WD40 on powder coating?

**pontman43** · 07-20-2005, 11:46 PM

A friend of mine said that wd40 is good for powder coating. He used to work for a custom truck shop and thats what they used on all the powder coating. To me it seems like that would be bad for it, but I dont know because they have been using it on they`re show truck for a year and that sits in the sun exposed and it still looks good, although its not driven much. What do you guys think?

**EdLancer** · 07-21-2005, 08:53 AM

Originally Posted by Pontman43

A friend of mine said that wd40 is good for powder coating. He used to work for a custom truck shop and thats what they used on all the powder coating. To me it seems like that would be bad for it, but I dont know because they have been using it on they`re show truck for a year and that sits in the sun exposed and it still looks good, although its not driven much. What do you guys think?

What do you mean good ?, yes you can use it to clean tar and grease build up, but not as a dressing or protectant. WD-40 will not harm powder coatings.

**AndyC_1** · 07-21-2005, 10:13 AM

I used WD40 and an old scouring pad to clean up some parts in my engine bay which had become dulled by APC use - worked perfectly in restoring the "shine" if you can term it that to rocker cover, engine mounts and intake manifold.

**rollman** · 07-21-2005, 05:41 PM

What are you trying to do to this powder coated surface ?

**pontman43** · 07-21-2005, 09:01 PM

My friend used it on the shops show (never actually used, just showed) truck. I would have thought it was bad for it. What would be better? To clean, protect, and shine?

**HowardPearson** · 07-21-2005, 09:21 PM

We use WD-40 on all of the powder coated frames in the shop that I work at. It looks good for about an hour then gets dull.

**EdLancer** · 07-22-2005, 08:48 AM

Originally Posted by Pontman43

My friend used it on the shops show (never actually used, just showed) truck. I would have thought it was bad for it. What would be better? To clean, protect, and shine?

Collinite 845 Insulator Wax does the job quite nicely

**Richt** · 07-22-2005, 08:51 AM

On friends bikes with powder coating I tend just to wipe clean with QD and try some wax on a hidden area first. If you dont mind the surface going glossy just polish and wax as with normal paint. WD40 is just a dust trap.

**Lowejackson** · 07-22-2005, 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by Richt

... WD40 is just a dust trap.

This has always been my experience

**rollman** · 07-22-2005, 02:44 PM

Treat it like you would any painted surface . Yes Powder coating is tough stuff and I doubt you could do much to damage it beside taking a grinder to it , maybe acid might do a job to it .

**EdLancer** · 07-22-2005, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by Rollman

Treat it like you would any painted surface . Yes Powder coating is tough stuff and I doubt you could do much to damage it beside taking a grinder to it , maybe acid might do a job to it .

Coming from the finishing industry, powder coating is actually a hard coat of plastic, powder paint(plastic powder) is electrostaticially attracted to the part and is melt and fused once it passes through a moving oven. You can usually tell if its powder coated by the large amount of orange peel on the finishing, this has still not been solved to be used ecomonically used to paint cars.