[GreenKeys] WD-40 debates

[John Foust]

At 06:14 PM 6/21/2006, Doug Alderdice wrote:
>Not always.  This was the subject of a recent thread on one of the phone collectors' lists in regard to rejuvenating Calculagraph ribbons.  I and others have tried the WD40 trick on those ribbons with the same result: worked great for a very short time (no more than a day or two) and then the ribbon dried up and was less able to produce an image than it was before the WD40 application. 

WD-40's advantages and disadvantages seem to be a popular topic
of discussion on all mechanical lists.  In short, it seems to be 
good for causing discussions about whether it's a lubricant, solvent
water displacer or ribbon restorer.  

Frankly, I think it's just good for hardware stores, for making 
the average homeowner feel better about home maintenance tasks, 
for a passable firestarter, and for causing debates on mailing lists.

In the ribbon restoration case, I think we can all understand how
its solvent properties might help dissolve residual ink on a ribbon,
but also how those same evaporative properties would cause the 
restoration effect to be temporary.  

As in the lube vs. solvent end of the WD-40 argument, I would
guess that there's a better substance that could be used for
restoring ribbons: something that's just as much a solvent and
that leaves something more like ink.  The re-inking devices 
are an obvious answer, but that pre-supposes you had a supply
of ink.  I would bet that you could use WD-40 to thin the ink.

- John