Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing WD-40, gunsmith’s friend

I bought an older model 700 BDL - pressed checkering, safety locks the bolt etc. 5 digit serial number.

My friend (who rates guns’ condition for an auction house) said it was 95%. Very nice looking old 700.

After checking for included ammo, I took off the Simmons scope and the see through rings. Then I was planning on looking at and cleaning the bore. The bolt release mechanism was unmovable, seemingly froze in place.
I removed the stock and pushed the bolt stop lever so I could remove the bolt. I cleaned the bore, quite dirty by the way. I applied cleaning/lubing to the trigger. Eventually the slide came free/loose. Seemed as if things were going well. I measured the trigger pull, 8+lb’s. I noticed the trigger adjustment screws looked to untouched, still coated with factory sealant. I looked at engagement, it looked ok. I measured the trigger again, a little less than 2 lb’s and crisp.
What the f—-?
I decided to turn (in and out) the engagement, the spring and the over travel. The over travel and the engagement adjustment seemed fine. The spring/tension however, not so much. There was no spring pressure. The engagement varied from each time I pulled the trigger there was no evidence of spring pressure. I didn’t know for sure but suspected the spring was so gummed up that it would not function.
I took the trigger off, installed an aftermarket trigger. Maybe someday I’ll soak that trigger in Kroil or carb Cleaner or...
( I used to take these triggers apart and inspect, repair if necessary. Due to arthritis and several damaged fingers over the years and difficulty I have getting that safety lever back on, I no longer do such work. )

My assumption is that WD-40 sold another rifle. I wonder how much work gunsmiths get from shooters/hunters using of such products???

I shouldn’t bitch. I now have a very nice old (the way I like them) BDL.

Not satisfied, I took the spring tension screw out - sprayed carb cleaner and then “Break Free CLO” into the screw hole and generally sprayed the trigger thoroughly with both. Now the spring and the trigger is acting like it should.

Thank goodness for WD-40!!!!

i bought a Remington shotgun from a neighbor that was in financial straights. he had small children so he didn't want the gun in the house. he sprayed the gun down with wd-40 and cased it, put it in a dry out building for several years. when he put it there it was a 95% gun. when he drug it out to sell me it had a very nice brown patina over 100% of the metal. wd-40 attracts moisture, thats why we used to spray the distributor on old chevy's with it.
it is also great for arthritis.

WD-40 is supposed to displace moisture. That's why you spray distributors with it. Why would you want to attract moisture to a distributor?

And WD-40 has caused accidental discharges w/ operators steering/handling the rifles w/ their finger on the trigger of 700's,but blame the design instead of their own ignorance.

OP,
Ensure that there is NOT any backlash between the floating connector piece & the trigger lever.
If present,you have a dangerous/improperly adjusted trigger group that needs attention.

WD-40 does do a pretty good job of gumming up a trigger but it's definitely not the worst thing a gunsmith will run into. I once had semi-auto 22 come into the shop because it was frozen solid. I soaked it in Varsol overnight with little effect. I finally warmed up with heat gun and gut the breech bolt to move; reluctantly. Turned out the owner had oiled it up to put it away and had used olive oil! This was way beyond gummed up. Didn't rust though. GD

The original formulation of WD-40 was notorious for turning into varnish muck like the varnish from leaded gas formed on your car's carburetor. In the late 70's early 80's I was working in the gunsmithing shop at Browning Arms in St. Louis, can't tell you how many BT-99 trap guns I worked on whose actions had been rendered inoperable from accumulations of varnish from WD-40 use. I'm told that sometime after that period the formulation of WD-40 was changed so that varnish formation is no longer an issue.

we sprayed wd-40 to attract the moisture that was in the dist. displace is a misnomer for what it does. it bonds with moisture enough to be called a attractant.
i know if you want to ruin a fine finish on a firearm swab it down with wd-40 and leave it on. i used it once to brown a spot on a muzzle loader.

I bought a winchesr 1300 pump in 1980 brand new. Still have this shotgun and for the first 30 yrs I only wiped the outside down with WD40. Never used it on any of the internals but I hunted everything with that shotgun in all weather conditions. The blueing on that shotgun still looks as good as new. I would never use the stuff on any working parts but I have no issues using it on the exterior of any firearm in a pinch.

Since WD-40 stands for Water Displacement formula 40, if the formulation was changed, shouldn't it now be called WD-41? I too saw too many problems with its use on firearms to avoid it. There are so many other better products out there, so I see no use in having it anywhere near my firearms.

I clean mine with carb cleaner and after dry, run lighter fluid into the mechanism. It does not need any lubrication such as WD40

i use wd40 for a tank soak after parkerizing, i buy it by the 55 gallon drum, would never use on my gun as a wipe down oil.

