The tips you show are great for large bolts or on items that can take a good amount of heat. As a competition shooter who uses an optic mounted to a side mount, using that type of heat on the small mount screws can screw things up on my pistol very quickly! In order to prevent any damage to my pistols, I use a butane powered soldering iron to remove those small (usually 5/40 thread) to heat up the screws and destroy the red loctite. Look for a small amount of smoke from around the screw head, that indicates the thread locker has been compromised, allowing for easy removal of the screw.
When you were using the hair dryer I was thinking: "Why doesn’t he use a heat gun?" And with the lighter: "Why not a prop torch?". This shows why it is important to watch a video to the end before putting up embarrassing comments! I want to change an acme thread in a vice which I don’t want to crack or have to repaint so it’s the gun for me. Thank you for an incredibly useful video.
Thank you! The heat gun worked. I was trying to remove the bolts holding the spider arm assembly on an LG frint load washer, WD40 and and PB blaster did not work. Noticed red color on the end threads of the exposed bolts. Your method works! Thank you!
Yeah ! It works perfect, I use 100 watts soldering iron for 1 /2 minutes on a M3 screw and it does not damage close plastic, perfect for RC having bad china loctite clone !
Quite interesting and glad to know these significant distinctions.I intend to use heat for the (action) assembly in building a 10/22 long rifle.I ventured the the thought of the heating affect on new parts,so decided that a heat gun would be better than a torch for aesthetic reasons.Your video confirms my belief for preserving metal parts.Thank you for producing this informative analysis---BIG KUDOS!👍
The heat gun method worked a treat on my caliper mount bolts which were heavily rounded and threadlocked/corroded in, i used a lump hammer and cold chisel to break them loose, then a grip-tite 18mm socket to remove. Thanks matey!
Thank you very much. Couldnt unscrew mirror bolt from my motorcycle. I needed the original adapters to asembly new led mirrors. Couldnt unscrew them, although i am very strong. Got them to engineering and still didnt manage to unscrew. After your video i tried on water boiling butane torch. Unscrewd them after 2 minutes each one. Even a kid could unscrew them.
In my experience, most of the time you need to remove a red locktite bolt (I am talking bolts like in automotive work not screws like in gunsmithing) you only have access to the bolt head. A torch works well but you do have to worry about flamables in your work area. My favorite tool now is an inductive heater. No open flame and seems to be a little faster too. It has never failed me.
I just watched a video where the guy used chlorinated brake cleaner you could buy at Napa. Easy peasy japanesey, just dissolved the red loctite. That is going to save so much work for me and not ruining guns.
Have you used it on AR lowers? I have some lowers that have their buffer tubes secured with loctite and I couldn't get the loctite to dissolve even after 15 minutes of heat from a heat gun.
just a little thank you... i tried the hairdryer, and it worked... i just set it up, let it heat for 10 minutes, and the screws came out... they were stuck fast, patients was the virtue, but thanks for the vid it helped...
Its so the bolt doesnt move - not to lock it in forever... be careful which clowns you consult to service your vehicle.. people have been known to dip bolts in this instead of covering one or two threads
very useful video...I have stud conversions on my car and used red threadlock, tried without any heat and yup, just snapped the head clean off my 5mm allen socket. Best I can do at home is a heat gun but I think I might just get a garage to do it for me.
You know who your friend and who your enemy is by the loctite color they use. Red loctite is the devil's tears, it's taken weeks off of a project thanks to some a holes.
you got that right, after adding red loctite to a crank bolt, it took me about 5 hours of so trying to take it out, i made a special tool to hold the crank, and used a 1/2 breaker bar, and also heated the bolt to 500 degrees, still no go. tried several 1/2 impact, still no go. i ended up taking the condenser out to use a milwaukee m18 1/2 drive gun (about a 1000 lbs of torque) and heated the bolt to about 650 degrees. i took it out finally....
Believe it or not, non chlorinated brake cleaner will melt the red loc tite, it takes a few hours for it to work, but it works. Especially where you can't use any heat source. Just be careful the brake kleen might harm painted or plastic surfaces.
@@neilarellano8470 I do not know if it would damage aluminum or not. It would take any shine off polished aluminum, maybe afterwards clean any remaining residue off. It will damage any painted surface and any plastic, so be very careful there.
