So now we know what's in WD-40.

http://www.wired.com/science/discove...st_whatsinside

--
Peter.
You don't understand Newton's Third Law of Motion?
It's not rocket science, you know.

PeterC wrote:
So now we know what's in WD-40.

http://www.wired.com/science/discove...st_whatsinside

Very interesting.

I was only thinking about WD40 yesterday.....I have a pair of '100%
waterproof' boots, which aren't, they are a type of suede on the outside and
christ-knows-what on the inside, I was going to buy some waterproof spray
from millets but happened upon the WD40 in the shed and started thinking
about giving them a spray with that.

I haven't yet as I'm a bit wary about what it might do to the synthetic
rubber soles.

Any advice anyone?

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

In article ,
"Phil L" writes:
PeterC wrote:
So now we know what's in WD-40.

http://www.wired.com/science/discove...st_whatsinside

Very interesting.

I was only thinking about WD40 yesterday.....I have a pair of '100%
waterproof' boots, which aren't, they are a type of suede on the outside and
christ-knows-what on the inside, I was going to buy some waterproof spray
from millets but happened upon the WD40 in the shed and started thinking
about giving them a spray with that.

I haven't yet as I'm a bit wary about what it might do to the synthetic
rubber soles.

Any advice anyone?

Probably a disaster. The WD40 will short-term push water away
until the volatiles have evaporated, but it's useless for
waterproofing. Actually, because it's rather good at washing
away oils and grease, it can leave items more prone to water
damage than they were before.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Phil L" writes:
PeterC wrote:
So now we know what's in WD-40.

http://www.wired.com/science/discove...st_whatsinside

Very interesting.

I was only thinking about WD40 yesterday.....I have a pair of '100%
waterproof' boots, which aren't, they are a type of suede on the outside
and
christ-knows-what on the inside, I was going to buy some waterproof spray
from millets but happened upon the WD40 in the shed and started thinking
about giving them a spray with that.

I haven't yet as I'm a bit wary about what it might do to the synthetic
rubber soles.

Any advice anyone?

Probably a disaster. The WD40 will short-term push water away
until the volatiles have evaporated, but it's useless for
waterproofing. Actually, because it's rather good at washing
away oils and grease, it can leave items more prone to water
damage than they were before.

Agreed - if you must use something inappropriate, GT85 from bike shops would
be better as it contains silicone.


--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not]

On Tue, 19 May 2009 16:19:32 +0100, Bob Mannix wrote:

I was only thinking about WD40 yesterday.....I have a pair of '100%
waterproof' boots, which aren't, they are a type of suede on the outside
and
christ-knows-what on the inside, I was going to buy some waterproof spray
from millets but happened upon the WD40 in the shed and started thinking
about giving them a spray with that.

I haven't yet as I'm a bit wary about what it might do to the synthetic
rubber soles.

Any advice anyone?

Probably a disaster. The WD40 will short-term push water away
until the volatiles have evaporated, but it's useless for
waterproofing. Actually, because it's rather good at washing
away oils and grease, it can leave items more prone to water
damage than they were before.

Agreed - if you must use something inappropriate, GT85 from bike shops would
be better as it contains silicone.

Or something appropriate:

http://www.nikwax.com/en-gb/products...-1&fabricid=-1

(I hope the wibble is OK - TinyURL seems to be down)

but they'd need cleaning first:

http://www.nikwax.com/en-gb/products...p?productid=85
--
Peter.
You don't understand Newton's Third Law of Motion?
It's not rocket science, you know.

Phil L wrote:
PeterC wrote:
So now we know what's in WD-40.

http://www.wired.com/science/discove...st_whatsinside

Very interesting.

I was only thinking about WD40 yesterday.....I have a pair of '100%
waterproof' boots, which aren't, they are a type of suede on the outside and
christ-knows-what on the inside, I was going to buy some waterproof spray
from millets but happened upon the WD40 in the shed and started thinking
about giving them a spray with that.

I haven't yet as I'm a bit wary about what it might do to the synthetic
rubber soles.

Any advice anyone?


