More restricted than the academic elite, the group that knows the WD-40 formula protects a secret that generates billions and feeds urban legends
More exclusive than elite clubs and with more restricted access than Ivy League universities, a select group in San Diego (USA) holds one of the biggest secrets in the global industry. To join this circle, status or money are not enough: it is necessary to face protocols that involve fractional keys, draconian legal agreements and the opening of a bank vault. The objective is to protect, under lock and key, the handwritten formula of WD-40.
The strictness of the protocol is such that Steve Brass, the company’s CEO, waited more than three decades to know the composition of the product he heads, according to The Wall Street Journal. The original formula, written down in a simple notebook, remains in a Bank of America vault at an undisclosed location. In the past three decades, the document has seen the light of day only three times: at a celebration on the Nasdaq, during a security transfer in 2018, and most recently in the summer of 2024.
On the last occasion, Brass and financial director Sara Hyzer had access to the notebook. The procedure required weeks of legal procedures and the presence of the company’s attorney general, the only holder of one of the access keys. Faced with the manuscript, which contains the 40th attempt at the formula (after 39 failures, hence the name Water Displacement – 40), Hyzer noticed a curious detail: a “no smoking” sign noted on the page.
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Industrial secrecy is the financial pillar of the company. As of August 2025, the classic product accounted for nearly 80% of the company’s revenue. To mitigate risk, most employees, including the R&D team, work only with coded versions of the ingredients, without ever having access to the full “recipe.”
The information vacuum feeds urban legends. On forums such as Reddit, users speculate whether the lubricant contains fish oil (a myth already debunked by the company) or debate new uses, ranging from fishing bait to horsehair detangler. WD-40 monitors these conversations not only to pick up trends, but to correct security information, keeping the mysticism — and market value — of its main asset unchanged.
