# WD-40 Silicone Lubricant



## MorrisKid101 (May 11, 2013)

I recently purchased a can of WD-40 brand silicone lubricant, and have disassembled my Zhanchi and sprayed it. I waited for it to dry (around 3 and a half hours) and reassembled it. After a bit of breaking in, my cube turns fine. When turned slowly, it makes my cube feel weird, but when turned quickly during speedsolving, it turns a dream. This is the can the lubricant came in:


I didn't use either of these like some people do:


I think it depends on what cube you have, but for my Zhanchi, it works fine. I only applied it earlier today (12.30 GMT) and it is now 23.10 GMT, so this is sorta like a first impressions post, but judging by what it's like already, I would strongly recommend this product.

(NB I can only be sure it will work on a Dayan Zhanchi speedcube. Please do not blame me if it kills a different brand cube)

And it makes your cube smell of lemons. Just sayin.

UPDATE: It is now morning and my cube is still as good as it was last night.


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## antoineccantin (May 11, 2013)

I don't recommend it. It slowly wares down the plastic.


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## MorrisKid101 (May 11, 2013)

antoineccantin said:


> I don't recommend it. It slowly wares down the plastic.


After how long? Like I said, I've only had it since this morning


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## Lchu613 (May 11, 2013)

Don't use that stuff, it's toxic, and when you cube it gets on your skin and slowly kills you liver.
Ah, cheerful thoughts


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## stoic (May 11, 2013)

I think it should be ok. That looks like a new product, and its the original (blue can, red lid) that's known to destroy cubes.


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## LarryLunchmeat (May 12, 2013)

I recommend reading the can. If it contains "petroleum distillates," avoid using it on plastics, vinyls and rubbers as it breaks these materials down. 
There are some arguments against this, but why even risk it when Shock Oil can be found at any Best Buy or any hobby shop for dirt cheap.


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## Rnewms (May 12, 2013)

WD-40 melted my old cubes. You should expect it to deteriorate in some way eventually.


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## Wassili (May 12, 2013)

Guys this isn't the regular WD-40, this one is a special "silicone" one.


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## MorrisKid101 (May 12, 2013)

LarryLunchmeat said:


> I recommend reading the can. If it contains "petroleum distillates," avoid using it on plastics, vinyls and rubbers as it breaks these materials down.
> There are some arguments against this, but why even risk it when Shock Oil can be found at any Best Buy or any hobby shop for dirt cheap.



I checked the can and there isn't an 'ingredients' list, so I'm not sure. I can't find it on their website either. It also says on the front:
Can be used on metal, PLASTIC, rubber and wood


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## Toddyt1 (May 12, 2013)

MorrisKid101 said:


> I checked the can and there isn't an 'ingredients' list, so I'm not sure. I can't find it on their website either. It also says on the front:
> Can be used on metal, PLASTIC, rubber and wood



I think this is it http://www.wd40specialist.com/products/silicone-lubricant/

Says safe for rubber vinyl and plastic so it's proabbly ok.


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## MorrisKid101 (May 12, 2013)

I've seen the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for it. These are the ingredients:
LVP Petroleum Solvent 60-80%
Poly Dimethylsiloxane (that's the silicone) 1-5%
Propellant 10-30%

So over half of this is petroleum based solvents. But I thought it was safe to use for plastics? Well, my cube is still fine, so only time will tell.


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## Lchu613 (May 12, 2013)

Hmm, if you're willing to risk it, by all means keep it in, and tell us how it turns out!


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## MorrisKid101 (May 14, 2013)

Lchu613 said:


> Don't use that stuff, it's toxic, and when you cube it gets on your skin and slowly kills you liver.
> Ah, cheerful thoughts



If you mean cancer, then no as it isn't a suspected cancer agent.


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## Timtro (May 16, 2013)

"... when you cube it gets on your skin and slowly kills you liver." --- Do you have any references to research showing this? It sound like pretend-o-science to me, but I could be wrong. MSDS doesn't show anything frightful. And if were true that skin contact with low vapour pressure petro solvents caused liver damage, I know a few engineers that should be in the hospital.