Well I've got a shoe that accidentally had a good soak in old engine oil
yesterday when I changed the oil in the lawnmower. So far the shoe is
nice and shiny but showing no signs of dissolving.

--
David in Normandy.

Huge wrote:
On 2009-05-19, David in Normandy wrote:
Phil L wrote:
PeterC wrote:
So now we know what's in WD-40.

http://www.wired.com/science/discove...st_whatsinside
Very interesting.

I was only thinking about WD40 yesterday.....I have a pair of '100%
waterproof' boots, which aren't, they are a type of suede on the outside and
christ-knows-what on the inside, I was going to buy some waterproof spray
from millets but happened upon the WD40 in the shed and started thinking
about giving them a spray with that.

I haven't yet as I'm a bit wary about what it might do to the synthetic
rubber soles.

Any advice anyone?

Well I've got a shoe that accidentally had a good soak in old engine oil
yesterday when I changed the oil in the lawnmower. So far the shoe is
nice and shiny but showing no signs of dissolving.

Personally, I wouldn't use a mineral oil on anything that is in contact
with the skin, and especially not *used* engine oil.



AFAIK mineral oils are inert. Liquid paraffin etc.

On 20 May, 10:00, Stuart Noble wrote:

AFAIK mineral oils are inert. Liquid paraffin etc.

Big range of them under that term. "Mineral oils" are generally
insensitive to oxidation (i.e. "going rancid") as vegetable oils
suffer from. Most are also benign and non-harmful, as a raw
ingredient. However most uses of "mineral oil" as a description,
especially anything engineering-related whether that's for lubricating
or machining, are chock-full of additives and it's these additives
that are the problem.

Although I'm generally happy enough to handle "ingredient" oils of
reasonable purity, I'm with Huge on engine oils and _especially_
anything second-hand, contaminated or even those made by recycling.
You can find some serious nastiness in those barrels.


My topic of interest for the week is "Petrobond" moulding sand, as
used for metal castings. There's some right naughtiness in there, when
the oil binders are heated by having hot metal poured into them. Given
that I'm working in a small space with restricted ventilation, should
I be using Petrobond at all, or should I switch to K-Bond? K-Bond is
broadly the same stuff (sand, bentonite, oil, propylene carbonate) but
switches the oil to Indopol L-100 specifically, a food-grade and
"safe" mineral oil that's now being used as a two-stroke additive oil
to address this same hazard from its fumes.

On 20 May 2009 08:00:13 GMT, Huge wrote:

Well I've got a shoe that accidentally had a good soak in old engine oil
yesterday when I changed the oil in the lawnmower. So far the shoe is
nice and shiny but showing no signs of dissolving.

Personally, I wouldn't use a mineral oil on anything that is in contact
with the skin, and especially not *used* engine oil.

Especialy one's codpiece.
--
Peter.
You don't understand Newton's Third Law of Motion?
It's not rocket science, you know.

PeterC wrote:
On 20 May 2009 08:00:13 GMT, Huge wrote:

Well I've got a shoe that accidentally had a good soak in old
engine oil yesterday when I changed the oil in the lawnmower. So
far the shoe is nice and shiny but showing no signs of dissolving.

Personally, I wouldn't use a mineral oil on anything that is in
contact with the skin, and especially not *used* engine oil.

Especialy one's codpiece.

Wasn't there a scare a few years ago warning mechanics not to put oily rags
in their overall pockets. Risk of testicular cancer or summint?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Wed, 20 May 2009 18:16:13 GMT, The Medway Handyman wrote:

PeterC wrote:
On 20 May 2009 08:00:13 GMT, Huge wrote:

Well I've got a shoe that accidentally had a good soak in old
engine oil yesterday when I changed the oil in the lawnmower. So
far the shoe is nice and shiny but showing no signs of dissolving.

Personally, I wouldn't use a mineral oil on anything that is in
contact with the skin, and especially not *used* engine oil.

Especialy one's codpiece.

Wasn't there a scare a few years ago warning mechanics not to put oily rags
in their overall pockets. Risk of testicular cancer or summint?

