I was at walmart the other day trying to buy some red locktight to secure my bushnell in my mount. Ive enver done this myself so I had no idea what type of glue to get. I know ive seen blue and red stuff on screws and have been told its locktight. Just wanted to know what is a good product. I am putting a scope into a mount and dont think I will be taking it out. Any advice will help. Thanks.
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What type of "lock tight" to use
- Thread starter Libertarian0317
- Start date
you should not need any locktite on any ring screws if you are using the proper torque. You can use blue locktite to attach the base to the rifle if you want but the ring screws do not need any.
P.S. red locktite has no place around firearms
P.S. red locktite has no place around firearms
Generally speaking blue Loc Tite is a medium strength " adhesive" which can be removed using hand tools.
All though it doesn't hurt to use a penetrating fluid ( I use PB Blaster) when removing any fasteners installed with any brand of " Loc Tite".
Red Loc Tite should be considered as a permanent bond which may/will require penetrating fluid and/or heat to break.
All though it doesn't hurt to use a penetrating fluid ( I use PB Blaster) when removing any fasteners installed with any brand of " Loc Tite".
Red Loc Tite should be considered as a permanent bond which may/will require penetrating fluid and/or heat to break.
I wouldn't use any. But if you must, I'd suggest purple small screw low strength. Small screws need little help twisting in two.
I was told a long, long time ago by JD Jones of SSK fame, that life was too short for loctite on screw threads for scopes. What has worked well for him (and me) is Green Wicking Loctite...torque the screws down. Place a tiny one half drop on the screw heads...not in the slot nor hex but on the sides of the screw heads...it will hold but ordinary tools break it down without propane energizers.
I couldn't disagree more. ;-)
Seen too many magnums with heavy scopes and muzzle brakes rattle loose. I wouldn't even consider mounting a scope without red. (bases only) I put them on there to stay. Anyone that can't remove stuff stuck with red shouldn't be workin' on it. ;-)
A few things to consider about Locktite...Loctite (thread locking) actually uses a controlled oxidation process to bond two metals. For this reason, the metal must be not be passivated. If it is coated with phosphate, anodized, black oxide, etc., it is passivated and the bond is no better than thread tape, no matter what color you use. For use on passivated materials, you must use a primer prior to Locktite to get proper bond strength. There are a lot of thread locking methods from oxidation to fastener design that can work well.
Quality (material and design) threaded connections, if properly torqued, do not need a thread locking compound.
Quality (material and design) threaded connections, if properly torqued, do not need a thread locking compound.
Generally, I use a small bit, just a tiny drop on the end of the screw of the blue Loctite brand, what's it, 242? Medium strength for smaller screws is the one you want (they also make a medium blue for larger screws, like lug nuts). Red is usually more perm. and green even more so. Rocksett is also another semi-perm. thread locker you don't want to use for rings. Anyway, when you use thread locker on the mount, it reduces the torque needed to tighten down the ring caps (so will oil or any fluid). If the manufacturer doesn't know it (the better ones should) then try reducing torque 10%.
But be careful, try calling them first. On some mounts, you can strip the threads using the normal torque setting with Loctite; the reduction on a particular mount I'm thinking of (I forget which one) was quite high, nearly in half. USO, Larue, ADM, etc., all the ones I've called know the torque with and without, so that's good.
Some have really low torque settings all around, so using Loctite in those applications is pretty nice. Again, always call 'em if you don't know! Torque settings can vary a lot from make to make, with and w/o thread locker.
But be careful, try calling them first. On some mounts, you can strip the threads using the normal torque setting with Loctite; the reduction on a particular mount I'm thinking of (I forget which one) was quite high, nearly in half. USO, Larue, ADM, etc., all the ones I've called know the torque with and without, so that's good.
Some have really low torque settings all around, so using Loctite in those applications is pretty nice. Again, always call 'em if you don't know! Torque settings can vary a lot from make to make, with and w/o thread locker.
You can also use a lacquer paint of an appropriate color on the outside of the screw head to its surface. If the screw loosens in any way it will break the hardened paint. You can use nail polish of the same color (black, green, red, whatever) to hide or make it stand out. On our racing cars and trucks we would always use a laquer paint and NEVER epoxy or powder coating because they would hide cracking or bent components. Made it REAL easy to see cracks or bends when the paint would flake off.
I don't use it for adhesion though if I get some it is a plus. I like the idea that it fills the gaps between the threads and the holes in the base. Kinda like the pins on a Ruger #1 quarter rib.
To hell with locktite, go right on to Rocksett. That SOB will never come off unless you dip it into the core of the sun for a good 30 seconds. Just kidding, in all reality, blue is as rugged as I would dare use. No need to fuse such small screws together and end up stripping them when pulling stuff apart.
Blue thread locker is more than enough, I use it on my SWFA scope to keep the turrets from "slipping". Since the little hex screws are holding it from the sides instead of from the top. The red thread locker should probably be used on car exhaust or machinery that vibrates all day long.
Blue is probably what you want for mounting. Yeah people shout about proper torque settings and its general true but I've seen things come lose enough times to know better. For real world use I always use it as a safe guard. Red is not what you want, it will be a real pain in the ass if you want to undo it and with the small sized stuff one normally finds on mounting hardware you'll run the risk of breaking or striping something.
Like a rifle being fired all day or shot enough to get hot and then cool repeatedly? ;-)
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