Loctite strength

[JimBear 1371]

I never thought of actually looking closely at the bottle of loctite that I bought and we've had for a year or more ... until this evening.

Corally, okay, fine. But what strength? Hmm ... "Soft, 100"

Suddenly my RC life passed by in slow motion - all the "Dad, the pinion is loose again, Dad, the wheel fell off" and so on.

Would 200 strength be better, and how does this relate to the Tamiya 54032 gel thread lock?

 

 

 

[svenb 4677]

There's so many types of Loctite is bemusing 

For RC I'd say the softest/weakest version would be fine

I think Loctite 222 is low strength but if I were you I'd just go with the massively expensive Tamiya gel thread lock

[JimBear 1371]

14 minutes ago, svenb said:

There's so many types of Loctite is bemusing

Yep, it's a jungle out there, really. I guess I'll go with the Tamiya gel first. If that doesn't work, I'll get on with the Corally Lock-it 200.

[skom25 2622]

Tamiya gel is awful and does not work.

Buy Blue Loctite. I do not remember number. It is middle strength.

Remember to clean parts from grease and oil before you use it.

[Hypoxic 812]

I used the green stuff once on a couple my rc aircraft pinions that ran reduction gear boxes. No worries about strengths there because you’ll never get it back off! He-he… seriously though, avoid the green stuff.

[skom25 2622]

https://tameson.com/pages/loctite-color-comparison

[Twinfan 2454]

I started by using purple Loctite 222 (liquid form) on pinions etc as I had a bottle from using it to secure watch bracelet screws.  However, due to it being liquid, it seeped around the bore hole of the pinion forming a strong bond across a larger surface area than I intended.  This made removing pinions quite a task.

Digging around in the garage a while back I found a stick of Loctite 248 that I used on my motorbikes back in the day, which is what I now use on my RC cars  I use a small amount on screws/bolts applied with a cocktail stick and it works great.

https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/ph/en/product/threadlockers/loctite_2480.html

 

[chris.alex 1936]

About ten years ago I bought the blue Tamiya liquid thread lock (87004) and I am still very happy with it. Apart from the leaking cap it is really good stuff. Strong enough and not expensive. 

I had previously had bad experiences with the red Tamiya gel (54032). It was far too strong and also kind of crumbly when you unscrewed the screw.

[ADRay1000 744]

I use the green stuff to repair the Frog front uprights (if you know, you know 😉)

[OnTheTrail 1417]

Just as a quick public service announcement, ( ) anytime thread lock gives you trouble removing the screw, try a little heat.  If you risk too much heat from a pencil butane torch, try resting the tip of a soldering iron on the outside of the part (i.e. the part you want to expand).   This trick uses both thermal expansion of the outer metal as well as the heat helping to loosen the bond of the thread lock.  

[BuggyDad 6588]

I'd like to find a threadlock that adds a bit of friction but can be repeatedly moved. It's not necessarily an RC thing but I have some adjustment screws on, for example, bike brake levers, that come with a bright blue Threadlock on a part that's designed to be adjusted to preference. Just enough to keep it from moving when you don't want it to, but is the same on second fitting as first. I wonder what they use for that? 

[guggles 367]

Blue- if it still comes out add a little more goo.

Green- its a little more mean and might put up a fight if you know what I mean.

Red- its never going to be undone again.

 

11 hours ago, BuggyDad said:

I'd like to find a threadlock that adds a bit of friction but can be repeatedly moved. It's not necessarily an RC thing but I have some adjustment screws on, for example, bike brake levers, that come with a bright blue Threadlock on a part that's designed to be adjusted to preference. Just enough to keep it from moving when you don't want it to, but is the same on second fitting as first. I wonder what they use for that? 

Nyloc hardware. 

[martinjpayne 308]

Purple (Loctite 222) because it is the one the manufacturer designed for the small size fixings we use on RC cars (up to 6.35mm).

[JimBear 1371]

Thanks for all the answers and ideas ... I am going to try the Corally Lock-it 200 version (medium) for a start and see where I end up.

What seems good about the Tamiya gel is that is easier to apply (toothpick). I know that it leaves some residue on the screws but Socky was done (not by me) with this and nothing has fallen off this far (that I didn't unscrew, undoing the thread lock).

If that fails, I'll source some Loctite 222.

[guggles 367]

One thing to keep in mind too is thread lock will attach many of the older plastics, so best to be carful when working one some rare or vintage kit. I had part of my vintage wild one chassis crumble in my hands because I used some thread lock on a machine nut next to the plastic

[Otis311 421]

On 2/3/2025 at 5:16 PM, BuggyDad said:

I'd like to find a threadlock that adds a bit of friction but can be repeatedly moved. It's not necessarily an RC thing but I have some adjustment screws on, for example, bike brake levers, that come with a bright blue Threadlock on a part that's designed to be adjusted to preference. Just enough to keep it from moving when you don't want it to, but is the same on second fitting as first. I wonder what they use for that? 

I know what you mean. The pre applied stuff on threads offers just enough resistance to prevent movement. A lot of times when I remove a screw that had blue loctite on it will have the dried residual and it is enough to clog up the threads and hold when reassembled. I don't know if the thread lock "crayons" offer a similar solution.

Anyway, I have been using Pacer Technology Z-42 Blue Thread Locker forever and it has served me well.

[JimBear 1371]

9 hours ago, guggles said:

One thing to keep in mind too is thread lock will attach many of the older plastics, so best to be carful when working one some rare or vintage kit.

Yeah, that's a good reminder. In this case, it is used in two places: grub screw on pinion and rear wheel nuts on the CW-01 since the wheels tend to fall off. No idea if the hop-up aluminium plate part would be a solution to that particular issue.

[JimBear 1371]

In the end I got the Corally Lock-it 200 and so far so good ...