Almost every Canadian has a spray can of WD-40 in the garage, but that’s about to change.
You use it to fix just about anything that needs a little lubrication, squeaky hinges, rusty bolts and even your bike chain.
Update: Thanks to @Sbhinclusion for sharing this press release from WD-40, which states that they will become compliant with th new regulation.
WD-40 clarified that their products will comply with these regulations and will still be available in Canada after the ban takes effect.
But my rage-bait headline!
Now what do we do with this rage!? I’m angry and confused now!
Hey! Look at this guy! He seems angry too! You should believe and vote for him so you’re less confused!
In America, said angry man is almost always in favour of tax and service cuts for Citizens United reasons. In Canada, the angry man is aping the American angry men because the border is apparently theoretical.
I save it for people who suggest using WD-40 as a lubricant. Then I unload 2-3 years of checked rage.
The article literally says that as the last paragraph despite having wasted hundreds of words describing absolutely nothing before that.
I wouldn’t trust anything ever published by this outlet. This is intentional disinformation.
Sensationalist bullshit headline.
The formulas will change to meet the new standards….
Don’t you remember when all cars were banned when seatbelts were made mandatory?
Typical government overreach!
Then it would be WD-41.
“WD” is “Water Dispersant” and the “40” is the sequential number of the fornumation attempt.
I’ve got at least 3 formulations in the shed. All called WD40
No it’s not.
WD-40 may have referred to the formulation at one time, now it’s just marketing.
Pretty sure they were making a joke, while also sharing a bit of history on the name.
Wondered when someone would bring that up.
As if there aren’t other ways to apply lubricants.
You know, like spray bottles.
Or oil cans
What’s wrong with a kiss, boy? Hmm? Why not start her off with a nice kiss? You don’t have to go leaping straight for the aerosol like a bull at a gate. Give her a kiss, boy.
-Monty Python, probably
OH HERE WE GO, BUDDY, HERE WE GO. C’MON, SQUARE UP OR YOU’LL GET ONE IN THE NOSE!
And WD40 isn’t so much a lubricant as much as a cleaner.
And a Water Displacement formula. (WD)
I’m torn as to whether to agree with you or not. On the one hand, people who aren’t taking the time to parse the headline are certainly getting worked up. On the other hand, the headline accurately represents the ban in that the current formulation of WD-40 will be banned in aerosol form. If they want to sell that formulation in plain cans or Non-aerosol spray bottles, they are free to do so.
Wd-40 has more than one aerosol product, others already meet the standards, so the headline is just plain false right off the bat.
Ok, fair enough.
The past paragraph of the article literally says that all WD-40 products will remain on the shelves, they’re literally just tweaking their can formulation
Sorry, I should have been more clear. My “torn” was with regard to whether I agreed that it was a “sensationalist bullshit headline” when it was almost perfectly accurate in what was being banned: the aerosol. It missed the bit about “current formulation”, though, hence my being torn.
It’s current formulation is still legal with other delivery mechanisms, so there is a bit of nuance. As much as I dislike clickbait, I also don’t except a headline to provide nuance.
What’s unclear to me, and part of why this is a garbage article, is whether the VOCs from WD-40 are a result of the aerosolization of the WD-40, or a result of the VOCs in the propellent gas. I believe it’s the latter in which case they can literally just replace them with nitrogen as the propellent to have essentially the exact same delivery mechanism.
Anecdotally, I bought one of these cans of WD-40 with a spray pump like 10 years ago just because it was all the store had and have never had an issue with it. I’ve never come across an application where I’m just spraying WD-40 like a can of spray paint where I need the continuous flow.
It’s the Western Standard, so of COURSE it’s a bullshit sensationalist headline. That’s what they do; and that’s ALL they do.
They’re a right-wing lapdog publication.
“What the hell is happening? We must all be sheep,” Mike said.
I’m glad they found comments from someone intelligent
“I thought this was a joke,” Mike (no last name given) from Canmore said on outdoorsmenforum.ca.
It’s Mike, from Canmore. What else did you expect?
Load the chicken cannon!
The Western Standard ? FFS. One of the few publications to make the National Enquirer seem legit.
I love how “Mike from Canmore” provides most of the unvalidated spooge in that thing.
Literally from the article:
"“It has recently come to our attention that false information is circulating online that WD-40® Brand products are being banned in Canada,” WD-40 stated.
“This is not a true statement. Although there are currently regulatory changes taking place in Canada, we have been aware of these regulatory changes and have been preparing for them for some time.”"