"... melted my cube..." --- Dissolved your cube. You wouldn't say that water melted your salt, it dissolves salt, but melts ice.

I'm sceptical that the WD-40 Silicone spray is okay for plastics. But, in small amounts and for short times, dissolving a bit of the plastic inside the cube might cause the cube to break in faster... so it's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm interested to know how your ZhanChi feels in a couple of weeks. Would you post back and let us know?


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## MorrisKid101 (May 16, 2013)

It's been around a week now, probably a bit less, but my cube still turns fab. Will post again in a few days.


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## Lchu613 (May 17, 2013)

Ah, sorry I didn't notice it was a different type of WD-40

I've heard that the blue can is toxic


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## CubeAndStuff (May 26, 2013)

That is melt the cube plastic, don't use this. Clean your cube from this. I don't know about the new one but you can get a better lube for sure


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## Jorenski (Jul 5, 2013)

Lubes are all build around the same ingredient being Poly Dimethylsiloxane or a derivative of it. It are the other components of the lube that can in some cases deteriorate plastic or be toxic to some extent.
Lubes in pressurized cans mostly contain petroleum ether which is able to dissolve the poly dimethylsiloxane. It is very cheap and it’s used a lot in the production of for example pharmaceuticals. However there is a catch, petroleum ether can contain a small amount of benzene and other cycloalkanes which are toxic and can indeed dissolve the cube material which is in most cases a Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (Dayan cubes). 
The universal solution for this problem is to remove the petroleum ether before applying (same is done for pharmaceuticals). Just spray your lube in a container and let it “dry” you’ll be left with pure poly dimethylsiloxane ( a colorless oil). Apply this to your cube to avoid all unpleasant surprises.


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## KongShou (Jul 5, 2013)

Jorenski said:


> Lubes are all build around the same ingredient being Poly Dimethylsiloxane or a derivative of it. It are the other components of the lube that can in some cases deteriorate plastic or be toxic to some extent.
> Lubes in pressurized cans mostly contain petroleum ether which is able to dissolve the poly dimethylsiloxane. It is very cheap and it’s used a lot in the production of for example pharmaceuticals. However there is a catch, petroleum ether can contain a small amount of benzene and other cycloalkanes which are toxic and can indeed dissolve the cube material which is in most cases a Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (Dayan cubes).
> The universal solution for this problem is to remove the petroleum ether before applying (same is done for pharmaceuticals). Just spray your lube in a container and let it “dry” you’ll be left with pure poly dimethylsiloxane ( a colorless oil). Apply this to your cube to avoid all unpleasant surprises.




Let me guess, you study chemistry?


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## AlexMaass (Jul 6, 2013)

Jorenski said:


> Just spray your lube in a container and let it “dry” you’ll be left with pure poly dimethylsiloxane ( a colorless oil). Apply this to your cube to avoid all unpleasant surprises.



Are you sure this will work? If so I will definitely do this.


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## Lchu613 (Jul 6, 2013)

Interesting idea, I might try it out.


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## Jorenski (Jul 8, 2013)

KongShou said:


> Let me guess, you study chemistry?



I'm actually a Pharmacist but I'm doing a PhD in chemistry atm


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## slinky773 (Jul 9, 2013)

Awesome Jorenski, thanks for the info, will keep in mind for things other than lubing, haha, I'm fine with Lubix, myself.


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## AlexMaass (Jul 9, 2013)

Jorenski said:


> Lubes are all build around the same ingredient being Poly Dimethylsiloxane or a derivative of it. It are the other components of the lube that can in some cases deteriorate plastic or be toxic to some extent.
> Lubes in pressurized cans mostly contain petroleum ether which is able to dissolve the poly dimethylsiloxane. It is very cheap and it’s used a lot in the production of for example pharmaceuticals. However there is a catch, petroleum ether can contain a small amount of benzene and other cycloalkanes which are toxic and can indeed dissolve the cube material which is in most cases a Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (Dayan cubes).
> The universal solution for this problem is to remove the petroleum ether before applying (same is done for pharmaceuticals). Just spray your lube in a container and let it “dry” you’ll be left with pure poly dimethylsiloxane ( a colorless oil). Apply this to your cube to avoid all unpleasant surprises.



