Loctite Thread Locker Expiration

newq · Oct 12, 2014

Something I never took into account and it is looking more likely like I should have is this:

Thread locker (loc-tite) brand has an expiration date! I have some blue and some red loc-tite. I picked both up some time ago and installed the top rail on my 22/45 because they kept coming loose. After my first outing I figured it would be a good idea to loc-tite them after they shook loose again. To my surprise they still came loose after loc-titing.

I putzed around with them being sure to meticulously clean the thread inside and out before I re-applied the thread locker and I found a dab of red loc-tite on the sight rail. It was still wet.....

Put a drop of each type on the top of a coffee cup on my desk.... 24 hours later its still goopey. I guess thread locker does indeed go bad. Who'da thunk ?!

mopar92 · Oct 12, 2014

We have a coupla bottles at the shop decades old. No issues. But it could happen I guess.

smdub · Oct 12, 2014

Loctite won't harden in the presence of oxygen. The bottle is specially designed to breathe. So a drop won't harden. You have to squeeze it very thin.
I gave some bottles of decade+ old stuff. Still works fine. Though I prefer the chapstick type applicatirs now.

outrider58 · Oct 12, 2014

Be sure and shake it up first.

swinokur · Oct 12, 2014

smdub said:
Loctite won't harden in the presence of oxygen. The bottle is specially designed to breathe. So a drop won't harden. You have to squeeze it very thin.
I gave some bottles of decade+ old stuff. Still works fine. Though I prefer the chapstick type applicatirs now.

^^^^^^^^^

THIS

newq · Oct 12, 2014

Chapstick kind?

clandestine · Oct 12, 2014

Add heat, it will setup.

reddobie0 · Oct 12, 2014

Great something else with an expiration that people will throw away when it is still good. I have some that's probably 15 years old and used it on my motorcycle recently. It looked good to me.

Pinecone · Oct 12, 2014

I am not sure the old stuff is the same as the new stuff.

I have my original bottle of Loctite, purchased when I built my first car. About 40 years ago. Still works.

I have some newer stuff, with expiration date. Once it gets old, it doesn't seem to work as well.

rdc · Oct 12, 2014

I have a large bottle of Blue Loctite that I've had since about 2001. Still seems to work fine.

newq · Oct 12, 2014

clandestine said:
Add heat, it will setup.

Hey thanks for the tip, I never knew.

newq · Oct 12, 2014

My father had a 4oz bottle that we had my entire life as I grew up. I never thought the stuff would go bad. I was shocked when the stuff i had would not set up. I guess anything is possible.

Note worthy, loctite is an anaerobic adhesive, it will not harden in the presence of air. My coffee cup test will not work unless you place a piece of plastic over it or similar.

newq · Oct 12, 2014

For those interested if you can claim a business use for it loctite will send you a sample of chapstick loctite for free.

I work for acme inc my business address is my home address and I plan to use it on firearms.

http://www.henkelna.com/industrial/loctite-threadlocking-sticks-sample-request-22695.htm

rdc · Oct 12, 2014

Might want to pay attention to how and where you're storing it. I found out the hard way that a lot of my gasket makers and thread lockers didn't like the massive temp swings in my garage (really F'n hot to really F'n cold)

iH8DemLibz · Oct 12, 2014

For small screws, Loctite 222 Purple works well.

BigDaddy · Oct 12, 2014

One of the nationally known BMW MC airhead mechanics swears that the expiration date is important. If your carb butterfly screws loosen and and fall into the piston/combustion chamber, it costs a lot more than a new bottle. If you have to remount your scope, maybe it cost you a shot at a deer, but not big bucks.

I recently took off the scope mounts on a rifle that has been sitting in my gun safe for 14 years. The screws weren't loose, but they weren't tight either. You can't really check the mounting of the bases unless you pull the scope.

I used a thread locker, Permatex brand is common in auto stores around here, I don't know if it was Loctite or Permatex.
14 years ago I didn't pay attention to use by dates.

My experience, which is, admittedly, ill defined, is only one data point. Other testimonial of using the same bottle for years or decades are other data points, but the problem is one of small samples. We can't really say anything about the shelf life of loctite based on a dozen answers of people who used it in various applications with various torques and no common measure of effectiveness.

BigDaddy · Oct 12, 2014

newq said:
For those interested if you can claim a business use for it loctite will send you a sample of chapstick loctite for free.

Chapstick loctite? I thought you were bs'ing us :party29:

Like kissing someone who also wears braces.

newq · Oct 12, 2014

BigDaddy said:
Chapstick loctite? I thought you were bs'ing us Like kissing someone who also wears braces.

Hehehe Glad you liked it. I didn't know until today that they offered "solid" stick type Loctite. I signed up for the free sample. Heck it'll last me 5 years.

sgt23preston · Oct 12, 2014

Loctite Thread Locker is specifically to harden in the absence of Oxygen...

I doubt that it has gone bad...

Try it on a 1/4 - 20 nut & bolt...

Let it sit overnight, then...

Put the nut in a vice see how much force it takes to break the screw loose.....

BigDaddy · Oct 12, 2014

sgt23preston said:
I doubt that it has gone bad...

We were never told how old it is. On their website the shelf life of unopened blue loctite is 2 years.
If you get a prescription filled from your doctor the shelf life is always 1 year.

Is there any science between either. On the later no. In this litigious society, probably not for the former either.

Loctite Thread Locker Expiration

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