Is WD40 Bad for Tires? The Truth About This Popular Product

WD40 is a popular product that is used for a variety of purposes. But some people are wondering: is WD40 bad for tires?

In this article, we will explore the truth about this question. We will look at what WD40 does to tires, whether or not it can cause damage, and how to protect your tires from potential harm.

Is WD40 Bad for Tires?

The short answer is: No, WD40 is not bad for your tires. It has many practical uses and there may be situations where you may decide to use it on your tires.

What is WD40?

WD40 is one of the most common tools in the automotive space and can be found in almost every mechanics tool box.

WD40 is designed to displace water, lubricate and protect against corrosion. It has become a household name due to its flexibility and the fact that it can be used in so many different ways.

It is a little known fact that the WD stands for “Water Displacement”, which may make you think that it is not a real lubricant. However, the lubricating properties of WD40 are derived from the petroleum distillates in the product.

There is a famous saying that goes, “You only need two things in life, Duct Tape and WD-40. If it moves and shouldn’t, use Duct Tape, if it doesn’t move and should, use WD-40.”

How to use WD40 on Tires?

While it is not specifically designed for tires, many people use WD40 on their tires for a variety of reasons. Some people use it to clean stubborn dirt of their tires, while others sometimes use it to protect their tires or even as a makeshift tire shine.

The most common way is to simply spray it on the tire, scrub the dirt with a brush and then wipe it off with a cloth. We would advise against using a white cloth and the black rubber will immediately turn the cloth black.

In fact, it can actually be helpful in keeping your tires clean and free of dirt and grime. However, there are some things to keep in mind when using WD40 on your tires.

First of all, it’s important to remember that WD40 is a petroleum-based product. This means that it can actually dry out your tires if used too frequently. It’s important to not overdo it when using WD40 on your tires.

Secondly, while WD40 can help to clean your tires and make them look shiny, it is not a tire shine product. Tire shine products are designed to be used on tires and will not dry out your tires like WD40 can.

So, if you’re looking to give your tires a little bit of shine, we would recommend using a tire shine product rather than WD40.

What are the risks of using WD40 on tires?

While there are some risks associated with using WD40 on your tires, it is generally considered to be safe. However, as we mentioned before, it is a petroleum-based product and can dry out your tires if used too frequently.

It’s also important to make sure when using WD40 on your tires that you don’t accidentally overspray it and let any come into contact with your brakes or your brake disks. This can potentially cause your brakes to fail as your brakes rely on friction between the brake pad and the disk to stop your vehicle.

WD40 would act as a lubricant in this scenario and would reduce the friction, making your brakes less effective or potentially fail all together. We don’t have to tell you the potential dangers of having your brakes fail on you!

Conclusion

So, while WD40 is not bad for your tires, there are some risks associated with using it. We would recommend that you use it sparingly and only when necessary.

If you do get WD40 on your brakes, it’s important to clean it off as soon as possible. We would recommend using soap and water to wash off any accidental WD40 overspray.

We hope you enjoyed this article and found it informative. If you have any questions then please leave a comment below or get in touch via email or through social media and we will read and respond to every comment, email or question. Thanks for reading!