# Caution on spraying WD40 Brand 3-in-1 Silicone directly into your cubes...



## toastman (May 1, 2011)

Especially relevant for Aussies. WD-40 Brand 3-in-1 Silicon is the most readily available Silicone spray here. It comes in a yellow and black can. You can't buy Jig-a-loo here.

NB, In this thread I am talking about WD40 brand *SILICONE* 3-in-1 spray (Yellow and black can), not regular WD40 (blue and yellow), which we all know is bad.

So, last Wednesday, I decide to lube a bunch of my cubes, A Haiyan Memory, A Guhong, A Lingyun, a MF8/DaYan 4x4 and a Mini-QJ 4x4. The Haiyan Memory is my main speedcube, which I've lubed twice before, I'd also lubed the Guhong before. the rest I had not lubed before, probably only done ~100 solves on each of them out of the box.

Until this point, my method was to disassemble my cubes and do a 2-3 pass spray, allowing the stuff to dry for an hour, then re-assembling and working in. After seeing Badmephisto's test vid about different lubing methods, I attempted to spray lube directly into my cubes (removing an edge piece, using the straw). Method: squirt lube in 6 edge pieces (the tiniest squirt possible by the can), and work in for 2 minutes.

The only difference, as my Haiyan Memory was lubed more recently than the rest, I only lubed 2 edge pieces.

RESULT: ALL MY CUBES WERE SCREWED. FOR DAYS. My theory is there's a bunch of "sh*t" and propellant in there with the lube that messes things up. The spray has a LEMON scent for crissake. Apart from my haiyan, all the cubes felt like unlubed Rubik's brand store-boughts. Impossible to do any sort of fingertrick. Here's the breakdown.
Day 2, Thursday: Cubes still awful. The Haiyan Memory is going OK. The Guhong is so stuffed I CANNOT pop an edge piece without damaging it. Work all the cubes for 2-3 minutes each.
Day 3, Friday: Cubes still stuffed, especially the Guhong. All the cubes apart from the haiyan have that horrid lemon smell. Do "partial twists" on all the cubes exposing the core to air in the hope it'll dry out.
Day 4, Saturday. Slightly better. Cubes are at least "useable". Completely disassemble my LingYun and Guhung and dry overnight. The 4x4s are improving.
Day 5, Sunday (Today). Better. The Lemon smell is gone from all the 3x3s. Smell still remains a little in the 4x4s (I should probably disassemble them). The 3x3s I can speedcube with, but apart from the Haiyan are still worse than when I started. The 4x4s are also worse than when I started.

From past experience, even when I dis-assemble the cube, it takes a day or two for the cube to return to it's "post-lubed" state, whereupon it will improve.

Conclusion: If you *MUST* use this brand, dis-assemble your cube. Do *not* spray directly into your cube. I'm going to either switch to Lubix, or see if I can find the CRC brand of Silicone.


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## ianography (May 1, 2011)

Doesn't everybody know not to use WD-40?


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## toastman (May 1, 2011)

ianography said:


> Doesn't everybody know not to use WD-40?


 ..


toastman said:


> NB, In this thread I am talking about WD40 brand *SILICONE* 3-in-1 spray (Yellow and black can), not regular WD40 (blue and yellow), which we all know is bad.


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## gundamslicer (May 1, 2011)

here you go: http://www.wd40company.com/files/pdf/msds-3in58412697.pdf
silcone is not listed in ingredients. if it was in mixture, petroleum is about the same in the product


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## Stefan (May 1, 2011)

gundamslicer said:


> here you go: http://www.wd40company.com/files/pdf/msds-3in58412697.pdf
> silcone is not listed in ingredients. if it was in mixture, petroleum is about the same in the product


 
What does that have to do with this thread?