@@kyletaylor9980 Sure would. Anywhere there's a thread, it can be used. I'd probably clean the brake cleaner off with some Isopropyl alcohol to not risk paint damage, but I haven't had any problems with it yet.
Cool man will definitely give this a go im on the line of stripping screw heads and tearing up my screwdrivers and acetone seems to be evap before it gets a chance to to soak in thanks for the advice i appreciate it
When I removed a spark plug after repaired thread insert, the threaded insert came out with the plug. I put red locktite on it and tightened the spark plug with threaded insert attatched. I’ll wait 24 hours and hopefully be able to remove just the spark plug while the insert stays. My question is will the heat of the engine degrade the locktite or say you heat up the locktite red to the point of removability but don’t remove, will it return to original strength when cooled? Thanks for the video! -and hope you made it through my long winded question.
Boiling in water is not enough, is it? This method would be the safest when applying heat in a hardened structure, as especially the torch would ruin the hardening.
I use red on everything and never have a problem backing stuff back out. Just use a touch of it, its enough to keep things secure but still allows you to remove it if need be. No need for blue and no need for heavy applications.
It's always a good idea to read the instructions. They say to disable the hold of red loctite use heat at 500 degrees for a few minutes. Using a breaker bar and socket is also a good idea but not really necessary with the 500 heat application. Everyone can save lots of time by going to manufacturers site where you will find what you need. There's no need to watch people on you tube doing unnecessary and frequently stupid things. If you read about the product you will also find that it holds up to approximately 25 ft lbs of torque which really is not much at all. Use a half inch ratchet or breaker bar and it will come off. The problem is when you use it on a small fastener that will break with the torque needed to break the Loctite loose.
The torch or heat gun should work providing whatever you're working with doesn't have plastic or other flammable parts on it. The heat will transfer through the head of the bolt.
Don't these need a load for the loctite to set properly? My understanding is that the squeezing from the load on the thread that makes loctite work. I'm 95% sure loctite doesn't fully work on loose threads.
Liter / propan torch Nice I made a mess. For 6 month now my shimano crankset it loctited into my bottom.bracket in my roadbike. I know that was dumb long term but i was was thinking to have it nice and snug in there. Anyways i need to get. Crank off. I have attempted before. But this time i may invest in a torch and compromis the bearings if needed but i need that loctite to melt so i can knock out the crankset from bike actually ONLY BECAUSE i wanna swap new bearings so i dc if their ruined Thank youuuu
Mmm not sure how that's possible from the chemistry stand point, as it pretty much turns to ash and vapor if you heat it high enough. I mean sure, if you heat to so much it welds the metal... 😆
Nah, it's just acrylic. The "hi-temp" loctite basically disintegrates into a flaky goo at 500F. It's done for and it has 0 strength at that point. If you're using something like a butane or a propane torch, you're going to be like getting 2500 to 3600 degrees, and if you're being a moron, you could very well lockup your stuff by basically (badly) welding the metals together.
Only use BLUE loctite on scope mounts!! I hope to God you didn't use red loctite on your scope mounts... If you heat the scope mount to get the bolts out, you'll destroy the scope... And your mounts.
The only way I can think of to save a scope that has been mounted with red loctite is to wet some rags and wrap them around the scope as you heat the mount. But even then it would be sketchy as hell, and there would be no guarantee of saving the scope. So yes if you value the optic mounting it with red loctite IS permanent.
If it's a bolt it's probably surrounded by more metal...yup, a heat sink. Loctite makes a solvent that would probably work. If you don't have that I'd go with the torch right off the bat. Interesting demo though.
I think they make an electric device to just touch it to the bolt and it will heat up the bolt without heating the area around the bolt where there might be plastic parts you don't want to melt
Yes, those inductive heaters look really handy. Seems would be great for header, exhaust manifold, bolts and other applications as well. I actually bought the parts to make one, though haven't played around with yet since really not the need until now. Of course isn't drought now and I'm working outside.
