Why people like WD-40 on camera so much?

[chuckroast]

Now that's a real soapbox "sticky" if ever I saw one

pentaxuser

My personal favorite is, "Time wounds all heels"

 

[Sirius Glass]

I shuttered at the suggestion of using WD40 on a camera.

 

[DREW WILEY]

How can you shutter if your shudder has gotten stuck due to using the wrong lubricant?

 

[BrianShaw]

Ironically, I bought an old folder with a Compur Rapid shutter that reeked of WD-40. Eventually the smell went away and it works perfectly. One of my favorite cameras. That must be either sheer luck or a miracle.

 

[RezaLoghme]

WD-40 is a widely available lubricant- I have not tried it on my M bodies but will do so.

 

[MattKing]

WD-40 is a widely available lubricant- I have not tried it on my M bodies but will do so.

CAUTION - as this thread indicates.
WD-40 in its original form is a WATER DISPERSANT and lubricator, and as such can damage many things that it isn't specifically designed for, including many cameras.

 

[chuckroast]

CAUTION - as this thread indicates.
WD-40 in its original form is a WATER DISPERSANT and lubricator, and as such can damage many things that it isn't specifically designed for, including many cameras.

+100

WD-40 has no place inside of cameras and watches or other fine instruments. It's use will almost certainly cause great harm.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Water dispersant? How much of that is simply due to the pressurized aerosol itself? It actually traps moisture under it. That's why we banned it from our locksmithing Dept where I worked.

 

[BobUK]

Water dispersant? How much of that is simply due to the pressurized aerosol itself? It actually traps moisture under it. That's why we banned it from our locksmithing Dept where I worked.

Just like my expensive set of lathe collets in my previous post.
Nice to see someone else the same feelings about the stuff.

 

[lecarp]

It was great for removing moister from my Super Beetle's distributor cap, way back in the day.

 

[DREW WILEY]

That's what everyone carried it for. I got stuck on the SF Bay Bridge for 3 hrs once, during an especially wet storm when lots of folks didn't know their distributor caps were getting wet inside.

Worst experience in my own Beetle "Studentmobile" days was when the sunroof leaked badly going through an automated car wash, with me in it!

 

[dbrown57]

I use WD 40 Silicone Spray on the ball bearings inside plastic developing reels!

 

[Truzi]

One summer home from my undergrad I had an old '70 Skylark convertible Studentmobile. One evening there was a storm, and a road in our subdivision had ankle-deep water. Seeing a late-model 4-cylinder go through just fine, and knowing my car was taller & didn't have all the delicate electronics, I just plowed through... halfway through. I went too fast and didn't have the undercarriage baffling of newer cars. Oh well.

Had to push it about a block to get home with the help of a couple random strangers.

I tried the WD-40 "trick" on the inside of the distributor cap. It didn't work. I kept trying over the course of a few days and nothing helped. Eventually I just took my blow-dryer to the inside of the cap and everything was fine.

WD-40 didn't displace water very well for me, and attracts dust, so I'd not use it on a camera. At least not an important part. I know people who like to use it to clean up cast alumin(i)um surfaces when going to swap-meets.

 

[DREW WILEY]

WD-40 was not only taboo with our locksmithing dept, but with the door shop itself where all the heavy machinery was. If you want to prevent rust on your cast iron table saw or jointer surfaces etc, don't use WD-40. It traps moisture underneath its own film.

 

[Arthurwg]

I might try it to separate the two parts of my Hasselblad 500mm lens hood. Now frozen together but I want to use a drop-in filter.

 

[Arthurwg]

I might try it to separate the two parts of my Hasselblad 500mm lens hood. Now frozen together but I want to use a drop-in filter.

No need! Freezing worked!

 

[Arthurwg]

A VERY thin layer of food grade silicon grease. So thin you almost don't know it is there.

Doesn't really need to be food grade, just very good grade. Plumbing silcone grease works just fine in this application. THIN...

The aluminum hoods and filter adapter things Hasselblad used late in the game are horrible for sticking. Any high quality "waterproof" clear grease applied in 2-3 milligram at a time, with a toothpick. Tiniest amount makes a huge difference.

Yes, silicon grease from ACE worked perfectly. And thanks for the toothpick suggestion.

 

[chuckroast]

Yes, silicon grease from ACE worked perfectly. And thanks for the toothpick suggestion.

Silicon grease is really handy to have around. I have used it on a number of occasions in the darkroom to lightly coat an o-ring that wasn't quite perfectly sealing and exhibiting a slow drip.

 

[mshchem]

And we all know it's silicone grease

 

[DREW WILEY]

To make threaded things more easily removable I use inert plumbers teflon tape. But it's tricky to use on threads are narrow as lens filters, and doesn't look so good unless precisely done; it's not made in black.