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## toastman (May 1, 2011)

gundamslicer said:


> here you go: http://www.wd40company.com/files/pdf/msds-3in58412697.pdf
> silcone is not listed in ingredients. if it was in mixture, petroleum is about the same in the product


 
I like your idea about looking up the MSDS
I'm talking about a different product; "3-IN-ONE Professional Silicone Spray Lubricant", here's the MSDS
http://www.3inone.com/files/pdf/msds-3in16539428.pdf

There's a crapload of "Petroleum Solvent" in there. 50-60%. Also 35-45 propellant (propane, n-butane), and 1-5% Poly (dimethysiloxane), which is your actual Silicone.

OK, let's compare:
"WD-40 Silicone" Jigaloo http://www.jigaloo.com/us/pdf/jigaloo_msds.pdf

30-60% Methylene Chloride (a solvent and spray propellant)
10-30% perchloroethylene ("dry cleaning fluid", a solvent and spray propellant"
Plus 5-10% propane, 7-13% isobutane.
No Silicone listed in the MSDS, but as it's on the can, it has to be in there.
Hmmm, Wikipedia says that Jigaloo will be banned in california after 2013 due to it's propellant.

OK, the other brand in Australia is "808-Silicone Spray" from CRC. I've tried 4 hardware stores and not found it (although you can supposedly get it in Auto-stores, of which there are none near where I live).
30-60% Liquefied Petroleum Gas (68476-85-7, different from WD-40 Silicone's propellant)
10-30% "Aliphatic Hydrocarbons"
10-30% Silicone (a lot more than WD-40).

OK, one last shot. CRC also make a "food grade" Silcone spray.
http://www.crcindustries.com.au/catalogue.nsf/%28MSDS%29/FOOD%20GRADE%20SILICONE%207121/$FILE/MSDS.pdf
Contains "Hydrotreated light naptha", LPG, N-Hexane and <10% silicone

My chemistry knowledge isn't that great. Can any of you tell me which of the above substances are "harmful" to plastic?


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## MaeLSTRoM (May 1, 2011)

It's the Methylene Chloride, which is a solvent specific to ABS plastic and is often used to weld ABS.


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## JyH (May 1, 2011)

toastman said:


> ..


 





Why did you buy it in the first place? You could have just ordered online too.


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## toastman (May 2, 2011)

JyH said:


> Why did you buy it in the first place? You could have just ordered online too.


 
Read original post. Jigaloo isn't available where I am. You can't mail-order it as you can't air-ship aerosol cans.


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## JyH (May 2, 2011)

toastman said:


> Read original post. Jigaloo isn't available where I am. You can't mail-order it as you can't air-ship aerosol cans.


 
http://www.amazon.com/Jig10-9Oz-Lub...NSDS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304302370&sr=8-1

Are aerosol cans not allowed to ship to Australia?


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## toastman (May 2, 2011)

JyH said:


> http://www.amazon.com/Jig10-9Oz-Lub...NSDS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304302370&sr=8-1
> 
> Are aerosol cans not allowed to ship to Australia?



Ever take a flight and leave a can of shaving cream in your suitcase?


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## timeless (May 2, 2011)

i tried wd40 3in1 but idk if its any good cuz i used it a long ago and on a storebought


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## JLarsen (May 2, 2011)

I've tried sprays but they just don't compare to oils in effectiveness and ease of use.


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## timeless (May 2, 2011)

Sn3kyPandaMan said:


> I've tried sprays but they just don't compare to oils in effectiveness and ease of use.


 
u mean shock oil?>


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## Georgeanderre (May 6, 2011)

I have to use that lube aswell, 

i disassemble the cube, spray twice, assemble it,
mess with it to get the lube spread everywhere, then disassemble it and leave it for a few hours,
when the lube is dry assemble them and they are much better

edit : my main speedcube now is a modded Rubiks storebought with this lube, its much better than my new type AII


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## MaeLSTRoM (May 6, 2011)

You can buy the maplins silicon spray in the UK, and it won't kill your cubes.


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