WD-40 and others exposure effects on orings

[Geoff]

ran across this and thought it was worth sharing

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=345397

[nervoustrigger]

Geoffrey, thanks for posting this.   

I really like the DIY nature of the study but am I blind or did the author fail to identify the material the O-rings are made of?

In general, I find the following charts from Marco Rubber to be very helpful in identifying a suitable O-ring material for the application:

http://www.marcorubber.com/material_chart.htm
http://www.marcorubber.com/materialguide.htm

[Booger]

I have worked in the paint industry (traffic paint) for 25 years. We use to run a dry time test with a weighted metal cylinder with o-rings to represent tires. Guess what we used to clean the o-rings with?

Acetone, dries fast and does not make the rubber o-rings swell. Toluene, MEK, xylene, heptane, & hexane would have an adverse effect on the dry time wheel. I am not saying use acetone for gun repair or cleaning, but acetone will have less effect on your o-rings.