WD-40 & Silicone Spray. When is one better over the other?

[Holy Crikey]

I have squeaking front and garage entrance door hinges in my house I need to spray with lubrication during the winter because it gets so loud. I used WD-40 a couple of times, but the irritating noise would come back only after a few days.

Someone told me to give silicone spray a try, so I might do that, but thought I'd pose a question in here to learn when using one over the other is better.

Is metal on metal contact for WD-40 and the silicone spray for everything else? Please clarify. Thanks!

[tnom]

WD-40 is not a lubricant. Silicone spray is excellent except you will have great difficulty painting anything that has silicone residue on it.

[professorpaul]

WD-40 is essentially kerosene and a carrier/spray. Nice for cleaning metal, loosening things up, etc., like a penetrating oil, but NO long-term lubricant properties. For garage doors, etc., I use an SAE-80 gear oil, as it doesn't run as much, and pretty well stays where I put it. The silicon lubricants are generally waterproof, but as the last poster points out, they mess up the surface for painting, unless very throughly cleaned. I use WD-40 for cleaning, but NOT lubricating firearms, cleaning the rims of my bicycle wheels, and stuff like that. I find that a pump oiler full of ordinary 10W30 motor oil really meets the majority of lubricating needs around the house, plus the SAE-80 gear oil for stuff like the garage door pivots and the bearings on the push lawnmower. A small grease gun is likewise handy to have around.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Silicon or Teflon based sparay. Never WD-40!

[Ether Jones]

The "WD" in WD40 stands for "Water Dispersant", which is what WD40 primarily is, not a lubricant. It's mostly kerosene with a small percentage of other added petrochemicals.

Use a drop or 2 of light oil to penetrate between the moving surfaces, and wipe clean so it doesn't attract dust.

[gfretwell]

Good Stuff Paul!

[larry moe 'n curly]

I've read that silicone oil can cause problems by being incompatible with any oil already in the bearings, and it's better to use regular light machine oil (5, 10, or 20 weight). Another person said that sewing machine oil isn't good because it's vegetable oil (so it won't stain clothes permanently). Only the bearings are supposed to be lubed, not the nylon wheels or the tracks. If your door runs on pivot hinges instead of tracks, then aerosol grease is supposed to be the best. This grease is mixed with a liquid solvent that evaporates after it's sprayed on, and auto parts stores should have it because it's used for door hinges and latches.

I once had a squealing speedometer (metal cylinder spinning in nylon hole). I cleaned the parts with degreaser and applied silicone oil -- still squealed. Cleaned again and tried WD-40 -- again no help. Another cleaning and two drops of light machine oil -- no more squeaks, ever again.

[Noozer]

Neither. Try oil.

WD40 is NOT a lubricant and silicone spray is not intended for metal.

[Richard J Kinch]

Don't be a sucker. "Silicone" spray, such as the Gunk brand you buy at Home Depot or the auto parts store, is *not* silicone. It is a few drops of silicone oil in a bulk of petroleum distillate, which is to say, not significantly different from WD-40. Read the label or MSDS, and you'll find that silicone is the last ingredient on the list. Actual silicone oil is expensive, so you won't find it in a big can for a few bucks.

Here is an example:

[Richard J Kinch]

It says "lubricates" on the can.

[Richard J Kinch]

WD-40 says "lubricates" on the can.

Gunk and similar brands of "silicone" spray are just WD-40 with a few drops of silicone oil for laughs. Odd that you think it is "excellent" but WD-40 is not.

[Jim Yanik]

Richard J Kinch wrote in news:Xns9852F38186152someconundrum@216.196.97.131:

But does NOT say for -how long-.

K-Y jelly lubricates,too. ;-P WD-40 has a tendency to gum up after awhile.

[George E. Cawthon]

The simplest and maybe the best solution is to clean the hinge with WD40 and then oil it with any any 20 or 30 weight oil. The most thorough way is to pop each pin up until each pin engages only one loop on the frame half of the hinge and one loop on the door half of the hinge is engaged by the pin. Then put oil on a Q-tip and push it up through the hinge loops and all over the exposed pin. Then just pound the pin down into place.

If you cannot or are afraid of popping the pins up, then put oil at each loop, swing the door, add more oil, wipe most off, and after two days the oil should have seeped to all hinge surfaces. Throughly clean (wipe) any oil off the hinges.

Graphite in oil (Lock-ease) also works very well.

[tnom]

Silicone is just for laughs? Water can be a lubricant also but I doubt it would be your first choice.

[tnom]

I take it you've never played foosball.

[tnom]

Silicone oil is intended for metal and vinyl and leather and rubber and plastic and wood.

[Doug Miller]

That should be your first clue that WD-40 is the wrong thing to use. It's a poor lubricant.

You should use neither. A few drops of 3-in-1 Oil (available at any hardware store or home center) on each of the squeaky hinges will take care of the problem.

[Stubby]

It turns out WD40 company also makes 3-in-1 oil. Refer to

. The site does not label the product as a "lubricant" or "water drier". But it does suggest applications such as removing spots, etc.

Doug Miller wrote:

[ds549]

i use anti seize on hinge pins. take the pin out,brush it on and install the pin. lucas

[Doug Miller]

So what??