I have sprayed some of my WD-40 in a plastic bowl container for about a day and it is still yellow and uncolorless am I doing something wrong or do I have to wait more?

I'm going to try to use a different container instead of the plastic and let it dry in there.


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## Jorenski (Jul 11, 2013)

Well the additives in WD-40 are these: _Hydrocarbons, C9-C11, n-alkanes, isoalkanes, cyclics, < 2%
aromatics_
The only ones that could be yellowish are the aromatic substances. Their could also be some small inpurities in the n-alkanes.
I know that in our lab we purifie hexane (which is an n-alkane (n =6)) and we seperate the pure hexane from a goldish coloured oil (i have no idea what the inpurity is but I know it's not volatile cause that's how we purifie the hexane.

A plastic container should do, best is to keep in a well ventilated place and you can gently heat it (CAUTION tho cause it's flammable).
You should see a rise in viscosity so it should become from liquid to a more oily substance.
I've done this with the W-5 carcare lube, I will try it with WD-40 as soon as I can get hold of a can.


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## MorrisKid101 (Sep 30, 2013)

After many months of abusive testing with the lubricant in many different cubes and many different amounts, I have come to my final conclusion. I have found that this lubricant is actually surprisingly better than expected. But, and there will always be a but, it has to be used correctly. I have found, for example, at using this is a cubic puzzle is fairly good. Just apply a short burst of lubricant to opposite sides of the cube and your done and dandy. But apply this lubricant to a megaminx, then you're... let's say screwed, because swearing is not my thing. This lubricant is good for *FAST TURNING* puzzles. 3x3 is great, as fingertricks are rife whilst solving the puzzle. Everything is hunky-dory. But when I sprayed my Megaminx, I found myself thanking the lord that I bought a stickerless one. Within minutes the puzzle was in god knows how many pieces in my bathroom sink. After a long and strenuous assembly, the cube was, thank god, back to normal.
In Summary:
Spray it on FAST TURNING PUZZLES.
Only press down gently as loads of the stuff comes out with even the slightest squeeze.
If you hate the smell of oily lemons, this product is not for you.
I find it goes well with a few drops of Maru lube too. It's available cheap on ukcubestore.com. I bought two bottles of the stuff in June, and even with excessive use (many cubes lubed once a fortnight-ish) i still have a third of the first bottle left.
Remember to check the first post in the thread to find out the correct spray, as there are three different types.

I hope this helps you as much as it helps me.
(I cannot be responsible for your cubes spontaneously combusting due to excessive spraying and/or using the wrong type of cube {Megaminx, etc.}. You have been warned.)


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## ben1996123 (Sep 30, 2013)

if its only good for puzzles that already turn fast then isnt it kind of useless?


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## Lchu613 (Sep 30, 2013)

Well spraying CRC into a cap and letting it evaporate out or whatever then using the oily stuff left over seems to work ok. It doesn't make that disgusting white film either. Still, half a capful (using the spray can cap) of it barely produces any oil so I didn't get to test it that well.


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## rj (Sep 30, 2013)

Lchu613 said:


> Well spraying CRC into a cap and letting it evaporate out or whatever then using the oily stuff left over seems to work ok. It doesn't make that disgusting white film either. Still, half a capful (using the spray can cap) of it barely produces any oil so I didn't get to test it that well.



Use a big bowl.


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## Lchu613 (Sep 30, 2013)

I didn't feel like it. lol. Didn't want to use up all of my CRC.


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## rj (Sep 30, 2013)

Lchu613 said:


> I didn't feel like it. lol. Didn't want to use up all of my CRC.