Course this might create a black market of American WD-40 but that will depend on how much the formula is changing.
WD-40 used to come in big cans before it was an aerosol. And there has been spray bottles of it for some time too.
From what I remember, WD-40 is just mineral oil plus some hydrocarbons. The aerosol version is just so that tiny target straw works well, but you can literally just spray it on the work area and “rub” it in as it’s a penetrating oil for water displacement. In fact, I’m pretty certain that’s what the WD stands for, water displacement.
Lol gotta love that even Harbor Freight even calls WD-40 a lubricant. It’s not a lubricant, it’s a penetrating oil and really a degreaser. If it’s something that needs lubrication you should absolutely use an actual lubricant after using WD-40, E.G. bike chains, door hinges, etc.
They do also make lube for bike chains under the WD-40 brand.
Penetrating oil is a lubricant.
It’s not the kind of lubricant you would want to lubricate your bike chain before a ride with, but there is nothing about lubricant that implies it must be suitable for bike chains.
American wd-40 already complies with the new Canadian standard of no more than 25% voc. (The states has 10-15%)
lol then it’s literally nothing, nice
Downvoted for suggesting using wd40 on a bike chain. Smh
If you use wd40 on bike chain:
- Wipe away as much wd40 as you can
- use motor oil of any grade and work it in
If you leave the wd40 in the chain, the chain will rust and /or cease up.
“Work it in” is very important! If you don’t, it will splatter everywhere and collect a bunch of dust and turn to gunk!
WD is a cleaning agent. You have to replace the oil afterwards. I like Phil Wood Tenacious Oil.
Why read and post trash like this?
It’s clearly an outlet trying to spread misinformation to make people angry at the government. It’s probably either a Russian op and if not it’s a bunch of people stupid enough to be tools of a Russian op.
But, it uses the .news TLD! That means it must be good journalism!
Wow, it even says, in this very article, that this is all a lie, but they know people won’t read that far.
They make WD-40 in a non-aerosol bottle. Like a Windex bottle. I’m assuming that’s what will be available after this change: https://www.wd40.com/products/trigger-pro/
I’m sure that can be adapted to fit a straw as well.
That sounds less useful, but if there’s a legitimate concern then I guess that’s what we have to do.
You can already buy pump spray bottles of wd-40 since at least the 90’s, and they can adapt the straw.
besides, Wd-40 in the US already complies with the new Canadian standard. Canada is just slow updating the regulations compared to the states.
They definitely still sell the aerosol WD-40 in the States. I guess maybe they’re using a different chemical as the propellent?
Canada’s new regulations calls for no more than 25% VOC. The states enacted the same kind of law years ago, and the wd-40 down there is only at 10-15%.
So in other words, this new law is still behind the US regulations and we’re only starting to catch up.
Thanks. I’ll add that to the post.
No it won’t.
I imagine in 2025 you’ll buy aerosol WD-40 from some guy in a trench coat at 4x the price
Sounds like it will be a fairly seamless transition!
I’ll probably just by the non-aeresol spray! Seems like some of the commenters on the article would take you up on it, though.
I can live without aerosol WD40, but you can be sure I am stocking up on brake parts cleaner!
The cynic in me wonders if this was staged by WD. It pretty well ensures that everyone will be flocking to buy what’s left on the shelves before it changes it to a non aerosol in 2024. Up until this point I hadn’t even heard of this but now I myself am tempted to grab a can or two
Folks are very much underestimating how much this formula change will make the product useless. VOCs are the active ingredient in WD-40. They are what makes it work. Penetrating oil is a VOC because solvents are what allow it to penetrate. It’s why WD40 has such a distinctive smell. Their alternative formulation will be garbage.
In the end people will be making their own with starter fluid and acetone which will likely be exempt from the ban despite being VOCs.
Edit: Folks seem to think it’s the propellant that’s what’s being regulated. It’s not. It’s the volitile organic compounds that allows it to penetrate. Seems they’re mostly reducing them instead of banning them, which we’ve already done in many states.
To be honest I don’t find wd-40 all that great to start with, there are better options, although usually pricier. But I don’t think it’s near as bad as you’re making it out to be.
The states pushed a similar law through years ago, and The wd-40 sold in the states already complies with the new Canadian laws of less than 25% (It has 10-20% as per https://files.wd40.com/pdf/sds/specialist/canada/english/wd-40_specialist_spray_stay_gel_lubricant_can_ghs_sds.pdf ) and there hasn’t been any problems with its effectiveness.
