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Indeed, gas engines probably drip or exhaust more oil. Certainly 2 stroke chainsaws. There's a rumor among cyclists that "3 in 1 oil" is bad for bikes because

Indeed, gas engines probably drip or exhaust more oil. Certainly 2 stroke chainsaws. There's a rumor among cyclists that "3 in 1 oil" is bad for bikes because it contains vegetable oil that gums up. But cyclists will debate about oil for days.

dehrmann 5y ago
Same with guitar players and fingerboard oils. Use mineral oil because it's food-safe and won't go rancid. Same reason I use it on my cutting board.
- sva_ 5y ago
  Wait a moment. Mineral oils are food-safe? Don't they accumulate in the body and act as endocrine disruptors?
  - stopagephobia 5y ago
    To my knowledge it can absorb a little through the skin but not through the intestines though more than a little will give you the shits real bad.
    - jessaustin 5y ago
      https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-153865/mineral-oil-laxative-oral/details https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-153865/mineral-oil-laxati...
  - buildsjets 5y ago
    Mineral oil is commonly used to coat/maintain butcher block cutting boards, and as a storage coating on high carbon knives. It is recognized as safe by the FDA when produced according to food safety guidelines and under quality control. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=172.878 https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfr...
  - userbinator 5y ago
    Food-grade mineral oil is highly refined and doesn't contain any of the carcinogenic aromatics. It could be considered a lower molecular weight petroleum jelly. It's also used as a laxative.
- exDM69 5y ago
  Mineral oil is fine for a fingerboard, but there is a caveat. Being a non-drying oil, it won't dry and nothing will stick to it. So if you put mineral oil once, it is mineral oil forever. If you try to put linseed oil or tung oil on it later, it will not adhere. I use boiled linseed oil and beeswax on the fingerboards of guitars I've built. Linseed oil is a drying oil which will polymerize when it reacts with air instead of going rancid like food oils. Drying oils or mineral oil should both work for the job as long as you do not try to mix them.
buildsjets 5y ago
Cyclists debate about oil for days. Cycle mechanics just use WD40.
- lorenzhs 5y ago
  WD40 is a terrible choice of chain lubricant, it’s too volatile.
- buildsjets 5y ago
  The replies are clearly cyclists.
- harg 5y ago
  Without falling into an oil debate, no cycle mechanic I’ve ever spoken to uses or would recommend wd40 for chain oil. It’s far too thin and is primarily for freeing stuck parts and cleaning. It’s not meant for long term lubrication - it dries out or get washed off almost instantly. 3 in 1 is fine, but the main advantage of a proper chain lube is that they don’t attract grime and dirt as quickly
- sethherr 5y ago
  WD40 is a penetrant, not a lubricant, I don’t know any Mechanics who use it. Definitely will debate lubricants for days, but no one who is in the industry uses standard WD40
  - User23 5y ago
    WD40 is absolutely a lubricant. The WD40 is not a lubricant thing just needs to die already. Of course it’s not the best lubricant for every job. In fact it’s probably not the best lubricant for any job, but it’s a good enough lubricant for many jobs. It’s also a penetrant and water displacer. Versatile products usually aren’t the absolute best choice for a given use case, but that doesn’t make versatility bad.
    - sethherr 5y ago
      From Wikipedia: > WD-40 is an American brand and the trademark name of a water-displacing spray … and the definition of “water displacing spray” is “penetrating fluid” It definitely is an oil, it definitely lubricates. But we normally name things by their primary purpose.
HPsquared 5y ago
Isn't a certain degree of gumming-up advantageous? It would keep the oil in place after it works it's way into all the nooks and crannies, ending up more like a grease. This behaviour could be good for corrosion prevention.
- toxik 5y ago
  You want your oil (and grease) in the bearing surfaces, not in nooks and crannies. Tackiness can indeed be good though.
  - ahartmetz 5y ago
    Oxidized vegetable oil is the most disgustingly tacky substance that I know. It's like a cross between rubber, glue, and grease. It is very resistant to removal with "intuitive" methods (but using un-oxidized oil and heat tends to work) and it doesn't lubricate, it sticks. It can't possibly be good for lubrication, I'd say. Unless you can somehow control the process so that it oxidizes just a little.
    - londons_explore 5y ago
      Well a slimy sticky surface rubbing against another slimy sticky surface doesn't cause wear. And in a chainsaw, it's mostly wear you want to reduce. The frictional losses in the chain are low compared to the massive friction in the blades.
- stopagephobia 5y ago
  That's not how vegetable oils gum, they go sticky in a way that's not like grease. Hard to explain but if you feel them both there's a huge difference. Grease will stick but isn't stick-y in the same way if that makes sense.
userbinator 5y ago
That's a very strange rumor since 3in1 is petroleum-based.
- analog31 5y ago
  Rumor dispelled. Thanks! https://www.concept2.com/files/pdf/us/miscellaneous/MISC_MSDS_3-in-1-Oil.pdf https://www.concept2.com/files/pdf/us/miscellaneous/MISC_MSD... The closest thing I could find to mentioning vegetable oil was this thread: https://umgf.com/three-in-one-oil-substitute-t37605.html https://umgf.com/three-in-one-oil-substitute-t37605.html But the claim is without a reference, and the MSDS certainly appears to be the latest word.

