When you get your RC car and start driving through some of the roughest terrains the small speed wagon can go through, you will inevitably get it dirty. Many RC owners are not sure what to use when cleaning the car, especially when the water will destroy most of the car.
You can use WD40 to wash and displace most of the water that has gotten onto your RC car, with the WD40 doing precisely what it needs to do. However, you will need to buy WD40 Specialist Electronics to clean the electric motor, cables, and battery powering your car. (Source: WD40)
Many situations call for WD40, and most of the RC cars in the world will encounter these. Your small car can be damaged if not cleaned properly; while a full dismantle will keep it working flawlessly, you need to know when just a quick spray of WD40 will work perfectly.
Check out the best deals for WD40 Specialist Electronics cleaner here on Amazon
Should You Use WD40 on An RC Car?
WD40 is a degreaser and a water displacements product that allows parts to be cleaned and coated slightly with a protective layer. It would help if you used WD40 before and after you take your RC car through a course that may be wet or muddy, ensuring that the water does not damage it.
However, you should be sure that you are using it correctly and that you are not using normal WD40 on electronic components. This is because normal WD40 can sometimes be conductive for electricity, causing shorts and damage to high voltage parts.
This is why we always recommend that you use WD40 as a quick way to blow the worst water away if you have driven through mud and puddles. However, you should only use WD40 Specialist Electronics when cleaning the battery, servo, and motor areas.
Where Can You Use WD40 on An RC Car?
Generally speaking, there are several parts to RC cars that will be perfectly safe to use WD40 of any kind, which will last a lot longer. It is always better to know which these are before you head in and go spraying like crazy, as the WD40 can be expensive to waste.
Many people mistakenly think that WD40 is a miracle degreaser that will clean off everything and not leave behind any residue. However, if used wrong or on the wrong parts, you may create a light layer of oil that sits on plastic components that becomes extremely dirty over time.
Bearings
The one part on any RC car that we recommend using WD40 to get them clean is the bearings throughout the car. Every wheel bearing can benefit from a quick spray after a drive with the car over any terrain that you may encounter.
The bearings on RC cars are generally steel bearings, making them susceptible to rust and sand damaging them as the car works. However, WD40 will easily and comfortably wash both of these away and keep the bearings going after every weekend fun trip.
Engine – Petrol Only
Electric RC cars will not fully benefit from WD40 sprayed, with normal WD40 not always meant to be sprayed on components that have power running through them. However, petrol RC cars will benefit significantly from a thorough spray of WD40 after a race, drive, or just muddy tumble.
The WD40 will remove the water that may be trapped in the engine’s fins and quickly clean everything to be clean and proper. Many RC owners driving every weekend will keep WD40 in their kits to spray the car down once they have finished playing for the day.
When Cleaning
We recommend cleaning the RC car every five to six weekends; if you use it quite often, you should disassemble the entire car and clean each part. With a combination of alcohol rub and WD40, you will be able to clean the car to look completely new again.
It should be noted that you should also clean electric RC cars regularly, but you should ensure that you are using more alcohol rub than anything else. The alcohol will degrease everything that should not be greased but evaporate so fast that it won’t cause a problem when applying new grease.
What RC Cars Benefit from WD40 Use?
All RC cars will benefit from the correct type of WD40 being sprayed onto them, with most RC cars needing to be cleaned after they have been driven. These cars become a lot dirtier than people realize, as they are incredibly close to the ground, picking up dust, sand, and everything else.
However, it will become different as you are a more experienced RC car owner, with most owners eventually switching to compressed air to clean the cars quickly. WD40 is used to remove excess water and anything else when driving through muddy waters and other things.
Many RC car owners prefer to have their cars not driven through water for this reason, as sand can be a bother, roads have a lot of dust, but they will not damage the sensitive parts. It is a lot more problematic when you have to clean the RC car’s deepest parts that get dirty.
Why Would WD40 Not Be Safe on Electric RC Cars?
Normal WD40 can be slightly conductive and build up a slight surface if left to dry thoroughly on components. Electronic components can short circuit when conducting through the oil and may not make proper contact with other parts if a layer has been formed.
This is why many RC owners that have electric cars do not rely on WD40 instead of having small compressors in their cars to clean their cars quickly. Further, we have seen many RC car owners prefer not to use any degreaser as they can create slightly sticky surfaces over long-term use.
However, despite this, if you have nothing else, the WD40 will be perfect for cleaning your RC car, as just leaving it filthy can cause a lot more damage. It should be noted that you can disconnect the battery, spray everything clean with WD40 and then clean everything properly later at home.
Why Should You Be Careful with Electric Motor RC Cars?
While the greater circuitry of the RC car will be protected, many first-time owners that use WD40 push the nozzle into every nook and cranny. Eventually, pushing the nozzle into the engine itself, there is little air movement but a lot of electric flow, which can cause a short circuit.
This is why you should always be careful about how and where you are using WD40, as the oil is fantastic to clean water or unwanted dirt but not always good with electronics. You can find many stories online of people that used WD40 in just the wrong way, causing some electric component to break.
WD40 and other oils like it have created mixtures that are usable on electronics of almost any kind; these mixtures don’t create layers, don’t eat plastics, and are not conducive. We recommend using the right solution for the correct application to ensure that you always get the best results.
Conclusion
Your RC car can be cleaned using WD40, and the product will ensure that everything is both dry and protected from the very worst that nature can throw at it. However, we recommend that you be careful and do not randomly spray things that might conduct power.
Whatever you do, please don’t think that all degreasers are like WD40; it’s loved because of its amazing unique properties.
You can see a huge range of WD40 products to suit your needs by clicking here, from Amazon
