Bonding and WD-40

[PanelGuy]

OK - I searched threads and did not find what I was looking for so here goes...

The situation - Operators on a saw were using WD 40 to lubricate the phenolic surface to allow panels to slide easier. The same saw is used on occasion to cut slices of honeycomb for bonding. My first concern was silicone all over the place since we are a laminator.

The WD 40 website states there are NO silicones in the material, however, this stuff is verbotten in gel coating facilities because of fish eyes.

I removed all WD 40 from use (mad Maintenance guys). I know they will come back in a day or tow and tell me there is no silicone what is the big deal. Am I way off base?

We do deal with hit or miss delam issues and I do not want this to be a problem. However, we have taken great care to learn ALuminum core block slicing the requires NO lubrication...Thoughts.

Thanks

 

[alexit]

I hate that stuff, our guys were spraying everything with it and the propellent (propane I think) damages the surface of our parts...then the lube dries into a sticky mess.

If the phenolic is kept CLEAN and DRY it would slide pretty easy I think.

 

[CoryPad]

If you look at the Materials Safety Data Sheet for WD-40:

http://www.wd40.com/Brands/pdfs/msds-wd40_aerosol.us.pdf

You will see:

Aliphatic Petroleum Distillates
Petroleum Base Oil
LVP Hydrocarbon Fluid

These chemicals should be removed from surfaces that must have high bond strength. I think you should continue to enforce a ban on WD-40 in contact with final product.

Regards,

Cory

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

 

[tomwalz]

WD-40 Can screw up surfaces for brazing - e.g. silver based alloys at 1200 F.

Had a cosulting job - saw tips falling off a saw - New guy wanted to do a really good job so he was wiping all the braze pockets out with a rag coated with WD-40 before he brazed.

Whatever causes problems in WD-40 is usually removed with a good detergent or caustic solution, e.g. dish soap, Easy Off oven cleaner, etc.

Thomas J. Walz
Carbide Processors, Inc.

http://www.carbideprocessors.com

 

[diamondjim]

Are you allowed to use mineral oil?

 

[MintJulep]

ANY material in the bond joint besides the materials being bonded and the adhesive (and perhaps a primer) carrys a risk of reducing the bond strength.

While WD-40 might make life easier for the saw operator, it makes life harder for the guy that needs to clean the surfaces before bonding, for the QA guy and for you.

If you need a slippery saw table, there are better options.

Slippery tape on the surface, either Teflon or UHMW.

Air table.

 

[dik]

I think some saw manufacturer's use talc on the surface prior to shipping...

Dik