Permatex Thread Lock - Failure??

[Eagle & Bear]

There are times when I want to do everything I can to prevent things from falling apart. I have used both blue (removable) and red (permanent) thread lock on various parts over the years and have never had a problem. This winter I had to repair a broken frame. Last week I bolted the axles back onto the axle mounting plate and used red thread lock on the nut threads and, for good measure, put a few drops on the threads that extend past the nut. Yesterday I was checking the brake wiring and noticed the red thread lock seemed to be wet. I touched it - it was wet! Anyone know how this stuff works? Has anyone had this stuff fail?

[Nuvite-F]

Originally Posted by Eagle & Bear

Yesterday I was checking the brake wiring and noticed the red thread lock seemed to be wet. I touched it - it was wet! Anyone know how this stuff works?

Anaerobic thread lockers like Loctite are "suffocation hardening". They harden in the absence of air, and are catalyzed by metal surfaces. So the fact that the stuff on the threads outside the nut is still wet is not necessarily a problem. (It doesn't harden in the bottle, either.)

Loctite sells primers for their thread locking compounds that speeds up the cure and I have used those in an industrial application. On home projects I just let it cure naturally.
.

[starcraft]

Maybe just wait some more time for it to dry could be getting old. Also did you prep bolt before application, brake cleaner seems to work for me. Red sets like a motha, blue not as bad and purple wished I used this on my TV mount.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Nuvite-F

Anaerobic thread lockers like Loctite are "suffocation hardening". They harden in the absence of air, and are catalyzed by metal surfaces. So the fact that the stuff on the threads outside the nut is still wet is not necessarily a problem. (It doesn't harden in the bottle, either.)

Loctite sells primers for their thread locking compounds that speeds up the cure and I have used those in an industrial application. On home projects I just let it cure naturally.
.

+1

The portion that is exposed to air will never cure.