I'm surprised you even tried that soldering iron. With that tiny bit and low power it won't get any significant heat into the bolt. You would need a higher power iron with bigger bit with solder on it to improve heat flow, but even then, it would take forever. A hair drier shouldn't go over a temperature that would injure a person (unless held in one position), so unlikely to work. I have a heat gun which gets steel to red heat, which would obviously work, depending on the size of the bolt etc.. Red Locktite has a defined plastic transition temperature of 260C once cured. This temperature must be achieved to undo red Loctited threaded items. An infrared camera would have told you the temp of the bolt and been useful info.
you are holding the nut in a metal vice which pulls heat. and you are heating the bolt up away from the nut. its no wonder that nothing worked until you heated up the nut itself with the lighter or heat gun pointed at the actual nut.
To be realistic you must place the bolt in a metal plate so you cannot warm the bottom of the bolt. Better yet tell everyone the loctite rule: Use red and your dead (it won't come off). Use the blue loctite and you'll be okay removing it later!
some idiot used this red locktite stuff on my vehicles rear end which leaks and can't use a torch because of my gas tank is blocking access to the bolts.
Sammy Sam It's a year after your post on someone using permanent loctite on your differential bolts so the question is, how did you get the bolts out to do the repair?
Dealership must put that RED Loctite on my plugs (oil, transmission, differential) because those things are almost impossible to take off.....hahahhahaaa...everyone say they are over-torqued....well, maybe that too....hahahhaa
The tips you show are great for large bolts or on items that can take a good amount of heat. As a competition shooter who uses an optic mounted to a side mount, using that type of heat on the small mount screws can screw things up on my pistol very quickly! In order to prevent any damage to my pistols, I use a butane powered soldering iron to remove those small (usually 5/40 thread) to heat up the screws and destroy the red loctite. Look for a small amount of smoke from around the screw head, that indicates the thread locker has been compromised, allowing for easy removal of the screw.
Gotta remove an rmr from its mount and I got too enthusiastic with the loctite. Gonna try this out to see if i can get that 2nd screw out.
Update, I melted my rmr and had to send it back to Trijicon.
@@0dirtycrap. I just used 262 to install my holosun. I think I'm screwed
Won't it melt the optic? I applied 262 18 hours ago to my reddit, and I can't get it to budge
thx, you saved a lot of people a lot of time by eliminating trial & error...more time for daydreaming!
When you were using the hair dryer I was thinking: "Why doesn’t he use a heat gun?" And with the lighter: "Why not a prop torch?". This shows why it is important to watch a video to the end before putting up embarrassing comments! I want to change an acme thread in a vice which I don’t want to crack or have to repaint so it’s the gun for me.
Thank you for an incredibly useful video.
Good show! This gives me an idea of what this red Loctite behaves like.
Thank you! The heat gun worked. I was trying to remove the bolts holding the spider arm assembly on an LG frint load washer, WD40 and and PB blaster did not work. Noticed red color on the end threads of the exposed bolts. Your method works! Thank you!
Using a soldering iron for smal screws. And a bigger tip helps. Rc things. Heatgun( not hairdryer) is more useful with larger type bolts.
Yeah ! It works perfect, I use 100 watts soldering iron for 1 /2 minutes on a M3 screw and it does not damage close plastic, perfect for RC having bad china loctite clone !
Quite interesting and glad to know these significant distinctions.I intend to use heat for the (action) assembly in building a 10/22 long rifle.I ventured the the thought of the heating affect on new parts,so decided that a heat gun would be better than a torch for aesthetic reasons.Your video confirms my belief for preserving metal parts.Thank you for producing this informative analysis---BIG KUDOS!👍
The heat gun method worked a treat on my caliper mount bolts which were heavily rounded and threadlocked/corroded in, i used a lump hammer and cold chisel to break them loose, then a grip-tite 18mm socket to remove. Thanks matey!
Thank you for the tutorial. After watching I grabbed my heat gun and was able to get my stuck bolts out.
Good to have an idea about the effectiveness of the diverse methods, thanks a lot!
Thank you very much. Couldnt unscrew mirror bolt from my motorcycle. I needed the original adapters to asembly new led mirrors. Couldnt unscrew them, although i am very strong. Got them to engineering and still didnt manage to unscrew. After your video i tried on water boiling butane torch. Unscrewd them after 2 minutes each one. Even a kid could unscrew them.
