A readily available alternative to locktite.

[CoreyW]

Alright, so something I have learned in the industrial maintenance field and doing electronic repair.

For smaller screws like we find on a lot of our equipment, and that does not see massive vibration or need to be used under specific torques, but screws we just dont want backing out on their own...

Fingernail polish makes an amazing thread locker for fine thread screws. It holds nearly as well as locktite blue, but breaks a lot easier when it is time to remove said screw or bolt. One major plus, when you do break it free the polish turns to a fine powder and is easier to clean the residue off, than locktite is.

Also another major benefit, if you're anything like me and subscribe to the "Slightly annoyed wife... very fun life" motto.. you can really get under your spouses skin by stealing her nail polish.

 

[JackBootedThug]

Great suggestion! Thanks! Fingernail polish is great for filling in engravings to stand out. Super easy on metal especially…. Just smear it on then wipe off with remover… gets all the gunk off but leaves it in the engraving. I pimped out my old Glock long slide .40 cal that way.

 

[7704A]

For screws smaller than what blue is spec'd for, there is also purple loctite.

 

[Floyd Eye]

A Boeing engineer told me “ If it needs Loc-tite the screws are junk, the thread/pitch is incorrect or the design is flawed.

 

[7704A]

A Boeing engineer told me “ If it needs Loc-tite the screws are junk, the thread/pitch is incorrect or the design is flawed.

Was that before or after Boeing forgot to reinstall the bolts holding on the door plug?

 

[Floyd Eye]

Was that before or after Boeing forgot to reinstall the bolts holding on the door plug?

Either way I don’t think that is an engineering problem.

 

[FourT6and2]

A Boeing engineer told me “ If it needs Loc-tite the screws are junk, the thread/pitch is incorrect or the design is flawed.

Ridiculous. There's a reason aerospace applications use safety wiring. It's because bolts/screws do loosen, regardless of how well they're machined.

As far as thread locker goes, blue isn't especially difficult to remove. I've never had a problem with it that's caused me to search out a substitute, like nail polish. But I guess if you need thread locker and don't have any, nail polish could work in a pinch.

 

[Floyd Eye]

Ridiculous. There's a reason aerospace applications use safety wiring. It's because bolts/screws do loosen, regardless of how well they're machined.

As far as thread locker goes, blue isn't especially difficult to remove. I've never had a problem with it that's caused me to search out a substitute, like nail polish. But I guess if you need thread locker and don't have any, nail polish could work in a pinch.

Tell that to the Boeing engineer. Or the 15 gunsmiths I know that won’t even allow the shit in their shops.

I can tell you this. All the optic manufacturers either put it on their supplied screws or tell you to use it, but I have many, many on guns with tens of thousands of rounds through them that have never moved and I torque them to spec and never use LocTite.

 

[FourT6and2]

Tell that to the Boeing engineer.

Sure. Give me his phone number, I'd love to have a chat. Maybe something is getting lost in translations...

Thread locker is used in tons of applications from automotive to aerospace to construction—including Boeing aircraft. Claiming otherwise is really odd.

Or the 15 gunsmiths I know that won’t even allow the shit in their shops.

I don't know about not allowing thread locker in their shops, but sure... for the most part it isn't used on many firearm components. However, it is used in some specific applications. But we're talking about aircraft, not guns.

I can tell you this. All the optic manufacturers either put it on their supplied screws or tell you to use it, but I have many, many on guns with tens of thousands of rounds through them that have never moved and I torque them to spec and never use LocTite.

Aren't you're talking about two different things? First you say 15 gunsmiths you know don't allow thread locker in their shops. Then you say, "all the [firearm] optic manufacturers" actually do recommend it? A bit of a contradiction, no?

While I have seen thread locker being required or recommended in some firearm applications (certain barrel tenons, rail-to-receiver mounts, and muzzle devices), I've actually never noticed optics manufacturers or scope ring manufacturers recommend thread locker. Maybe I missed it? But I have optics from Tangent Theta, Nightforce, S&B, and Kahles. And I have rings/mounts from LaRue, Bobro, Seekins, Vortex, and American Rifle Co. They all specifically state NOT to use thread locker because torque specs change depending on whether or not the fastener is dry, wet (lube), or wet (thread lock).

These are also not critical safety components like you might find on—for example—a Eurocoper A-Star B2 or B3, which I fly in regularly. And I can tell you that they are held together with both thread lock and safety wiring. But maybe Boeing does things different...

I'm simply pointing out that both thread locker and safety wiring are used in aerospace applications and if a Boeing engineer told you otherwise, it would raise my eyebrows.

 

[Floyd Eye]

Sure. Give me his phone number, I'd love to have a chat. Maybe something is getting lost in translations...

Thread locker is used in tons of applications from automotive to aerospace to construction—including Boeing aircraft. Claiming otherwise is really odd.


I don't know about not allowing thread locker in their shops, but sure... for the most part it isn't used on many firearm components. However, it is used in some specific applications. But we're talking about aircraft, not guns.


Aren't you're talking about two different things? First you say 15 gunsmiths you know don't allow thread locker in their shops. Then you say, "all the [firearm] optic manufacturers" actually do recommend it? A bit of a contradiction, no?

While I have seen thread locker being required or recommended in some firearm applications (certain barrel tenons, rail-to-receiver mounts, and muzzle devices), I've actually never noticed optics manufacturers or scope ring manufacturers recommend thread locker. Maybe I missed it? But I have optics from Tangent Theta, Nightforce, S&B, and Kahles. And I have rings/mounts from LaRue, Bobro, Seekins, Vortex, and American Rifle Co. They all specifically state NOT to use thread locker because torque specs change depending on whether or not the fastener is dry, wet (lube), or wet (thread lock).

These are also not critical safety components like you might find on—for example—a Eurocoper A-Star B2 or B3, which I fly in regularly. And I can tell you that they are held together with both thread lock and safety wiring. But maybe Boeing does things different...

I'm simply pointing out that both thread locker and safety wiring are used in aerospace applications and if a Boeing engineer told you otherwise, it would raise my eyebrows.

The optic manufacturers are betting on the very realistic probability that most people aren’t going to use, much less own a torque driver for installing red dots or scopes. So for the punters it’s loc tite man. Then by all means use the German gutentite method of torquing it. And have fun drilling the fucker out when you have to remove it.

I’m also guessing straps and bands like you posted are used much like the witness marks I put on screws and adjacent surfaces. They allow you to visually see if the screw are moving.

Also I’m sure you’re correct about the critical safety aspect. Is LocTite gonna hurt anything on screws you’re probably never going to need to remove ? Probably not. I can tell you the LocTite rep recommends lowering the torque value by as much as 10% if you use LocTite on something you are torquing to spec. Torque specs are typically given for clean and dry screws and mating surfaces.

And yes, I have researched it extensively and pretty much only with regard to firearms. Though I don’t recall anyone suggesting I use LocTite on my upper ball joints either or any of the other myriad of bolts on a vehicle that have torque specs.

 

[Floyd Eye]

I should also point out that optic manufacturers didn’t start recommending LocTite until a couple years after red dots became popular. People on the internet gun forums complained about them coming loose. Easiest solution was low strength loc tite.

 

[Shreddy Mercury]

Nail polish is also great for putting on your nails if you're a fairy and play lead guitar in Metallica.

 

[7704A]

Nail polish is also great for putting on your nails if you're a fairy and play lead guitar in Metallica.

You're gonna need some Wah polish for that gig.