dehrmann 5y ago

Same with guitar players and fingerboard oils. Use mineral oil because it's food-safe and won't go rancid. Same reason I use it on my cutting board.

sva_ 5y ago
Wait a moment. Mineral oils are food-safe? Don't they accumulate in the body and act as endocrine disruptors?
- stopagephobia 5y ago
  To my knowledge it can absorb a little through the skin but not through the intestines though more than a little will give you the shits real bad.
  - jessaustin 5y ago
    https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-153865/mineral-oil-laxative-oral/details https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-153865/mineral-oil-laxati...
- buildsjets 5y ago
  Mineral oil is commonly used to coat/maintain butcher block cutting boards, and as a storage coating on high carbon knives. It is recognized as safe by the FDA when produced according to food safety guidelines and under quality control. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=172.878 https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfr...
- userbinator 5y ago
  Food-grade mineral oil is highly refined and doesn't contain any of the carcinogenic aromatics. It could be considered a lower molecular weight petroleum jelly. It's also used as a laxative.
exDM69 5y ago
Mineral oil is fine for a fingerboard, but there is a caveat. Being a non-drying oil, it won't dry and nothing will stick to it. So if you put mineral oil once, it is mineral oil forever. If you try to put linseed oil or tung oil on it later, it will not adhere. I use boiled linseed oil and beeswax on the fingerboards of guitars I've built. Linseed oil is a drying oil which will polymerize when it reacts with air instead of going rancid like food oils. Drying oils or mineral oil should both work for the job as long as you do not try to mix them.

buildsjets 5y ago

Cyclists debate about oil for days. Cycle mechanics just use WD40.

lorenzhs 5y ago
WD40 is a terrible choice of chain lubricant, it’s too volatile.
buildsjets 5y ago
The replies are clearly cyclists.
harg 5y ago
Without falling into an oil debate, no cycle mechanic I’ve ever spoken to uses or would recommend wd40 for chain oil. It’s far too thin and is primarily for freeing stuck parts and cleaning. It’s not meant for long term lubrication - it dries out or get washed off almost instantly. 3 in 1 is fine, but the main advantage of a proper chain lube is that they don’t attract grime and dirt as quickly
sethherr 5y ago
WD40 is a penetrant, not a lubricant, I don’t know any Mechanics who use it. Definitely will debate lubricants for days, but no one who is in the industry uses standard WD40
- User23 5y ago
  WD40 is absolutely a lubricant. The WD40 is not a lubricant thing just needs to die already. Of course it’s not the best lubricant for every job. In fact it’s probably not the best lubricant for any job, but it’s a good enough lubricant for many jobs. It’s also a penetrant and water displacer. Versatile products usually aren’t the absolute best choice for a given use case, but that doesn’t make versatility bad.
  - sethherr 5y ago
    From Wikipedia: > WD-40 is an American brand and the trademark name of a water-displacing spray … and the definition of “water displacing spray” is “penetrating fluid” It definitely is an oil, it definitely lubricates. But we normally name things by their primary purpose.

HPsquared 5y ago

Isn't a certain degree of gumming-up advantageous? It would keep the oil in place after it works it's way into all the nooks and crannies, ending up more like a grease. This behaviour could be good for corrosion prevention.

toxik 5y ago
You want your oil (and grease) in the bearing surfaces, not in nooks and crannies. Tackiness can indeed be good though.
- ahartmetz 5y ago
  Oxidized vegetable oil is the most disgustingly tacky substance that I know. It's like a cross between rubber, glue, and grease. It is very resistant to removal with "intuitive" methods (but using un-oxidized oil and heat tends to work) and it doesn't lubricate, it sticks. It can't possibly be good for lubrication, I'd say. Unless you can somehow control the process so that it oxidizes just a little.
  - londons_explore 5y ago
    Well a slimy sticky surface rubbing against another slimy sticky surface doesn't cause wear. And in a chainsaw, it's mostly wear you want to reduce. The frictional losses in the chain are low compared to the massive friction in the blades.
stopagephobia 5y ago
That's not how vegetable oils gum, they go sticky in a way that's not like grease. Hard to explain but if you feel them both there's a huge difference. Grease will stick but isn't stick-y in the same way if that makes sense.

userbinator 5y ago

That's a very strange rumor since 3in1 is petroleum-based.

analog31 5y ago
Rumor dispelled. Thanks! https://www.concept2.com/files/pdf/us/miscellaneous/MISC_MSDS_3-in-1-Oil.pdf https://www.concept2.com/files/pdf/us/miscellaneous/MISC_MSD... The closest thing I could find to mentioning vegetable oil was this thread: https://umgf.com/three-in-one-oil-substitute-t37605.html https://umgf.com/three-in-one-oil-substitute-t37605.html But the claim is without a reference, and the MSDS certainly appears to be the latest word.