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DrKnow65
RC-Monster Aluminum
 
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Posts: 998
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Colorado
11.29.2007, 11:23 AM

Loctite is basically a plastic when it's hard. I have to work with it often as I am a mechanic.
Heat is the best tool for making it soft enough to break the bond between screw (nut,bolt,ect) and the part. However if the part is any kind of heat sensitive (plastic, can be warped, ect) I find that leaving the Loctite cold and tapping the parts to break the bond works well.
Put a screwdriver bit-all metal (or a flat punch for hex head bolts) on the head of the screw and use a light hammer to sharply tap on it .
You are not just trying to push it into the threads but also to have the screw rebound outwards a bit too.
Also if you can tap the area of the part where the threads are contained this works very well too, like a bolt that is in the corner of a part, or it there is a molded shape for containing the threads. Sometimes you may need to put a dead weight on the other side of a thin part to counteract the force of the hammer&punch (another heavier hammer or big socket works well).

Just be nice to the parts and think about it like you are just trying to momentarily deform things just enough to break a seal between part and hardware.

I've never used a solvent but it would seem to me that anything that will dissolve loctite would do the same to a plastic part.


If I could only draw what I see in my head, then afford to build it, and finaly get to play with it...
   
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