Kraton Soaking plastics in wd40

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Is WD-40 made in China?! ? This thread reminds me of the various daily news cycles regarding covid19....Some intelligent sounding theories, debunked by plausible logic, followed by arguments to the contrary for both cases. Only thing missing is a conspiracy theory or 10. ?
I don't care if it works or not...it's not gonna make it "break proof" if i land on one wheel causing a point load on that A-Arm. I don't care how much it flexes before it snaps. But that's just me. ?
 
JerryBoor said:
I as well spray my rigs down with WD 40 every 3-4 runs. Only thing I broke in last 2 months was a shock rod end.
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I don't and the only thing I've broken is a wing mount . . . stalemate!

There are so many factors in parts breaking that it's really difficult to attribute one specific thing without completely isolating it from all other factors.

It probably doesn't hurt, but I wouldn't automatically attribute any miracles to it.
 
Just a little science experiment you can do - next time you have zip ties that are dried out and brittle, soak em in water overnight. They will come out like a noodle the next day. I know all these plastics are made of a combination of different stuff, but there has to be some truth to soaking or boiling to create more flexibility. I can't speak to what might work better tho, I never soaked a zip tie in wd40... Or peanut butter... ?
 
Jeremy in WI said:
Just a little science experiment you can do - next time you have zip ties that are dried out and brittle, soak em in water overnight. They will come out like a noodle the next day. I know all these plastics are made of a combination of different stuff, but there has to be some truth to soaking or boiling to create more flexibility. I can't speak to what might work better tho, I never soaked a zip tie in wd40... Or peanut butter... ?
Click to expand...
Going to try that
 
I have never done it but I'm pretty sure @Megasty has and says it works. He knows way more RC than me. If I'm the RC Grand Champion then he is the RC Supreme Leader ???
 
FlipSide said:
(Note: I am not a chemist, feel free to correct me if I am wrong.)

From the WD40 Technical Data Sheet:


I doubt it does anything (good or bad) to the A-arms plastic, which are a nylon-based plastic if I am not mistaken (I know that's what RPM uses). These are semi-crystalline plastics, which are not affected by WD-40. *IF* there is indeed a change in the plastic structure due to the boiling for several hours WD-40, my guess is that it is more likely to be bad for the plastic.

On the other hand, WD-40 is bad for amorphous plastics such as polycarbonate, because the hydrocarbons in the WD-40 can break down the polymer chain. For this reason, it's probably better to keep WD-40 away from the car bodies.
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This is mostly the case but like most eccentric things is this hobby, it varies as much as the amount of different plastics which are used in these trucks. Nylon on it's own is semi-porous. So small fibrous material can be infused into the "gaps" so that the nylon can become stronger. But the more fiber used the more the product can be subject to impact failure. The fracturing breakages is tell tale of a high fiber nylon like Arrma plastics. RPM's plastic is a low fiber, high density nylon. But since it still has fiber in it, it can still fracture. I have pure nylon rods I can bend into a pretzel with enough strength & have used it to make roll cages. But that kind of stuff will have your dogbones doing the same thing if it was made into an arm.

A molecule of WD-40 is too large is penetrate most nylon-based plastics. That's where boiling comes in. In most cases, boiling will expand the "gaps" enough to allow the oil to interact with the nylon, but not the fiber since it's much smaller, like trying to fit a baseball through a keyhole. Mostly the oil will sit trapped between the nylon & fiber, binding to neither. Boiling will temporarily allow more flexibility but w/o spraying it with WD-40 while it's still hot, it will return to its normal state. This can be easily overdone in RPM's case. The arms they make for the Slash 4x4 are on the thin side, so they can end up like a wet noodle if you boil & sit them in WD-40. But if enough fiber is used, not even boiling will expand the nylon enough to let the oil in. Which is why is it doesn't really work for Arrma in general. Take the K8S for example. The first batch of arms were terrible. I tried boiling & spraying them & they were just as stiff afterwards. 2 new sets later, they are much more flexible & WD-40 seems to work on them. So they had to change up the material on us, for the better.
 
I never soaked parts with it but do use it sometimes to wipe down the arms and plastic chassis after cleaning. Keeps dirt from sticking on next run and easier to clean. Also leaves that new car shine lol.
 
jondilly1974 said:
What I’ve heard, and this could be 100% BS, is that nylon will dry out over time and become brittle. By boiling or soaking in WD40, you are keeping it more moist and pliable. Again, just a theory I’ve heard.
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I don't have to worry about that I break them too often lol
 
Surchaufeur said:
Im still skeptical to trow my 40$ tbone racing bumper in wd40 for 2 days XD imagine the opposite happens the weirdest things happens to me i menaged to flood my motor bearing with bread yesterday
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That’s odd? Bread LOL
Well I believe that soaking is beneficial for their products, it may only be a beneficial tactic for their cheaper models. The ones that are just a simple bent bumper. If you’re rocking the $40 bumper my guess is you’ve got other supports complementinWell I believe that soaking is beneficial for their products, it may only be a beneficial tactic for their cheaper models. The ones that are just a simple bent bumper. If you’re rocking the $40 bumper my guess is you’ve got other supports In there. Correct? With those supports you’re more protected from snapping
 
East tactics said:
That’s odd? Bread LOL
Well I believe that soaking is beneficial for their products, it may only be a beneficial tactic for their cheaper models. The ones that are just a simple bent bumper. If you’re rocking the $40 bumper my guess is you’ve got other supports complementinWell I believe that soaking is beneficial for their products, it may only be a beneficial tactic for their cheaper models. The ones that are just a simple bent bumper. If you’re rocking the $40 bumper my guess is you’ve got other supports In there. Correct? With those supports you’re more protected from snapping
Click to expand...
Yeah it has multiple pieces the bumper was 25$ but shipping lets say a big 13$
 
We sell Wd 40 at our shop, and I asked one of their sales managers if wd40 is good on plastic, and he said. I should avoid using it on plastic, it kinda takes out the plasticizers. which in his opinion weakness the plastic instead of strengthen it.
 
Phamous said:
We sell Wd 40 at our shop, and I asked one of their sales managers if wd40 is good on plastic, and he said. I should avoid using it on plastic, it kinda takes out the plasticizers. which in his opinion weakness the plastic instead of strengthen it.
Click to expand...
Many different plastics. Many different options. Who knows.
 
jondilly1974 said:
What I’ve heard, and this could be 100% BS, is that nylon will dry out over time and become brittle. By boiling or soaking in WD40, you are keeping it more moist and pliable. Again, just a theory I’ve heard.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure nylon is susceptible to uv light damage. Most likely somebody's interpretation of what is happening, but yes....likely B.S. lol
 
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