thread lock solvent

Phauxtoe

Phauxtoe

.338 Win Mag
Messages
7,002
Reaction score
6,552
Location
Rockland
Hey i removed a scope from a S&W 29 and there seems to be a small lump of what i think is Loctite in the rear sight channel. I dont want to scrape it off and damage the blueing, what will dissolve that stuff?

any ideas?

thanks
 
Calculon

Calculon

.308 Win
Messages
4,548
Reaction score
8,878
Location
Dutchess
+1 on acetone. I melted a pair of eyeglass frames by leaving them in a couple minutes while trying to repair broken hinge. Plastic softened and never regained its rigidity.
 
Acer-m14

Acer-m14

20×102mm Vulcan
Messages
35,917
Reaction score
38,484
Location
Livingston
someone mention MEK ..

catnip-withdraw.jpg
 
Bushmaster

Bushmaster

.308 Win
Messages
2,976
Reaction score
2,390
Location
Ontario County
S&W Fan said:
Well , red is supposed to be permanent but it will loosen up at around 300*. For that a heat gun would be ideal since on its high setting can reach 1000*
Click to expand...

YES, RED is not coming off without HIGH HEAT.... Put it on a racing clutch one time for a grass drag sled. BAD IDEA !!!!
 
Glenn B

Glenn B

.308 Win
Messages
2,727
Reaction score
2,088
Location
Bowie County, TX
I have never seen a lump of Loctite Blue nor Loctite Red and cannot even imagine one forming. Are you sure that is of what that lump is made. As it says on the Loctite website:

The product cures when confined in the absence of air between close fitting metal surfaces.
Click to expand...

Makes me wonder how a lump of it would form.

Of course, it could be some other Loctite product if indeed it is Loctite at all. Maybe something like Loctite Epoxy Weld Bonding Compound (dries to metallic gray in color).

Removal of Loctite Blue (if that is the substance in question) can be accomplished per the instructions found on the Loctite website:

Cleanup
Clean adhesive residue immediately with a damp cloth. Cured product can be removed with a combination of soaking in methylene chloride and mechanical abrasion such as a wire brush.

For disassembly, shear with standard hand tools and remove with methylene chloride. In rare instances where hand tools do not work because of excessive engagement length, apply localized heat to nut or bolt to approximately 482°F (250°C). Disassemble while hot.
Click to expand...

If you use a metal wire brush on blued steel, I suggest you only use a brass brush not a steel brush.
 
Last edited:
Glenn B

Glenn B

.308 Win
Messages
2,727
Reaction score
2,088
Location
Bowie County, TX
Phauxtoe said:
I don't know! I know my dad loved the stuff!
Click to expand...
How can you not know what is the color, you said you see a lump of it! So, what color is the lump? If it is Red or Blue Loctite, it should be red or blue respectively as it points out on the Loctite website:

Reference Loctite Red:
Color When Dry: Red
Click to expand...

Reference the Loctite Blue:
Color When Dry: Blue
Click to expand...

As I said above, their epoxy compound dries metallic gray.
 
spat

spat

.700 Nitro Express
Messages
29,931
Reaction score
63,107
Location
Formerly Geneseo, NY. Now free in AZ
Glenn B said:
I have never seen a lump of Loctite Blue nor Loctite Red and cannot even imagine one forming. Are you sure that is of what that lump is made. As it says on the Loctite website:



Makes me wonder how a lump of it would form.

Of course, it could be some other Loctite product if indeed it is Loctite at all. Maybe something like Loctite Epoxy Weld Bonding Compound (dries to metallic gray in color).

Removal of Loctite Blue (if that is the substance in question) can be accomplished per the instructions found on the Loctite website:



If you use a metal wire brush on blued steel, I suggest you only use a brass brush not a steel brush.
Click to expand...
Loctite will dry to a solid mass, even though it won't cure while exposed to oxygen.

Bolts are frequently shipped with dried Loctite on them that will cure on earth they are installed.

It's also possible for cured Loctite to break off a bolt after it cured in a confined space. It is an anaerobic sealant which means that oxygen suppresses it's ability to cure, but it can still dry out.

It also generally requires metal to cure (so it can't be used if both threads are plastic for instance, and doesn't cure in the tube, even though it is sealed with very little air )
 
Glenn B

Glenn B

.308 Win
Messages
2,727
Reaction score
2,088
Location
Bowie County, TX
Yes it is made to cure between closely fitted pieces of metal in the absence of air. While it may dry out, I have never seen a lumps of it form. I have been using it for over 40 years now. Maybe a lump can form but it would be quite unusual or so I would think. Regardless, when it dries, it dries to its named color if it is one of the two thread lockers I mentioned. If it is either of those the color should be evident. I tend to doubt it is a Loctite thread locker because the OP said he does not know the color.
 
