Bicycle Mechanics - How much money is a bottle of Loctite

The title says it all. I was wondering how much a bottle of loctite is and where I could get it. (Obviously LBS but anyways.

Any auto parts store will have it for just a few dollars but be aware there are different strengths. The BLUE stuff is what most people use because it allows removal of the bolt/nut fairly easily. Do not use the RED stuff. It's like glue. Use it only on bolts/nuts that you REALLY don't want coming loose. For bicycle apps, use the blue stuff. Jimmy


The title says it all. I was wondering how much a bottle of loctite is and where I could get it. (Obviously LBS but anyways.

Any auto parts store for about $1.50 to $2.25. Only use the blue on a bike.

around here locktight is like $4 for the tiny tube and $7-8 for the small bottle
[EDIT added] purple is low strength and for use up to 6mm bolts that may need removal at some point.
Blue is medium and good for steel to aluminum and small steel to steel fasteners and can be used on steel to steel as large as you will find on a bike.
Red is high strength and only for steel to steel over about [EDIT] 15mm -25mm depending on the part and conditions the only real place for it on a bike would be on the freewheel threads if your making a cheap fixed gear.
If its something that doesn't need 'locking' some silicone gasket goo A.K.A. RTV will slow/stop a loose bolt from vibrating all the way out, as it sets up into a rubber. Its cheaper too-same price much bigger tube-and can be used for gaskets/sealing stuff

Loctite strength is directly related to thread area, hence if you used "high strength"
on most bike threading, ie less than 6-8mm, the torque needed to undo it would not
be that much of a problem. The low strength stuff is usually more than adequate.
Where you get into trouble with high strength is on a stud 15-20mm in diameter
threaded 20-30mm into a block. Getting that out you would need a torch. If you used
it on your BB threads, you would have some difficulty but on 4-6mm thread diameters
it is not a big deal getting it loose. There are several versions of thread lockers, and all are rated low, medium and high strength for auto store sales, most stores having
only the low and medium strength. Loctite is just one brand. Threads should be degreased before threadlocker
is used. Steve

I need to correct my last post.
Purple is low strength and recomended by permatex* for bolts under 1/4 inch, blue is medium and for most other stuff. The red actually comes in high strength, high temp, and large fastener formulas.
The problem with high strength on a small fastener is that the surface area to bolt strength is much greater and you can break the small bolt right off because of this, and if used on aluminium it can tear some of the threads right out. Also bigger bolts generally take longer wrenches so more leverage is available. Green is for use after assembly. Red used on small stuff is considered permenent.
Blue insensitive is for use when there may be some oil left on the threads.
Their industrial section is the same stuff but layed out more for info rather than advertising compaired to the auto section.
http://www.permatex.com/products/industrial_products_catagorized.asp?category=threadlockers
*Permatex makes loctight.

look on ebay - I got 100ml of loctite for about 3 euros

go to the damn store and find out cheap-asses

does anyone know what Loctite is supposed to look like?- bought some on ebay and it looks a bit watery-I am a bit supicious now that it is water, cornflour and some blue food colouring (even though it came in a bottle that said Loctite 242)-this is what it looks like

The title says it all. I was wondering how much a bottle of loctite is and where I could get it. (Obviously LBS but anyways.

I am simply stunned by the degree of helplessness people exhibit. Considering that posters from all over the world read these forums, don't you think checking with a LOCAL hardware store might be a better idea? What good would it do you for me to tell you for example, where to get it in Germany and how much it costs there, when you live in Canada or Thailand?

If all else fails, Google really isn't that hard.

Paul

Royalflash. 100ml is such a large amount that it will certainly harden in the bottle
before you use even 1ml. Consumer bottles are 1-3ml and small industrial or car
repair and other regular users get 10ml bottles. Steve

yep one drop is all it takes if you have very oilfree threads. There is a version of the blue called non sensitive, or some such thing, and it still works well if there is a very light film of oil left over.

Royalflash. 100ml is such a large amount that it will certainly harden in the bottle
before you use even 1ml. Consumer bottles are 1-3ml and small industrial or car
repair and other regular users get 10ml bottles. Steve

yeah as I suspected - this stuff would never harden in a decade- thanks

Royalflash. 100ml is such a large amount that it will certainly harden in the bottle
before you use even 1ml. Consumer bottles are 1-3ml and small industrial or car
repair and other regular users get 10ml bottles. Steve

here is another auction with 2 bottles of "loctite" like I got- anyone know whats going on here?

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46374&item=3829405064&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

I tried an experiment and left some out over night in a tin lid- it had not hardened after 12 hours at all- I think I might as well throw this stuff away and get some from an auto parts shop

I tried an experiment and left some out over night in a tin lid- it had not hardened after 12 hours at all- I think I might as well throw this stuff away and get some from an auto parts shop

Some cements have complex setting criteria- anaerobic,thin-film,pressure etc. The only true way to test would be same way it's intended to be used- try putting some on a spare nut and bolt and see how it does.

I tried an experiment and left some out over night in a tin lid- it had not hardened after 12 hours at all- I think I might as well throw this stuff away and get some from an auto parts shop

Some cements have complex setting criteria- anaerobic,thin-film,pressure etc. The only true way to test would be same way it's intended to be used- try putting some on a spare nut and bolt and see how it does.

Loctite will not harden in the presents of air, its an anaerobic compound. test it and make sure the test bolt is tightened snug(air must be totally squeezed out) or it may not work. Then give it a full 24 hours to harden.

thanks Capsicum- I tried some a nut and bolt and you are right it seems to work when the air is squeezed out- I was a bit mislead by the Dahon service manual for my bike that seems to indicate that you should put Loctite on the exposed threads of the tension adjusters for the hinging mechanisms. When i tried this of course the Loctite did not harden and it seems like a total waste of time-there must be another blue thread locking compound used on bikes though because I have seen blue stuff on exposed threads elsewhere on the bike (brake adusting screws) that has clearly set