oily screws

[Grimmy]

So how do you clean the oil off screws before you loctite them?  Just curious to the different methods that people use.  I'm getting ready for a build and just want to make sure I'm doing the process correctly to avoid any issues in the future of loose screws.

[Chris Sexton]

Denatured alcohol here. Works fast and dries faster!

sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 2

[curmudgeon]

I also use denatured alcohol.  I pour the denatured alcohol in a glass jar, dip the screws in it, and clean each screw individually with cleaning rags by turning them with the hex drivers.  I end up dipping and cleaning each screw about 4 times to get over 95% of the oil off.  I also now use oil tolerant Loctite exclusively; blue Loctite 243 and red Loctite 266.



Denatured alcohol works well on the bench, too.  I have a spray bottle on my work bench and another spray bottle in the field cleaning box.





Supplies for the field.

[Chris Sexton]

Love the bottle of Off! one of these days I am going to remember to throw one of those in my tool box lol.

[Rodney Kirstine]

I use denatured alcohol, too.  It's usually in the paint section of hardware stores, with the mineral spirits and paint thinner.

[Grimmy]

Thanks guys!  I will pick some up to add to my arsenal. 

I was told alcohol before, and thought, like rubbing alcohol, and would let them soak, while I got pieces ready and then would dry them out before applying the loctite.  I'll have to check my loctite too, to see if it is some of the oil tolerate type.

[curmudgeon]

The only hobby store I've seen that carries the oil tolerant Loctite is Ron Lund's.  Other than that, I've seen them in Amazon and eBay.

[Jon Mills]

Automotive brake cleaner, the flammable sort.  It dries really fast, plus you can use the red tube it comes with to get in the hole. It is a absolute must to shake up the loctite well before use.  If you don't your wasting your time.

[Scott Anderson]

I've always used Denatured Alcohol and a old toothbrush to get in the threads good

[Rodney Kirstine]

It is a absolute must to shake up the loctite well before use.  If you don't your wasting your time.

Another thing on Loctite.  After shaking it, pour a small amount out onto a piece of scrap plastic (like one of your part packages) and then dip the tips of your screws into the loctite instead of trying to pour it onto the screw from the bottle.  You'll end up using way too much by trying to apply it to the screw directly from the bottle and loctite has a very very slow evaporation rate.  Also, it won't set up while it's just sitting in a puddle like that.

I used this on my last build.  I wasn't sure I liked it at first but after I got the hang of applying it I'm starting to really like it.

http://www.henkelna.com/product-search-1554.htm?nodeid=8797953851393

[Jon Mills]

  After shaking it, pour a small amount out onto a piece of scrap plastic (like one of your part packages) and then dip the tips of your screws into the loctite instead of trying to pour it onto the screw from the bottle.

+1 It's not impossible to get enough threadlocker on that you end up shearing the head off trying to take it off.  In the case of the over locked fastener i use a soldering iron to heat the fastener up in order to remove it.