WD-40 as a Degreaser ?
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Iron Dan posted 50 weeks ago.
I really wouldn't use it for either. WD 40 is a very thin lubricant that is used as a water displacer (that is what WD stands for). It is suppost to be used as a method for freeing up siezed parts. WD 40 does an ok job as a lubricant and a degreaser however, it is a very thin oil and will not last as long and is not designed to be a long term chain lubricant. WD 40 does and ok job as a degreaser if you wipe it down, but so does water. If your local bike shop is using it, I would say that it is to save money, not because it is better. WD 40 is cheaper than a good degreaser or a good lubricant.
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1528 days
kylie posted 50 weeks ago.
My bike shop tells me not to use it for anything on my bike, that it can be a quick fix but often leads to issues.
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Triguy98 posted 50 weeks ago.
I wouldnt use it for anything. I use Greased Lightning as my degreaser- it works very well and is fairly cheap and can be found just about anywhere. For lubes, it depends on the application. I use sythetic grese, silicon lube with teflon, and Dumonde Tech bike lubes for my stuff.
WD-40 would be good as a post muddy/sandy ride, especially MTB. Its gets the gunk off the chain. Then I would use my standard degreaser, then a relube.
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
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1083 days
TBRAVO posted 50 weeks ago.
I agree…WD40 is too thin to be an effective lubricant for any bike application.
I like Pedro’s Products; they make really good cleaners, degreasers and lubricants.
http://www.pedros.com/
My boys also found out that Pedro's Syn Lub works the best for the bearings in their roller-hockey and skateboard wheels.
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203 days
Trijacks posted 28 weeks ago.
I have been using armour all citrus degreasing wipes. I grab the chain with a wipe in my hand and run the chain through it. The grease comes right off with very little mess. Just throw away the wipe. For the cassette, I spray it with simple green and scrub with a small brush. I rinse it off with water. I use tri flo products to lubricate the moving parts.
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233 days
GGehrke posted 28 weeks ago.
I have no problem with WD-40 as a degreaser, except that if your bike gets bad enough to NEED it, you should take that as a sign you need more routine maintenance.
Never as a lubricant, though. Use a purpose built product.
Here's a question, though - has anyone ever used automotive brake parts cleaner on bike parts?
I used it the other day on my brakes (my front was sticking and causing all sorts of problems). I was going to take it off and soak it in degreaser, but I just unmounted it, held it over a bucket and blasted it with the stuff. Got every last bit of gunk off and dried without a residue!
In the process of diagnosing the problem I realized my shifters were all gunked up from some nasty riding lately. I was thinking this stuff might be perfect there to blow out the grit and dissolve gunk all through the insides. I was thinking it might be really good on my derailleurs too. A bit nervous to try it though.
Thoughts?
-Grant-
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theShiba posted 28 weeks ago.
I'm a big fan of Simple Green. It comes in large sizes, and it works pretty well. It's also nice that it's "friendlier" than other cleaning products/aerosols, and it is really easy on the skin. It actually has a very pleasant smell, and leaves your hands clean, but not dried out.
For a good cleaning, I take off the necessary parts, and let them soak in a high concentration of SG overnight.
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1214 days
Triguy98 posted 28 weeks ago.
GGehrke wrote:
I was thinking it might be really good on my derailleurs too. A bit nervous to try it though.
Thoughts?
-Grant-
The WD-40 would be fine for blasting the gunk out of your shifters and derailleurs- BUT- you'd better take of the derailleur pulleys and re grease them, just to be sure. The shifters really dont require any lube, but I think a light spray of teflon/ silicon lube after the cleaning might help things be a little more smooth in there.
WD-40 isnt really a degreaser, it lifts dirt and light oil off the surface, but thats about it. When faced with heavier greases, it really doesnt do much of anything.
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
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theShiba posted 28 weeks ago.
For the record... WD-40 is a drying agent. All it does is remove moisture... People will try to convince you that it's a magic voodoo potion that will ruin everything. It's not. It removes moisture. That's it. Just don't put it anywhere where you want moisture to not get removed.
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330 days
psychosyd posted 28 weeks ago.
WD 40 should never come within 10 feet of your bike! Use a purposely designed degreeser such as Simply Green stated above. Many a bike mechanic has had a fit about clients using WD 40.
So when I got into triathlons I was told that using WD-40 on a bike was a bike NO NO but I noticed that two of my local bike shops don't sell WD-40 but they sure use WD-40. So WD-40 could be used as a cleaner, degreaser, and a lubricant according to the manufacturer. So I asked one of the bike shops why/how they used WD-40 and they said that they use it as a degreaser and then use a bike lubricant. So what's the deal here ? Should I use or not use WD-40 and how should it be used on a bike ?
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