Which oil to lube paper shredder?

[alan_m]

Their follow-ups don't get associated with their original posts (or replies from the Usenet) - they appear as yet another random new posting.

[alan_m]

Just soak a sheet of A4 in the cheapest of cooking vegetable oil and then shred the paper.

[Max Demian]

So I shouldn't lube my Woolies shredder? (I can't find the original instructions but I don't remember anything about lubrication.)

[Bob Eager]

I have had two Fellowes shredders (I broke the first one, my fault). The second one is still going.

Paper dust and oil eventually gummed up the first one, but it was easy enought to take apart and clean. Haven't had to do the new one yet.

One thing that is apparently a factor is getting the paper in straight. Really. Paper that goes in crooked migrates to the edge and mashed up bits get in the works.

[Handyman]

replying to Alan, Handyman wrote: WD40 is NOT an oil! It is a solvent. It is used to clean surfaces and as such nicely cleans off oil and other materials leaving metal nice and smooth. But do not use it as a general lubricant.

[newshound]

Wrong.

[tabbypurr]

A marketing page stuffed with weasel words & attempts to mislead the foolis h into thinking WD-40 is suitable for jobs it plainly is not.

NT

[Jeff Layman]

According to section 3 of the official MSDS, WD40 contains

[tabbypurr]

olish into thinking WD-40 is suitable for jobs it plainly is not.

Much much less than 25%. If you apply it to something with no lube at all o n, it evaporates leaving an extremely thin film of lube. Thus legally it ca n be called a lubricant. For real life applications it is seldom an effecti ve lubricant, but is far more effective at removing pre-existing lubricant.

NT

[Serg io]

wd stands for Water Displacement, it has poor lubricating properties. It is a good cleaner though. and corrosion prohibiter

[Serg io]

use a light machine oil, 3 in one oil, is ok.

[Jeff Layman]

We are in full agreement on that! AFAIAC it is a very temporary lubricant. As you say, quite useful for removing old lubricant, which can sometimes be just a sticky residue.

[Tim Lamb]

+1. Useful for protecting metal surfaces in unheated workshops now the humidity/temperature variations of September have arrived. >

[Chris Green]

In my experience it's WD40 that leaves a "sticky residue". That's why I always advise against using it on marginal ignition systems to help starting on cold/wet mornings. It does help get rid of water 'immediately' but the sticky gunge it leaves behind stores up even more trouble in the future.

[The Natural Philosopher]

+1.

WD40 has a reputation that its great for everything by most people who havent really used it, and is almost good for nothing from those who have...

I used to use it to ease stuck bolts and nuts but I am not sure it actually worked as well as special products intended for that purpose.

Of course today WD40 is a brand name covering many products. Including 'penetrating ans easing' oil.

[newshound]

Whilst I dislike marketing hype as much as the next man, I am sometimes bemused by the ire which WD-40 induces in some

I wouldn't put it in a car gearbox, or watches, or quality clocks, but it will clean and lubricate a lot of things.

It contains hydrocarbons (maybe derived from mineral oil, maybe synthetic) with a range of chain lengths and hence viscosities and volatilities.

The light fractions (a bit like white spirit) provide the solvent and water displacement properties. The small proportion of heavier fractions form the somewhat sticky residue left if you allow it to evaporate. This part is certainly a lubricant, although of course it will, in some applications, attract and bind dirt, oxide, wear debris, etc. into an undesirable residue. As will any similar lubricant. Re-application of fresh WD-40 will often loosen this up enough to make, say, a cylinder lock work again. It won't solve every problem, but then ultimately nothing will. The council of perfection is to strip and clean the problem device. Failing that, ultrasonic cleaning with changes of solvent may work. But, I would say that 95% of the time, a simple spray of WD-40 will also work. Perhaps not for as long as a "full service", but it will get you going.

I say that having used it on bicycles, motorcycles, cars, padlocks, and domestic locks for sixty years. I also use no-name generic sprays from Screwfix, Toolstation, and pound shops. I use "aerosol" white grease on padlocks exposed to the weather because I suspect this provides a better barrier to water ingress, but I can't say I have noticed much difference in the required interval between sprays.

The fact is that it does do what it says on the tin.

It's not as effective as a penetrating oil as Plus Gas, or as 3-in-1 as a lubricant and rust preventative for accessible surfaces, and pretty useless on a chainsaw. But then they don't claim that it is.

That said, I don't normally use it on the paper shredder, I tend to use the cheaper generic sprays (applied to paper being shredded) which don't seem to contain the heavier fractions.

[Huge]

Not just me, then.

[20 lines snipped]

Not just me, then.

[12 lines snipped]

I have used it on the shredder in the past, when I couldn't find the shredder oil and it seems to work fine.

[Andrew]

The original homenuttershub post was made in 2008, so well in the past.

Why are people bothering to reply.?

[Bob Eager]

Because we *love* arguing about WD40.

And it's better than harry's racism, or politics!

[Max Demian]

Don't forget drying out car ignition systems. (Remove leads *one at a time*, spray both sides of each connection, then spray the outsides of the HT leads.)