms to specification is available.[1]

Hydrocarbons are rather well studied.

[1] https://oilanalysislab.com/

> It's a terrible long term lubricant (because it's designed to evaporate, it actually concentrates gunk and grime).

I recently read that WD40 isn't actually a lubricant but a lubricant remover. So as you write you'd use it to remove gunk but then follow it up with an actual lubricant.

On the last two bottles of WD40 I came across (im Germany) I checked the back and it indeed said that it's not a lubricant but a lubricant remover.

(Disclaimer: can't read the article past the intro where it does call it a lubricant...)

> If it wasn't eminently obvious, most of these "secrecy" programs are marketing fluff.

Yep, and equally obvious is that keeping some piece of paper in a bank vault for PR doesn't change the fact the "secret" formula still needs to be turned into millions of gallons of product in factories around the world, so people in supply chain procurement and manufacturing processes have to have practical knowledge of how to make it.

The SDS here may not be sufficient to deformulate as many of the CAS# reported are generic and represent a broad class of compounds. Probably easier to just go run it on a GC.

not meant to be a lubricant, wd, water displacement. Use as a solvent, then lube with something better.

>The actual ingredients are literally on the safety data sheet:

The only CAS number listed in that data sheet that doesn’t return Molecular Formula: Unspecified is carbon dioxide. The other 98% of the formulation is just sort of vague references to petroleum distillates.

I learned the whole "not a lubricant" lesson the hard way in 2009 when my idle pulley was squeaking on a long drive. I stopped and bought a spare and sprayed it down with WD-40.

Forty miles from my destination, it seized. Sadly, not knowing it was reverse thread, I stripped it with a breaker bar and had to have the truck towed.

The real deal with WD-40 (and Coca Cola) is the brand name.

WD-40 is great for cleaning, particularly threads, but also metal surfaces. It generally doesn't eat plastic, isn't a crazy skin or respiratory irritant.

I use it a ton to clean off threads of stuff exposed to the elements. Get dirt, old oil/grease, water, and any grit or rust or other things out of threads so they tighten properly and don't get jammed up with stuff.

If something I'm working on is dirty, it gets a spray of WD-40 and a rag to help not foul up the inside of whatever I'm opening.

I thought it was mostly meant to protect against rust due to moisture in the ambient air so I put it on tools in my basement. But if it's evaporating, maybe it's not so great at that.

But yea, like Coke or McDonalds, the brand is probably worth far more than the secrecy of the recipe.

It's such garbage, and it's frustrating to see stuff like this on the front page.

"It's a terrible long term lubricant" it's not even a lubricant

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