Be nice to gun techs: BE VERY SELECTIVE WHERE YOU PUT PERMANENT LOC-TITE!!!!

[CDN_Stalker]

Ahem, I think that title says all.

I just sorted out a stripped piston in an ICS M4, and found whie trying to open the upper mechbox, the owner (yes, you Dutchy!!!) had put blue permanent Loc-Tite on all the screws. Out of 6 total, all were a bitch to get out, and luckily only two stripped to the point of bieng unusable anymore. Now, I've used both blue and red LocTite, but it seems there are two types of blue, one is permanent and the other isn't.

So, for the sake of yourself or your gun technician, WHEN something in your gearbox fucks up (not IF, it's WHEN), do not use Loc-tite on your mechbox screws. 90% of mechboxes out there supply the mechbox with cheap metal screws, doesn't matter if Phillips or hexhead, and there's always a 75% chance screws will strip when being installed or removed. Just snug the screw down, and don't use any thread locker, those screws are unlikely to loosen from vibration. If you must use thread locker, use it in areas that you will never have to have that part removed, such as bolt action rails, etc. I was only able to fix this gun before Border War because of using a cut off wheel in my Dremel and making the stripped Phillips screw into a slotted screw. Otherwise the owner would have had to use a pistol for the entire game, or just not show up.

[dutchydoc]

dam....sorry bout that stalker, it was all I had and I guess thats why you fix guns and I dont.. now that it is your problem you will never need to worry about that again, not sure if that makes you feel any better or worse..... I do thank you though for doing this for me, I'm forever in debt to you...just dont get any funny ideas.

[Ibby]

Originally Posted by CDN_Stalker

Now, I've used both blue and red LocTite, but it seems there are two types of blue, one is permanent and the other isn't.

There's LOTS of different flavours of Loc Tite. Colour is just one indicator. There's a reason the bottles have little numbers on them.

[MadMax]

Try a light application of heat from a microtorch (just a few seconds on the screw head) to soften the loctite next time.

[CDN_Stalker]

Good tip Carl, thanks.

Dutchy, your gun is ready for pick up. Didn't test fire it but cycled it just fine. Left a meassage on your phone to say to order a new piston as the only spare I had was a lightly used CA stock piston. Should get you though Border War decently.

[gunscythe]

I might have some good news. Blue (242) is removable and red (262) is permanent. I've used Blue 242 Loc-Tite on everything for years. Is there any chance that this is true for you?

http://www.action-electronics.com/loctite.htm

[dutchydoc]

Thank you, got the message will order one.. i do have a question though... The spring and guide I have in the gun from a complete upgraded ics upper i had bought. As you know the gears got stripped last winter, the piston and body that came with said gearbox were aluminum, I still have the body and piston, but the piston body teeth are a little marred, not badly just a little...is this usable or should I just order a whole new body? I realize its hard to tell me without seeing it, just thought maybe there was an acceptable amount of marring... any ideas, I will bring it this weekend so you can have a look at it...

Thanks again stalker..

[CDN_Stalker]

Ya, bring it and I'll check it out. Should change that spring, it's a real bitch to put into that little mechbox section. As far as your piston, I'll see what I can do after the weekend and if it'll work. Still, be a good idea to get a new piston to sit on just in case.

[dutchydoc]

OK sounds good, would that spring be to "heavy" for the stock body? Would that be why it stripped?

[ThunderCactus]

problem is, lots of guys use it on all mechboxes they service and are all "oh red loctite doesnt stick that well, its easy to get out". Of course what they don't realize is they're trying to loctite the paint on the screw to the metal mechbox. Well one guy I know wore the paint off the screws, so the loctite contact was then metal on metal. Long story short I ended up with the mechbox on a hot plate and using a very sharp chisel to extract the screw.
On a related matter the metal classic army uses for their screws is TOTAL CRAP

[vondnik]

I now use purple locktite witch is more of an anti-vibration compound that an actual thread locking glue.

[IRONSIGHT]

I only recently started using locktight, after one of the upper mech-box screws (V2) came loose and decided to fall into the cylinder port, resulting in a destroyed piston, piston head, cylinder/cylinder head.Strangly enough the screw was fine. Just don't use the permanent shit.

[Darklen]

Originally Posted by vondnik

I now use purple locktite witch is more of an anti-vibration compound that an actual thread locking glue.

Sounds like locktite 222. I use many locktites on a daily basis for breathing air equipment (aka Scott packs). While I don't use the 262 mentioned above, we use:

222 - milky purple in color, low strength, for when you don't want the screws to vibrate out on their own

242 - milky blue in color, high test version of 222. takes a bit more to remove so use it in more high vibration situations or where more strength is needed

271 - clear red, high strength thread lock. basically use where you never want to take it apart again.

One thing I don't see mentioned, and maybe I'm one of the few that comes across this, is do not use locktite thread retaining or locking compounds on plastic parts. It doesn't melt or craze them but it does weaken the plastic over time, causing it to crack. So if your using say 242 to secure your grip into your new AR gearbox, put the screws on a paper towel or tissue and put a small drop of locktite on the screw. Allow the excess locktite to be absorbed into the towel, then screw int the gearbox. Remember, locktite is a retaining/locking compound, not stickum glue. A little goes a very long way.