Penetrating oil for not hot work: 90/10 vegetable oil + acetone. Much better than commercial products and very cheap. IIRC it was tested on ProjectFarm (I maybe mistaken) and written up in a Drexel paper. [0]
Machinist's Workshop - April/May 2007 says 50/50 ATF + acetone, which requires mixing before use.
0. https://www.engineeringforchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2015...
If you want to stop a squeaky hinge on a exterior gate, a very thick oil like axle grease would be best.
For indoor use, like on a door hinge, graphite should be tried first since it won't make that much of a mess.
Here's a guy on youtube showing how to make it and a comparison to other brands (the diy turned out the best):
Don't believe me? Put it on a bike chain and go for a ride. The whole thing will bind up in no time. It will also rust much faster. You can use it to strip old dirty lubricant, before applying fresh lubricant. But not as a lubricant.
I've been told this by no fewer than three people: shop teacher, bike shop owner and a mill wright. I've personally destroyed a bike chain with it as a kid, and I've seen other people destroy bike chains with wd-40.
It may have a bit of lubricant in it, but it is not sufficient.
I typically use WD40 on things that don't require any lubrication under normal operation. There are plenty of metal-on-metal mechanisms designed to work without any lubrication. For those purposes, it exceeds their lubrication requirement of zero.
If you have a use-case that typically requires a dedicated lubricant under normal operating conditions (i.e. a chain drive), then this likely exceeds the lubricating capabilities of WD40.
(Let's hear it for grumpy, old dads.)
I wouldn't use it as a lubricant though past getting seized bolts freed up, but really it's 100% replaced WD-40 for me when working on rusted and old equipment.
If you spray a lock with WD-40, it will lubricate it and loosen it up immediately, but then dust will stick to it overtime and he will end up worse than where you started. Silicone doesn't do that.
I learned this the hard way when I started lockpicking. Bought a huge box of old locks, some were really sticky and I asked online and people said, "Use WD40, it will loosen the pins right up for yah!"
Sure did and then about three months later, they were all gummed up from dust and other particles that stuck to the WD40 like velcro.
It was a good lesson to learn though.
For example[1]
> the main route of PFAS exposure for most Americans:
> Teflon and other brands of nonstick cookware are still produced with new PFAS that may be no safer.
[1] https://www.ewg.org/pfaschemicals/what-are-forever-chemicals...
PFAS are an ecological disaster; Teflon itself is not a concern.
Using teflon cookware around a pet parrot is a well-known way to kill the pet.
Teflon frying pans are supposed to be safe if you never let them overheat, but in practice they're not safe if you have birds in the house.
PTFE is toxic for humans too, but human lungs are more robust than bird lungs.
[1]https://www.paintdocs.com/docs/webPDF.jsp?SITEID=TRIFLOW&pro...
It tends to get banned among cyclists, too.
How do you mean? The WD-40 liquid falls of, or evaporates too quickly?
Someone somewhere figured out that WD-40 was causing that. And sure enough everybody with streaks said that they use WD-40 on their chains. The streaks were dirt sticking to oil. And if the oil is on your tire, it went past your rims to get there, which is very much not good.
0. It is a solvent, not a lubricant. This is often lost on apprentices until they wear out a drive chain or blow up a firearm. WD40 does a terrible job of blurring that line. even the article touts it several times as a lubricant :(
1. it absolutely CAN NOT be used around hot work, unlike most other lubricants like ND999. cans --aerosol or not-- are treated just like a can of petrol.
2. Again, it is stunningly flammable both in and out of its aerosol form because its mostly kerosene. That means aerosol vapors floating around a powdercoat setup, an open flame, or any ignition spark, will cause it to catch fire. if your apprentice just hosed down a part with WD40 and you need to take a torch to it, youre going to have a bad time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40