I'm doing it right now.


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## Lchu613 (Sep 30, 2013)

Tell me how it goes. Not too much though and *let it evaporate outside* so the fumes don't kill you.


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## rj (Sep 30, 2013)

Lchu613 said:


> Tell me how it goes. Not too much though and *let it evaporate outside* so the fumes don't kill you.



It doesn't smell. It finshed, and I got wt 10 or so.


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## Lchu613 (Oct 1, 2013)

Oh. Interesting.
Mine fumed to kingdom come. Stuck it on the deck and closed all the windows and that was half a capful.
Was yours all oily? 
I'm pretty darn sure it was nowhere near wt 10 viscosity but with that tiny amount you never know.

Have you tried it in any cubes?
Oh and pics please.

/msgTooLong


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## rj (Oct 1, 2013)

Lchu613 said:


> Oh. Interesting.
> Mine fumed to kingdom come. Stuck it on the deck and closed all the windows and that was half a capful.
> Was yours all oily?
> I'm pretty darn sure it was nowhere near wt 10 viscosity but with that tiny amount you never know.
> ...



Mine is old and only pressure pushes the liquid out. All the propellant is gone.


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## MorrisKid101 (Oct 1, 2013)

ben1996123 said:


> if its only good for puzzles that already turn fast then isnt it kind of useless?


No, no. Sorry, that's my bad wording. This lubricant is good for cubes that you turn fast. If you own a Zhanchi which just needs a little bit of lube, then this will be OK, as it will (slightly) eat away at the plastic, making your cube better with time. It feels slightly rough at first, but it gets better the more you break it in


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## Hamdude55 (Mar 16, 2014)

Hey everyone, I also just got some WD-40 silicone lubricant, I tested it on my old rubik's 3x3 and it helped a lot. I then tried it on my shengshou 4x4x4 but it got super gummy and sticky, I think that I am lubing it wrong, I pulled out two pieces and sprayed a little into it. Is that the correct way to lube it? or is there another, better way? I have just gotten into cubing and am a total noob!


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## Rocky0701 (Mar 17, 2014)

Hamdude55 said:


> Hey everyone, I also just got some WD-40 silicone lubricant, I tested it on my old rubik's 3x3 and it helped a lot. I then tried it on my shengshou 4x4x4 but it got super gummy and sticky, I think that I am lubing it wrong, I pulled out two pieces and sprayed a little into it. Is that the correct way to lube it? or is there another, better way? I have just gotten into cubing and am a total noob!


You probably just used too much, take the cube apart wipe the pieces off a little then try that.


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## Lchu613 (Mar 17, 2014)

Yeah, don't use it. Typically it doesn't work all that great. Just get a bottle of Traxxas. (Use the search bar if you don't know what that is), or check the Lubrication Thread)


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## Hamdude55 (Mar 17, 2014)

Ok, I will look into traxxas, but as for now, what is the best way to lube my cubes with what I have? is it better to take out a piece and stick the straw inside? or is it better to take it all apart, spray all of it and then let it dry?
thanks


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## AFatTick (Mar 17, 2014)

Don't get traxxas 50k unless you are trying to slow down your cube or lube the core. I got 50k and it doesn't really work on the pieces, even a little bit. Try 10k or 30k, don't know if they work, but seems to be better than 50k.


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## kcl (Mar 18, 2014)

AFatTick said:


> Don't get traxxas 50k unless you are trying to slow down your cube or lube the core. I got 50k and it doesn't really work on the pieces, even a little bit. Try 10k or 30k, don't know if they work, but seems to be better than 50k.



Not true at all. 50k does not make it slow by any means.


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## googlebleh (Mar 18, 2014)

AFatTick said:


> Don't get traxxas 50k unless you are trying to slow down your cube or lube the core. I got 50k and it doesn't really work on the pieces, even a little bit. Try 10k or 30k, don't know if they work, but seems to be better than 50k.



It will be slow initially, but if you work it in, it speeds up.


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