In my experience, most of the time you need to remove a red locktite bolt (I am talking bolts like in automotive work not screws like in gunsmithing) you only have access to the bolt head. A torch works well but you do have to worry about flamables in your work area. My favorite tool now is an inductive heater. No open flame and seems to be a little faster too. It has never failed me.
This is good to know thank you. I have to loosen the red loctite on my Remington model 750 so I can get in the receiver and replace my dust cover.
I just tried with a torch and it helped a lot, thanks man!!!
Excellent public service video!! Thanks!
I just watched a video where the guy used chlorinated brake cleaner you could buy at Napa. Easy peasy japanesey, just dissolved the red loctite. That is going to save so much work for me and not ruining guns.
Have you used it on AR lowers? I have some lowers that have their buffer tubes secured with loctite and I couldn't get the loctite to dissolve even after 15 minutes of heat from a heat gun.
Quick, smart and to the point. Thank you.
just a little thank you... i tried the hairdryer, and it worked... i just set it up, let it heat for 10 minutes, and the screws came out... they were stuck fast, patients was the virtue, but thanks for the vid it helped...
red loctite softens at 450 degrees F - seems improbable a hair-drier will work if the loctite is properly applied.
The heat gun worked great to remove the blade bolt on my miter saw. Many thanks.
Great Information. I thread locked my Shotgun stock. Time to remove it. 💪
The method with the soldering iron will probably work on smaller screws (less mass = better heat transfer)
thanks for this video. I was told you need a impact drill to break lock tight...
Its so the bolt doesnt move - not to lock it in forever... be careful which clowns you consult to service your vehicle.. people have been known to dip bolts in this instead of covering one or two threads
very useful video...I have stud conversions on my car and used red threadlock, tried without any heat and yup, just snapped the head clean off my 5mm allen socket. Best I can do at home is a heat gun but I think I might just get a garage to do it for me.
You know who your friend and who your enemy is by the loctite color they use. Red loctite is the devil's tears, it's taken weeks off of a project thanks to some a holes.
Lol
Red loctite does belong on things like steering mount bolts etc.
Chlorinated brake cleaner
you got that right, after adding red loctite to a crank bolt, it took me about 5 hours of so trying to take it out, i made a special tool to hold the crank, and used a 1/2 breaker bar, and also heated the bolt to 500 degrees, still no go. tried several 1/2 impact, still no go. i ended up taking the condenser out to use a milwaukee m18 1/2 drive gun (about a 1000 lbs of torque) and heated the bolt to about 650 degrees. i took it out finally....
i used a torch, heat inductor, and finally went to acetylene, lol-that was an expensive bolt!
Believe it or not, non chlorinated brake cleaner will melt the red loc tite, it takes a few hours for it to work, but it works. Especially where you can't use any heat source. Just be careful the brake kleen might harm painted or plastic surfaces.
Do you know if it would damage aluminum?
@@neilarellano8470 I do not know if it would damage aluminum or not. It would take any shine off polished aluminum, maybe afterwards clean any remaining residue off. It will damage any painted surface and any plastic, so be very careful there.
Your video is very helpful. I loss my browning buckmark rail screw in 2 minutes with heat gun
Thank You sir! I have to remove sliders off my Sportbike and the bolts are red locktited on.
Soldering iron works if you don’t have a giant heat sink (vise) attached to the bolt. Just tried it
Heat gun worked for me, many thanks
You still have that clock in 2015. I used it in my childhood.
Thanks. If the nut is a little loose thread, which is better to fix it, if rethreading is not possible: blue or red threadlock?
Thank you.
Nicely presented,Thank You.
Thx this great. Now how to we remove the locker from the threads so we can reuse the bolts?
Loctite makes a solvent (Loctite 768) for cleaning red and blue locker from bolts.
Wire brush
use CRC Brakleen. That stuff just melts away the Loctite, but doesn't harm surrounding metal.
Would this work on scope mounts?
@@kyletaylor9980 Sure would. Anywhere there's a thread, it can be used. I'd probably clean the brake cleaner off with some Isopropyl alcohol to not risk paint damage, but I haven't had any problems with it yet.
Cool man will definitely give this a go im on the line of stripping screw heads and tearing up my screwdrivers and acetone seems to be evap before it gets a chance to to soak in thanks for the advice i appreciate it
Great video!
