Loctite?

We used to store some of the Loctite products in the refrigerator to extend it's life. Loctite 404 adhesive was one of them.
 
Manufacturer's shelf life guidance for their products is often a joke. They are more about covering their butts and selling more product than anything else. It is also rampant in the food industry. The packager of a food item chooses a shelf life date with no binding guidance from regulators or industry, and there is no need for the date to be related to wholesomeness or food safety. We are forced to throw away good stuff, and assume the liability for any issues after the date. I guess I am OK with that, because I do not have a choice, and I have no problems with being responsible for my actions. So, the sellers can drop the dates and save a lot of money and effort if they are meaningless anyway, and probably would if it was not so darn lucrative to dance arm in arm with the regulators.
 
I have on hand an assortment of Loctite, which one I use depends on the application. My most go to would be the 243 Blue one. It is oil tolerant and holds up well on my Harley's shovelhead engine. The ones I keep on hand are bolded.

Here's a list I keep handy:

Loctite Application

271, Red: High strength threadlocker for larger diameter hardware.
262, Red: High strength threadlocker for for hardware smaller than that which uses 271, most commonly sold in auto parts stores.
263 Primerless, Red Thread locker Oil tolerant
609, Green: Retaining compound, high strength, for mounting slip fit bearings to shafts.
603, Green: Retaining compound, high strength, similar to 609 but good where the parts may be a little oily.
640: Green: Retaining compound, high strength. Similar to 609 and 603. Lacks the oil tolerance of 603. It has a little greater viscosity than 603.
638, Green: rather thick: Ultra strong retaining compound for assemblies with a marked amount of slop in the fit, min 0.004". Don't try to use this stuff for normal bearings on healthy shafts. It sets almost immediately in the tight gap, and you'll never have the chance to get the bearing into place.
290, Green: Wicking product for thread locking AFTER assembly. Medium strength, much stronger than 242 blue in my experience. Not the correct choice for bearing mounting per Loctite.
242, 243 Blue: Classic medium strength threadlocker for most of our threadlocking applications. 243 is the oil tolerant version.
222MS, Purple: Low strength threadlocker for small diameter or otherwise delicate fasteners.
 
I don't often use cherry flavor (red Loctite) or lime flavor (green Loctite) for my projects, but that's just the nature of the projects. I do tend to use the blueberry flavor frequently. I especially like Permatex Medium Strength Blue Gel. It comes in a neat twist-to-extrude container, which seems to put put out just the right amount and shape of goo for applying to fasteners, reducing waste (at least for me). Can't find a product number (like 242 or 243) on the container. The UPC is 6-86226-24010-1.
 
Loctite products dry in the absence of air. The way it does not dry IN THE TUBE is that the Loctite containers are slightly porous,and do let in enough air to prevent the adhesive from setting up hard.

Pretty ingenious,I think!
 
i have 3 bottles of TIFCO brand liquid threadlocker creeping up on 30 yrs old. i got them from a shop i worked at that closed down.
blue, red, green. there are no other identifying features left
i use them like locktite grades in the same colors.
as old as the stuff is, it still works great.
 
I use the medium blue. A tube never lasts over 3 weeks as its never where I leave it.

Sent from somwhere in east Texas by Jake!
 
I concur with pretty much all of the above. All that I can add on the shelf life subject is that after a few years on the shelf in typical South Texas climate, the bottles begin to get sticky.

Permatex (which for some reason I seem never to have liked but can't say why) seems to have been trying to run Loctite out of Houston. I went looking at several auto parts stores last week for some Locquik primer and none of them carried Loctite anymore or even knew what the primer was.
 
wa5cab said:
Permatex (which for some reason I seem never to have liked but can't say why) seems to have been trying to run Loctite out of Houston. I went looking at several auto parts stores last week for some Locquik primer and none of them carried Loctite anymore or even knew what the primer was.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on Permatex, it just does not seem to hold up for me...(JMHO). I've noticed the same locally and usually purchase my Loctite (including primer) from Amazon. Used to go to Fastenel to purchase, but they have gotten too expensive. Amazon I can get 50ml of 243 for $24 with free 2 day shipping versus $40 from Fastenel.

Stuff has become as valuable as gold.

As point out in one of the above posts, loctite typically cures under pressure and lack of air. I keep my cap off and do not have any problems with the spout clogging and it will not dry out.
 
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