Water Displacement 40th Formula
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
When browsing products sold in hardware aisles, nothing is as universally recognizable as WD-40. The distinctive yellow and blue cans are wildly associated with mechanics, handyman repair, and general fixing. Used for everything from loosening old bolts to fishing lure preparation, there seems there is scarcely a problem that someone hasn’t tried spraying some WD-40 on. With a never-ending list of potential uses for the odd-smelling chemical, one must wonder how it came to be.
The story of WD-40 beings in the early 1950s in southern California. A small aerospace company called the “Rocket Chemical Company” based out of San Diego was attempting to create a product to solve the issue of rust & corrosion, specifically for the Atlas Missiles, the first ever functional ICBMs. Rust was a huge problem for the industry at the time but would eventually be solved by a series of material science breakthroughs in areas such as metallurgy, paint and coatings, and synthetic materials. After a series of attempted formulations of this chemical rust inhibitor, the Rocket Chemical Company eventually reached its 40th attempted formula in 1953. This formulation combined a special set of solvents and corrosion inhibitors and suspended them in a petroleum-based oil. Thus, the new substance was given the affectionate name “Water Displacement, 40th Formula” or “WD-40” for short. Upon testing the substance on metal surfaces, it was discovered to be incredibly effective at repelling water, in addition, being non-conductive, WD-40 could be utilized around sensitive electronic components. Furthermore, the petroleum-based oil gave the formula excellent lubrication properties as well.
After initially selling the formula for use in industrial applications, the President of the Rocket Chemical Company, Norman B. Larson, birthed the idea of packaging this formula in aerosol cans and selling it to the general public. In order to pressurize the cans, an accelerant was added to the formulation and in 1958, WD-40 was sold directly to consumers for the first time. The product caught on very quickly, causing the company to double in size in just two years. As WD-40 sales escalated, consumers discovered more and more creative applications for the amazing product. In 1968, kits containing WD-40 were sent to soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War for use on their firearms to prevent corrosion due to the wet jungle environments.
The following year, in 1969, the Rocket Chemical Company would officially change its name to the “WD-40 Company,” after what was at the time its only product. In the next couple of years, the company would continue to grow by leaps and bounds to the point of going public in 1973. During this time the cultural legacy of WD-40 was cemented in the broader American lexicon. By the early 1990s, a survey discovered that 80% of American homes had a can of WD-40 – incredible.
While the WD-40 Company would go on to release other products, none of them so far have been able to surpass the extreme levels of sustained popularity enjoyed by their name-sake product. So, the next time you find yourself faced with a stuck bolt, a fishing lure in need of preparation, or one of the more than 2000 other uses listed on WD-40’s fan website, you can know where that humble blue and yellow can come from.