When I removed a spark plug after repaired thread insert, the threaded insert came out with the plug. I put red locktite on it and tightened the spark plug with threaded insert attatched. I’ll wait 24 hours and hopefully be able to remove just the spark plug while the insert stays. My question is will the heat of the engine degrade the locktite or say you heat up the locktite red to the point of removability but don’t remove, will it return to original strength when cooled? Thanks for the video! -and hope you made it through my long winded question.
Boiling in water is not enough, is it? This method would be the safest when applying heat in a hardened structure, as especially the torch would ruin the hardening.
I use red on everything and never have a problem backing stuff back out. Just use a touch of it, its enough to keep things secure but still allows you to remove it if need be. No need for blue and no need for heavy applications.
excellent video.... one could use a 14 inch or over-wrench for more leverage also.
It's always a good idea to read the instructions. They say to disable the hold of red loctite use heat at 500 degrees for a few minutes. Using a breaker bar and socket is also a good idea but not really necessary with the 500 heat application.
Everyone can save lots of time by going to manufacturers site where you will find what you need. There's no need to watch people on you tube doing unnecessary and frequently stupid things.
If you read about the product you will also find that it holds up to approximately 25 ft lbs of torque which really is not much at all. Use a half inch ratchet or breaker bar and it will come off.
The problem is when you use it on a small fastener that will break with the torque needed to break the Loctite loose.
Always the best bet to RTFM...
Thanks for this.
vry informative.
thank you
does the blackening of the bolt mean the bolt is actually damaged?
thanks for the video. Does this work pretty well if you just have the head of the bolt showing? i have a long bolt just the hex head to work with.
The torch or heat gun should work providing whatever you're working with doesn't have plastic or other flammable parts on it. The heat will transfer through the head of the bolt.
Don't these need a load for the loctite to set properly? My understanding is that the squeezing from the load on the thread that makes loctite work. I'm 95% sure loctite doesn't fully work on loose threads.
Liter / propan torch
Nice
I made a mess. For 6 month now my shimano crankset it loctited into my bottom.bracket in my roadbike. I know that was dumb long term but i was was thinking to have it nice and snug in there. Anyways i need to get. Crank off. I have attempted before. But this time i may invest in a torch and compromis the bearings if needed but i need that loctite to melt so i can knock out the crankset from bike actually ONLY BECAUSE i wanna swap new bearings so i dc if their ruined
Thank youuuu
Pretty good video dude!
Is it safe to use a heat gun on an inner tie rod that's stuck? Will it ignite any oil or grade around the tie rod?
What temperature did the heat gun get to? Are they all the same basically?
The intro got me!! Count me in!
I was told that if you overheat the red loctite will lockup and never come loose. Do you have any idea's on that. Thanks and good video
Mmm not sure how that's possible from the chemistry stand point, as it pretty much turns to ash and vapor if you heat it high enough. I mean sure, if you heat to so much it welds the metal... 😆
Nah, it's just acrylic. The "hi-temp" loctite basically disintegrates into a flaky goo at 500F. It's done for and it has 0 strength at that point. If you're using something like a butane or a propane torch, you're going to be like getting 2500 to 3600 degrees, and if you're being a moron, you could very well lockup your stuff by basically (badly) welding the metals together.
Any tips for header bolts?
Would the hair dryer work for model rc tiny nuts and bolts?
Acetone, carb or brake cleaner ??? Test these. They won't destroy the fasteners.. let us know?
I was curious if using loctite on my scope mounts would be permanent,now I see I don’t have to worry,TY.
Only use BLUE loctite on scope mounts!!
I hope to God you didn't use red loctite on your scope mounts... If you heat the scope mount to get the bolts out, you'll destroy the scope... And your mounts.
The only way I can think of to save a scope that has been mounted with red loctite is to wet some rags and wrap them around the scope as you heat the mount. But even then it would be sketchy as hell, and there would be no guarantee of saving the scope.
So yes if you value the optic mounting it with red loctite IS permanent.
Your vice is a massive heat sink.
I was going to say the same thing! Yep!
If it's a bolt it's probably surrounded by more metal...yup, a heat sink. Loctite makes a solvent that would probably work. If you don't have that I'd go with the torch right off the bat. Interesting demo though.
Does soaking in acetone overnight work?
