Convair, an aerospace contractor, first used WD-40 ® to protect the outer skin of the Atlas Missile from rust and corrosion. The product actually worked so well that several employees snuck some WD-40 ® cans out of the plant to use at home.

A few years following WD-40 ® 's first industrial use, Rocket Chemical Company founder Norm Larsen experimented with putting WD-40 ® into aerosol cans, reasoning that consumers might find a use for the product at home as some of the employees had. The product made its first appearance on store shelves in San Diego in 1958.