spat

spat

.700 Nitro Express
Messages
29,931
Reaction score
63,107
Location
Formerly Geneseo, NY. Now free in AZ
Glenn B said:
Yes it is made to cure between closely fitted pieces of metal in the absence of air. While it may dry out, I have never seen a lumps of it form. I have been using it for over 40 years now. Maybe a lump can form but it would be quite unusual or so I would think. Regardless, when it dries, it dries to its named color if it is one of the two thread lockers I mentioned. If it is either of those the color should be evident. I tend to doubt it is a Loctite thread locker because the OP said he does not know the color.
Click to expand...
I have seen lumps form around the cap on old tubes of the stuff. Pretty sure it was just spillage that dried out.
 
camper4lyfe

camper4lyfe

.308 Win
Messages
4,526
Reaction score
6,799
Location
Avon, NY
spat said:
There's stronger stuff than MEK, Dichloromethane will dissolve just about anything plasticy, including epoxies and other "solvent resistant" stuff.
Click to expand...

That's nasty stuff. We're required to use it in a fume hood and wear all sorts of PPE at work when I use it.

That said, it IS in some spray brake cleaners.
 
Day444

Day444

.223 Rem
Messages
1,075
Reaction score
980
Location
Town of Newburgh
Check any kind of solvent you might use on something "blued" that you wouldn't mind ruining.
Even a brass brush is going to leave some scratch marks in the bluing. Carefully use a dental pick or small needle nose pl-yer to get some of the gunk off. Loctite remains soft for a long time it may just peel or pull off. Good luck with what ever you try.
 
Mosinitis

Mosinitis

.338 Win Mag
Messages
8,461
Reaction score
7,870
Location
NY state
Heat is a go to method to break loctite bond. Be careful not to overheat the metal. I would try one of those miniature torches.
Loctite will resist most solvents, it's designed too.
 
Last edited:
Uzi

Uzi

.308 Win
Messages
3,054
Reaction score
3,471
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Can't you just use a toothbrush and scrub it out with some wd-40 or something? Why is this blowing up into something sophisticated? Worst case scenario you wear a little bit of the blueing away, you can get a cheap birchwood casey kit and reblue some of that section in 30 seconds, or just get their blueing pen for $8 shipped and spend 5 seconds rebluing a small section. Very simple stuff to be honest.
 
Glenn B

Glenn B

.308 Win
Messages
2,727
Reaction score
2,088
Location
Bowie County, TX
Day444 said:
Check any kind of solvent you might use on something "blued" that you wouldn't mind ruining.
Even a brass brush is going to leave some scratch marks in the bluing. Carefully use a dental pick or small needle nose pl-yer to get some of the gunk off. Loctite remains soft for a long time it may just peel or pull off. Good luck with what ever you try.
Click to expand...
I have been using brass brushes on steel firearms and steel parts for over 4 decades. Never once has the brass brush scratched the metal (including the bluing), if the metal was in good condition (rusted metal is another story) as far I could ever see (even when I had 20/15 vision in both eyes once upon a time). What a brass brush usually does is it leaves behind a scratched looking area that is nothing more than the brass that wore off of the brush when it came in contact with the harder steel. It wipes off easily with most gun cleaning solvents. That has been my experience anyway.
 
Last edited:
Day444

Day444

.223 Rem
Messages
1,075
Reaction score
980
Location
Town of Newburgh
Glenn B said:
I have been using brass brushes on steel firearms and steel parts for over 4 decades. Never once has the brass brush scratched the metal (including the bluing), if the metal was in good condition (rusted metal is another story) as far I could ever see (even when I had 20/15 vision in both eyes once upon a time). What a brass brush usually does is it leaves behind a scratched looking area that is nothing more than the brass that wore off of the brush when it came in contact with the harder steel. It wipes off easily with most gun cleaning solvents. That has been my experience anyway.
Click to expand...

There is a lot of truth in what you have written. But a brass brush works because of abrasion, it sacrifices itself in order to accomplish this. Thus leaving the bass residue you speak of. You can scratch metal with a brass brush, might take a while and depending on the bluing job may or may not effect it.
I've done a fair share of metal work and polishing metal, hell even a paper towel will scratch.
 
Basik

Basik

.38 Special
Messages
32
Reaction score
25
Location
USA
So, what have you done eventually? And what is the result of your experiments?
 
Phauxtoe

Phauxtoe

.338 Win Mag
Messages
7,002
Reaction score
6,552
Location
Rockland
My Actions have been to Observe and ignore the handgun!
(have not had time to get back to it, but plan on trying heat first.)

someone mentioned an old soldering iron, might try that and then a heat gun.
 
S&W Fan

S&W Fan

.475 A&M Magnum
Messages
14,934
Reaction score
22,290
Location
Somewhere in the sands of time
Phauxtoe said:
My Actions have been to Observe and ignore the handgun!
(have not had time to get back to it, but plan on trying heat first.)

someone mentioned an old soldering iron, might try that and then a heat gun.
Click to expand...
I highly doubt that you will get anywhere near the temp. necessary to melt any of the loctite colors with a soldering iron. Typically solder is 50/50 Sn Pb which has a very low melting point of around 188*, soldering irons probably get to around 200* - 206* F
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top