Thread: WD40 vs Silicon lubricants

firstly to thread placers. if you find a thread that has been directed at you to be offensive, or sarcastice then perhaps you should take a very close look at the threads you post.

Now the topic of WD40 and SILICON lubricants is a subject that could be argued forever, so here is some information for ALL of you to read, at the end you can decide if you are going to use WD40 or Silicon lubricants for your triton equipment.


In 1953, a fledgling company called Rocket Chemical Company and its staff of three set out to create a line of RUST-Prevention solvents and degreasers for use in the aerospace industry, in a small lab in ffice:smarttags" /><ST1lace>lace>.
It took them 40 attempts to get the water displacing formula worked out. But they must have been really good, because the original secret formula for WD-40—which stands for Water Displacement perfected on the 40th try—is still in use today. Convair, an aerospace contractor, first used WD-40 to protect the outer skin of the Atlas Missile from rust and corrosion. The product actually worked so well that several employees snuck some WD-40 cans out of the plant to use at home.
A few years following WD-40's first industrial use, Rocket Chemical Company founder Norm Larsen experimented with putting WD-40 into aerosol cans, reasoning that consumers might find a use for the product at home as some of the employees had. The product made its first appearance on store shelves in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comlace>San Diego</ST1lace></st1ity> in 1958.
In 1960 the company nearly doubled in size, growing to seven people, who sold an average of 45 cases per day from the trunk of their cars to hardware and sporting goods stores in the <st1ity><ST1lace>San Diego</ST1lace></st1ity> area.
In 1961 the first full truckload order for WD-40 was filled when employees came in on a Saturday to produce additional concentrate to meet the disaster needs of the victims of hurricane Carla In 1969 the company was renamed after its only product WD-40 Company, Inc., went public in 1973 and was listed Over-The-Counter. The stock price increased by 61% on the first day of listing. Since that time, WD-40 has grown by leaps and bounds, and is now virtually a household name, used in numerous consumer and industrial markets such as automotive, manufacturing, sporting goods, aviation, hardware and home improvement, construction, and farming. Over the years, thousands of WD-40 users have written testimonial letters to the company sharing their often unique, if sometimes just plain weird, uses for the product—many of which are shared in other parts of this Web site. Some of the most interesting stories include the bus driver in <ST1lace>Asia</ST1lace> who used WD-40 to remove a python snake which had coiled itself around the undercarriage of his bus. Or when police officers used WD-40 to remove a naked burglar trapped in an air conditioning vent. In 1983, WD-40 Company sales reached $50.2 million. Many companies attempted to introduce imitation products, going so far as to copy the distinctive blue, yellow and red colours of the WD-40 can. <O></O>

In 1993, WD-40 Company celebrated its 40th anniversary by breaking the $100 million sales mark. That year the company was also listed among the Top Ten Most Profitable companies on the NASDAQ exchange. Not bad for a company with only one product! WD-40 was found to be in 4 out of 5 American households (it seems everyone has a can or two) and was used by 81 percent of professionals at work. Sales had grown to more than one million cans each week.<O></O>

The most interesting piece of WD-40's history is the uses for the product, now numbering in the thousands. The uses include everything from silencing squeaky hinges and removing road tar from automobiles to protecting tools from rust and removing adhesive labels. But they get a lot crazier than that.<O></O>

<O> </O><O></O>

Silicones<O></O>

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Silicones are synthetic polymers made from the products of nature. Although “silicone” is often used as a generic term for nearly all substances that contain a silicon atom, it is more properly described as an entirely synthetic polymer containing a Si-O backbone. To this backbone, organic groups are frequently attached to the silicon atoms via a Si-C bond This general description defines the broad class of polymers known as silicones. The most common example is poly(dimethylsiloxane) or PDMS. This polymer has a repeating (CH<SUB>3</SUB>)<SUB>2</SUB>SiO unit. These materials are the basic building blocks of the silicone industry. Depending upon the number of repeat units in the polymer chain and the degree of cross-linking ("tying" the polymer chains together), at least six classes of commercially important products can be produced: <O></O>

• Fluids<O></O>
• Emulsions<O></O>
• Compounds<O></O>
• Lubricants<O></O>
• Resins<O></O>
• Elastomers or rubbers<O></O>

Where do silicones come from? <O></O>

Silicones are made from silicon and methyl chloride in a process known as the “direct reaction” or “direct process.” This reaction between silicon and our recycled reagents yields methyl chlorosilanes. They are distilled (purified), and the dimethyldichlorosilane is hydrolyzed to give PDMS. This product can be formulated or finished into thousands of different products, which are sold to every major industrial segment.<O></O>

How are silicones used? <O></O>

Silicones are highly valued materials because they have a combination of physical properties not found in other polymers. They have outstanding heat stability and can be used in applications where organic materials would melt or decompose. Many silicones seem to be impervious to the effects of aging, weather, sunlight, moisture, heat, cold, and some chemical assaults. Some silicones are used to stick, bond, or couple things together – a glue, if you please. However, unique surface properties make silicones really different from other materials. The low surface tension of silicone fluids make them ideal for applications such as:<O></O>

• Paper release agents
• Fiber lubricants
• Textile hand modifiers
• Mold release agents
• Antifouling materials
• Water repellents<O></O>

In fact, silicones have been used as foam-control agents, anticaking aids, corrosion inhibitors, emulsifiers, lubricants, conditioners, and gloss enhancers – all because of their unique surface properties.<O></O>

These are just a few of the thousands of current applications for silicones. The diversity of silicone application is already remarkable, but it is only the beginning. Dow Corning’s research and development groups are constantly discovering new applications for silicones, silicone-modified organics, and silicon-based materials. The future of silicon chemistry promises to be more exciting than ever before<O></O>

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<O>so at the end of the day it is upto each of us to decide on which product they prefer</O>
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<O>regards to all</O>
<O></O>
<O>Al</O>