"He is the guy you want on your team building go-carts, because he has two favorite tools: duct tape and WD-40."
This phrase comes from watching too much Eastwood (Gran Torino ~ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1205489/) The idea behind it is you can jury-rig/fix almost anything with WD40 & duct tape alone without the need for fancy expensive tools.
Except that both of those tools are the absolute worst at their respective jobs!
Standard duct tape uses an awful adhesive that depending on the humidity turn into a gummy mess or desiccates into flakes -- either way leaving a difficult residue and not actually holding. The loose right-angle weave of the coarse fibers means that it has zero shear strength on the most common axes, and is prone to splitting when under tension. The outer vinyl layer will separate on its own in heat, leaving a mess of fibers + adhesive behind.
WD-40 combines a solvent, a mild lubricant, and an adhesive (!) -- it's extremely prone to collecting grit and caking it onto surfaces. It will displace any better lubricant it is applied onto.
"... Standard duct tape uses an awful adhesive that depending on the humidity turn into a gummy mess or desiccates into flakes ... WD-40 combines a solvent, a mild lubricant, and an adhesive (!) -- it's extremely prone to collecting grit and caking it onto surfaces ..."
The use of duct tape and WD40 as basic tools certainly far predates that movie. Per the ancient quote:
“All of life’s problems can be solved with two things—duct tape and WD40. If it moves and it shouldn’t, you need duct tape. And if it doesn’t move and it should, you need WD40.”
This phrase comes from watching too much Eastwood (Gran Torino ~ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1205489/) The idea behind it is you can jury-rig/fix almost anything with WD40 & duct tape alone without the need for fancy expensive tools.