It's more than a scare, especially with the carcinogens in used oil (me
last GF is a dotor... oh, and her definition of a chemist is 'a man who
washes his hands before going to the loo - also should apply to mechanics).
--
Peter.
You don't understand Newton's Third Law of Motion?
It's not rocket science, you know.

I haven't yet as I'm a bit wary about what it might do to the synthetic
rubber soles.

Any advice anyone?

All depends on the rubber. Since WD40 is based on hydrocarbons (just like
petrol and mineral oil) it won't do much to nitrile, which is why you have
nitrile O rings, seals, gaskets on carburettors, gearboxes, wheel bearings,
etc. But it will dissolve into natural rubber or SBR (styrene butadiene)
which, although synthetic, is chemically much the same as natural. This will
cause the rubber to soften and swell. As the volatile components evaporate,
the rubber will recover its properties. But you may have damaged it
mechanically while it is soft.

Agree with other posters, you are better to use nikwax or similar.

On Wed, 20 May 2009 18:16:13 GMT, "The Medway Handyman"
had this to say:

PeterC wrote:
On 20 May 2009 08:00:13 GMT, Huge wrote:

Well I've got a shoe that accidentally had a good soak in old
engine oil yesterday when I changed the oil in the lawnmower. So
far the shoe is nice and shiny but showing no signs of dissolving.

Personally, I wouldn't use a mineral oil on anything that is in
contact with the skin, and especially not *used* engine oil.

Especialy one's codpiece.

Wasn't there a scare a few years ago warning mechanics not to put oily rags
in their overall pockets. Risk of testicular cancer or summint?

There was a nofficial poster used (around the late 60s) in works
premises warning about scratching your ******** after playing about
with oily thingummies. Probably before cancer was sucha nemotive
subject.

--
Frank Erskine

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
om...
PeterC wrote:
On 20 May 2009 08:00:13 GMT, Huge wrote:

Well I've got a shoe that accidentally had a good soak in old
engine oil yesterday when I changed the oil in the lawnmower. So
far the shoe is nice and shiny but showing no signs of dissolving.

Personally, I wouldn't use a mineral oil on anything that is in
contact with the skin, and especially not *used* engine oil.

Especialy one's codpiece.

Wasn't there a scare a few years ago warning mechanics not to put oily
rags in their overall pockets. Risk of testicular cancer or summint?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

What about female mechanics?

Adam

On Thu, 21 May 2009 10:57:49 GMT, ARWadsworth wrote:

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
om...
PeterC wrote:
On 20 May 2009 08:00:13 GMT, Huge wrote:

Well I've got a shoe that accidentally had a good soak in old
engine oil yesterday when I changed the oil in the lawnmower. So
far the shoe is nice and shiny but showing no signs of dissolving.

Personally, I wouldn't use a mineral oil on anything that is in
contact with the skin, and especially not *used* engine oil.

Especialy one's codpiece.

Wasn't there a scare a few years ago warning mechanics not to put oily
rags in their overall pockets. Risk of testicular cancer or summint?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

What about female mechanics?

Adam

They should also wash their hands before scratching your ********.
--
Peter.
You don't understand Newton's Third Law of Motion?
It's not rocket science, you know.

On Wed, 20 May 2009 18:16:13 +0000, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Wasn't there a scare a few years ago warning mechanics not to put oily rags
in their overall pockets. Risk of testicular cancer or summint?

I can just imagine the wartime-style "mechanics: never keep your ********
in your pockets!" poster...

"PeterC" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 21 May 2009 10:57:49 GMT, ARWadsworth wrote:

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
om...
PeterC wrote:
On 20 May 2009 08:00:13 GMT, Huge wrote:

Well I've got a shoe that accidentally had a good soak in old
engine oil yesterday when I changed the oil in the lawnmower. So
far the shoe is nice and shiny but showing no signs of dissolving.

Personally, I wouldn't use a mineral oil on anything that is in
contact with the skin, and especially not *used* engine oil.

Especialy one's codpiece.

Wasn't there a scare a few years ago warning mechanics not to put oily
rags in their overall pockets. Risk of testicular cancer or summint?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

What about female mechanics?

Adam

They should also wash their hands before scratching your ********.
--
Peter.

Nice one. I will tell her later.

Adam