The effect of WD40 on line

[Rusty]

I'm not sure whether WD40 or any other lubricant would damage line as such but I did manage to coat a braid loaded reel with GT85 and couldn't get rid of the smell, had to lose the line and refill. It's difficult to avoid coating line using a spray lubricant so just in case there are any adverse effects I clean in a different way.

 

If the CP reel isn't fitted with ballraces I dunk in warm soapy water and rinse under a warm tap, the rinsing gets in all the nooks and crannies and gets rid of soapy residue. Then I just lube with WD40 squirted into a container and applied with a toothpick. Ballraced reels get dismantled, wiped over with a damp cloth and lubed in the same way.

 

Water won't do any harm provided the reel is dried out properly.

[MikeT]

hes basicly just given you information on how... [WD40] might effect your line.

 

you asked about lubing aswell

Um, did he? And did I? I must be getting senile.

 

Thanks for the advice, though. I do generally give my reel a wipe with an oily cloth (which indeed saves the whole line-damage-pollution complication), but on occasion I find the best thing is to give the whole thing a damn good soaking.

[corydoras]

WD40 is a well known 'flavouring'. That's supposed to be refined from fish oil, so there's a reason for it working on normally flavourless spoons etc. but being so thin, it also acts as a solvent for thicker oils. By spraying some on your deadbait before casting, you are in effect making the fish's oils thinner. Don't use it though. No matter what they say about it, it's still industrial oil and it doesn't belong in our waterways.

This fish oil business is a myth, an urban legend. WD-40 is a mixture of White Spirit (Stoddart Solvent for our American posters) and mineral oil.

 

The Material Safety Data Sheet for WD-40 is here. and there is a Wikipedia entry for WD-40 here. It is pretty nasty stuff, not the sort of product an environmentally aware angler should be contemplating using as a bait additive. Just my two cents, worth. YMMV.

 

As for it's effect on fishing line, I am not sure about braid, but monofilament line will be degraded by hydrocarbons. The manufacturers reccomend that you do not let it come in contact with polycarbonate or polystyrene based plastics. Most monfilament are polycarbonate or nylon based AFAIK.

Edited November 24, 2008 by corydoras

[Andy_1984]

Um, did he? And did I? I must be getting senile.

 

Thanks for the advice, though. I do generally give my reel a wipe with an oily cloth (which indeed saves the whole line-damage-pollution complication), but on occasion I find the best thing is to give the whole thing a damn good soaking.

 

er sorry no you never asked i meant "mentioned" poor choice of wording is all

[dutch1862]

Yes, I find it quite excellent at penetrating cruddy maggot dust, mud and half-dried water streaks, which is why I use it for cleaning my reel. In fact, it is particularly in this regard that I’m hoping for elucidation on this thread, rather than its unrelated merits as a lubricant or bait additive.

 

I think WD40 is far too thin to work as a lubricant.

 

As it's a penetrating oil it must have some form of abrasive property so I'd avoid using it with line if you can (aside from the environmental issues). It's good stuff for cleaning gunk, as you know, from reels. It can be used to free up seized taps etc.

 

I'm not too familiar with centrepin reels having never used one, let alone stripped one down. But I guess if you can get the line off before applying WD40 then so long as you give the reel a good clean afterwards there's no reason why you couldn't use it.

[MikeT]

No worries- this is a fascinating thread in any case.

 

Looks like the ideal approach is not to use WD40 as a soaking cleanser [ed. (despite it being unlikely to damage the line)], but to use warm soapy water instead when the occasion demands it, and to apply WD40 without spraying it directly from the can in case of unwanted contact with line. I guess it's okay to spray soak a reel in WD40 when there's no line on it though.

 

So simple, I should have thought of it meself, but I'm a bit slow like that!

Edited November 24, 2008 by MikeT

[Andy_1984]

No worries- this is a fascinating thread in any case.

 

Looks like the ideal approach is not to use WD40 as a soaking cleanser, but to use warm soapy water instead when the occasion demands it, and to apply WD40 without spraying it directly from the can in case of unwanted contact with line. I guess it's okay to spray soak a reel in WD40 when there's no line on it though.

 

So simple, I should have thought of it meself, but I'm a bit slow like that!

 

i guess if you realy needed to soak it in WD40 you could put tape around the line and tuck it in to stop it getting under the line

[MikeT]

Yes- that’s an idea (although it is remarkably penetrating stuff). But I’m coming round to thinking WD40 is pretty horrid stuff, and every reasonable step should be taken to prevent it getting anywhere near fishes. If warm soapy water does the job equally well, I’m all for it. Especially since it wouldn’t flick off and ruin my tie, which I’ve just noticed can happen when spraying WD40.

[Anderoo]

Odd

 

I don't know for sure Mike, but I doubt it does monofilament line much good. If it got a proper soaking I'd be inclined to strip it off and replace with new line. I got some GT85 on mine and I'm going to replace it.

[MikeT]

If it got a proper soaking I'd be inclined to strip it off and replace with new line.

Sounds like a plan. If you've discovered the name of that wonderline you recommended for trotting, I'll get me some of that, and my whole WD40 problem will disappear!