For the past 55 years or so I have used WD40 on the OUTSIDE of guns and tools .I use an old shaving brush that I had from my foot and wall locker display in the army. Just a short spritz and then use the brush to go over all the metal surfaces on the exterior of the gun's metal parts. Take pains to keep it off the wood and scopes. My understanding is that WD 40 is fish oil and the volatile carrier evaporates leaving a light non runny coating of oil. I never spray WD 40 into the interior of the action as it will gum it up. It's also a good idea to wipe your prints off the gun of a customer-you never know where your prints may show up! I buy Brake Kleen non chlorinated spray to clean the actions out, just don't use Brake Kleen on plastic parts-it is bad for plastic. Happy Holidays.Mel Chung-Gunsmith in Hawaii

The fish oil myth was debunked decades ago... though it really does get used a lot by commercial halibut longliners. It catches fish!

Why work so hard to keep it out when there are so many better choices for metal protection?

Here our regard for wd40 is low. It is neither a penetrant, lubricant,or preservative when compared to more specialized products. Break free clp is my favorite for preservative. Test show a 5%salt water solution will not break the surface film of break free even after 200 hr of submersion. Also a good cleaner and have seen breakfree release stubborn parts as penetrant.

WD-40 + firearms = good business income for me..


But seriously - I've warned against the use of that stuff on firearms for YEARS. It's great to use on old, rusty farm machinery - but keep it away (FAR away) from firearms..















Now - flame suit's ON..

If you do any amount of varnishing and have had to deal with fisheyes in the finish due to molecules of WD-40 in the air, then you would have as much disdain for it as I do. I don't allow WD-40 (or any other aerosol "lubricant-like" stuff) within 50 feet of where I work.

I had a girlfriend who insisted on lubing the chain on her bike with WD-40 every morning before her ride. Sure as god made little green apples, after a couple months it was a stiff gooey mess. I tried to warn her, but you know women...

I did have a good use for the stuff way back when I did a lot of black powder revolver shooting. I would scrub/flush the guns under a hot water spigot, then displace the water with WD-40 when cleaning away from home. It held up long enough to get me home where I could do a detailed proper cleaning, sometimes after a few days.

I made the mistake of wiping the grip/grip-cap area on an Ithaca SKB shotgun with WD-40. When I next checked, the cap (plastic) had warped upward away from the wood. I no longer get WD-40 anywhere near guns.

My Father in Law had an SKB Ithaca 900 shotgun where the plastic cap had warped away from the wood too. He kept WD-40 around his work shop. I always thought it must have come close to a heat source. Your experience makes more sense.

WD-40 is great for preventing rust if your tool box gets caught open in the rain. I just spray it lightly on the tools before closing the lid and it works great for that. I'd never use it on my guns though.

How about Rem-Oil aerosol? Does anyone have issues with it?

REM-Oil is good stuff. I think the only possibility for me to be using WD-40 would be if I had a spray can in my pocket and a gate in the cattle yard was creating an awful squeaking sound... But then I'd have to have a can of WD-40 in my pocket.

I like my guns too much to have ever used that crap on 'em

Let me get this straight - the trigger spring had a problem. You replaced the original trigger. Then without even bothering to look at the problem spring you decided that WD-40 must be the cause without a shred of evidence. That's some Olympic class jumping to conclusions.

I've heard the same from auto body shops.

There will be someone along soon to tell us the whole fish-eye thing is fake and all that stuff we shun is good!

Is the WD 40 "special" the same? It had a high rating for corrosion resistance on one test. But so did Hornaday One shot and no problems with it so far at all.

Only time I have used WD40 on a gun is one that fell in the drink and that was the only lube I had around. Wiped it all off and then cleaned with carb cleaner after I got home.

I guess I should have said my assumption is that WD-40 sold another rifle, sorry.
The problems were:
1. The bolt release was locked in place.
2. The first trigger pull was way high 8+ pounds.
3. When I cleaned the trigger with carb cleaner, the fluid that came out of the trigger was black as dark coffee.
4. When I cleaned the spring and having cleaned the trigger thoroughly and used a decent cleaning agent and lubricant the trigger worked as it should.

My mistake it was the spring. Thanks for you acute observation.

I owe you an apology Sitka

WD-40 works great as a rust preventive for my garden tools.

I hate aerosol oil for guns. Cleaned up a number of guns for folks where too much Rem oil mixed with dust and carbon to make a heavy sludge stopping things up. Even people who knew better couldn't resist a couple extra squirts into the action.

that's why I hard crome my bolts, no oil needed

No. In addition to the classical blue can WD-40, the WD-40 company offers several specialized products, including one specifically designed for rust prevention.

Actually with modern firearms little lubrication is needed. And inside the action where does it go that people think they need to keep adding more?

I have noticed that some of the Walker triggers that come into the shop after experiencing an AD, are gummed up from WD-40 type varnish. It has helped me sell a lot of Timney and Shilen triggers.

WD-40 was designed to dry out electric circuits. It does not conduct, but will bind with water then evaporate. It leave a film behind that helps prevent water damage in the future. It truly sucks as a lubricant, because that is not it's main purpose.

We do right much finishing,spraybooth...$$$ sprayguns,yadayada.There's different degrees of contamination but,the bttm line is,why take a chance?WD IS,a known contaminate,nuff said.The monies involved with coatings and labor is SO high that most normal thinking finishers just don't risk it.