What Threadlock Adhesives Are And How You Should Use Them

When you are shopping for fasteners, there are many terms that you will come across, and some of them may sound confusing. It’s important to always be sure of what they mean so that you can make the best decision regarding which one to get. There are many times where people ignore this, and then end up buying fasteners that get damaged much sooner than they had expected. The flipside is that you may end up spending a lot more on fasteners that have qualities that you don’t need in your project, thus increasing the cost of the project.
One of the terms you will come across is threadlock adhesive. There are some vendors who will sell you fasteners that have threadlock adhesives, and others who will modify the fasteners using such adhesives after you buy them. There are many applications for which products such as aluminum socket set screws and nitronic 50 socket head cap screws will benefit from threadlock adhesives.

What threadlock adhesives are

Threadlock adhesives refer to any of the range of liquids that are usually applied to the surface of fasteners to prevent them from loosening. Chemically speaking, the adhesives are usually made out of resins. These resins have a quality in that they become solids when they are exposed to little or no air. In addition to that, they also chemically bond to metals when in this solid state. This means that when they are applied on a fastener, they will settle in the grooves between the threads. They then seal off this area and solidify, making it difficult for the thread to loosen. The fact that they occupy all air pockets in the regions between the fastener and the material being fastened also makes them excellent agents against corrosion.

 

How to choose the best one

If you are selecting threadlock adhesives, you will find that there are many types in the market. These have different quality and prices, so you need to be careful when making the selection. Some of the factors you can use as a rough guide to help you choose include the level of hold you want. Some are stronger than others. If you need an adhesive that will hold strongly for a long time, you should get high strength brands. However, if the application only requires a few years of holding, you can go for the low strength ones and save money.
You also need to account for the conditions in which the adhesives will be used, since this can affect their performance. Some brands are better suited to high temperatures, and others are not. This means that if you intend to use them in areas such as a furnace, you would need to pick one that has the chemical composition to withstand high temperatures. Other factors that can influence them include vibration, the types of metal surfaces they will be used on and contact with chemicals.

Proper application

For the best results, the adhesives should be applied to the entire length of the fasteners. Ideally, they should only be applied on the areas in which the threads will be in contact with the material being fastened since they are needed there.