I have a question and an old issue to rehash.
 
Question:  to those in Florida's "fire zone" which direction is the wind
blowing today?  (I want to know about the smoke in the Panhandle, if it
is coming from the southeast).
 
Old Issue:  I am still a staunch believer in WD-40 for shells.  Someone
shot me down, saying it was a petroleum product and would eventually
cause the shells to yellow.  How do you know it is a petroleum product? 
It doesn't say so on the can.  I was always under the impression (and
still am) that is it silicone, a combination of the element silicon and
oxygen, and a carrier to make it into a spray-on form.
 
If it is a petroleum product, then why would it yellow and not the
petroleum products cited to use, such as mineral and baby oils?  Why
doesn't lighter fluid (another petroleum product) cause them to yellow?
 
I started using WD-40 15-20 years ago, when I first heard about silicone
oil and it wasn't readily available.  I have not seen it adversely
affect my shells in any manner.  
 
When silicone oil became available I tried both, have both, and prefer
the WD-40 because it dries faster and is easier to use when you have
only one shell to do.  I've never had to redo a shell I've done with
WD-40.  Dust, smoke, and grime do not stick to it.  I can dust the
shells with my hair dryer if I prefer.  Once or twice, I have rinsed
them under cool water and wiped them dry, but couldn't tell that it made
a difference.
 
And - what is silicon oil (see my dictionary definitions below)?  Isn't
it a compound of the element silicon, and some kind of oil?  What
amorphous states other than crystalline does silicon occur?  What oil? 
Is the oil not petroleum based?  Is it vegetable based? Or is it pure
silicon liquefied under heat or pressure?
 
OK, all you Ph.D's, chemistry majors, and museum curators:  Tell me why
I'm wrong, not just that WD-40 shouldn't be used because it is a
petroleum by-product.  Prove to me that it is, and prove to me that
silicone oil isn't.
 
Sylvia Edwards
Huntsville, AL
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sil·i·cone, n. Chem. 
any of a number of polymers containing alternate silicon and oxygen
atoms, as (–Si–O–Si–O–)n, whose properties are determined by the organic
groups attached to the silicon atoms, and that are fluid, resinous,
rubbery, extremely stable in high temperatures, and water-repellent:
used as adhesives, lubricants, and hydraulic oils and in electrical
insulation, cosmetics, etc.
 
sil·i·con, n. Chem. 
a nonmetallic element, having amorphous and crystalline forms, occurring
in a combined state in minerals and rocks and constituting more than one
fourth of the earth's crust: used in steelmaking, alloys, etc. Symbol:
Si; at. wt.: 28.086; at. no.: 14; sp. gr.: 2.4 at 20°C.