Good to know this, but I don't think the heat would be good for getting loctited screws out of a gun slide
I use a heat gun or a cigar butane torch!
Ever try baking something to heat the thread locker?
I think they make an electric device to just touch it to the bolt and it will heat up the bolt without heating the area around the bolt where there might be plastic parts you don't want to melt
Yes, those inductive heaters look really handy. Seems would be great for header, exhaust manifold, bolts and other applications as well. I actually bought the parts to make one, though haven't played around with yet since really not the need until now. Of course isn't drought now and I'm working outside.
I wonder if a torch would work on a lock nut of a fan on a motor shaft, I don't want to ruin the motor heating the shaft
I dropped some acetone down on some blue and it seemed to work after sitting for a while.
Could you run electricity through the bolt and heat it up that way?
good video.. i was about to dunk in mineral spirits but that would have taken forever and probably never gotten deep inside.
i will try the Heat gun method tomorrow on my RC..
thanks...!
Is heat the only way?
so how do you remove the threadlocker?
Thanks the lighter method worked for me to take my pinion gear off
Hope this works on my muzzle break ill be using the heat gun
What about sheer brute strength???
WHAT IF I USED SOME ON MY CALIBER BRACKET BOLTS?
Just use an impact wrench, either battery or air operated.
That isn't going to work on torx/star screws.
I'm surprised you even tried that soldering iron. With that tiny bit and low power it won't get any significant heat into the bolt. You would need a higher power iron with bigger bit with solder on it to improve heat flow, but even then, it would take forever.
A hair drier shouldn't go over a temperature that would injure a person (unless held in one position), so unlikely to work.
I have a heat gun which gets steel to red heat, which would obviously work, depending on the size of the bolt etc..
Red Locktite has a defined plastic transition temperature of 260C once cured. This temperature must be achieved to undo red Loctited threaded items.
An infrared camera would have told you the temp of the bolt and been useful info.
try with a portable gas soldering iorn fitted with a torch head
you are holding the nut in a metal vice which pulls heat. and you are heating the bolt up away from the nut. its no wonder that nothing worked until you heated up the nut itself with the lighter or heat gun pointed at the actual nut.
To be realistic you must place the bolt in a metal plate so you cannot warm the bottom of the bolt. Better yet tell everyone the loctite rule: Use red and your dead (it won't come off). Use the blue loctite and you'll be okay removing it later!
How about a candle?
Really? Heat on smaller fasteners sure but on that 3/8, 7/16 bolt you surely can break it loose with a longer ratchet and some muscle.
Excellent
some idiot used this red locktite stuff on my vehicles rear end which leaks and can't use a torch because of my gas tank is blocking access to the bolts.
haha sorry about that.
Sammy Sam
It's a year after your post on someone using permanent loctite on your differential bolts so the question is, how did you get the bolts out to do the repair?
Now how you get a striped Allen head with red locktite lmao
Yep. When and bought a soldering iron. Didn't work.
thats completely not the type of soldering iron thy were referring you to.
Yeah now take off a wheel spacer lol I was inpatient and only had red ..and of course time has gone by and need to do my pads /rotors ..ideas
My lap top screws got put in with some red i hess the heat gun would be my best bet.
Andrew Lindley torch is better
ok how do you remove a high carbon steal m3 10 mm long screw laced with red LT from aluminum. I fucked up
....with a rounded head. I really fucked up
Dealership must put that RED Loctite on my plugs (oil, transmission, differential) because those things are almost impossible to take off.....hahahhahaaa...everyone say they are over-torqued....well, maybe that too....hahahhaa
The solder iron is use for small machine screws silly
Stove probably works too
you need to leave thread locker to sit for 24 hrs before it hardens properly
So basically if there are plastics involved you're in trouble
But Pat Goss (MotorWeek) says you have to cut it off. Yes I laughed before watching this video.
Why are you applying so much LOCTITE? Just one drop is enough to lock such a small nut.
He says why in the video.
Acetone will probably do it
no it probably won't
or better yet get a heat induction gun
Brake cleaner remove it red locite no heat needed let it soak in thread
Soldering iron? You gotta be kidding.
Lol the screw I'm tryna remove is screw over plastic which is also near a fuel tank soo...
Rip
My left ear is jelly :(