So THAT'S why it was so cheap

[BJoe]

Bought a 95-98% blue 27-2 with 3 1/2 box, papers, and cleaning kit, from a local guy today. Got it home and found out why it was so cheap: some genius took LOCKTITE RED to EVERY screw on the gun.
I bought it to shoot so I guess I can clean around it but really. Locktite RED??????????

 

[Nframecollector]

Any pics? The Loctite can be removed.

 

[raisedin99]

BJoe,

I could be mistaken, but I seem to remember that someone took an electric soldering iron and engaged the tip to screws that had been treated with locktite thereby causing the threads to be heated hot enough to essentially remove them. You might want to look into this if it is important for you to remove them.

terry

 

[A10]

Wow......not good. The only way I know of to bust 640 or 720 Loctite is heat.

 

[Twogunnes]

I have heated a screw driver red hot put it in the screw for a minute and then you can break them loose. Using a different screw driver.

 

[sw282]

A solvent called MEK will cut Loctite easily. Found in paint stores only and very flammable. Vapors are strong and l would suggest using it outdoors. Remove grips first

 

[Retired W4]

MEK is some powerful stuff. I have no doubt it will remove any Loc-Tite. BUT how is it on a blue finish??

It can be found where aviation maintenance guys buy supplies.

 

[87hurricane]

I would try heat before MEK, I'd be worried about what it would do to the bluing. Previous poster who said about the soldering iron is dead on, thats what I would try.

 

[jsfricks]

Yep, soldering iron or heat gun. But not too close to the gun but enough to get it hot .

 

[Malpasowildlifer]

yikes.....

 

[sw282]

Blueing is not a paint or coating. MEK will not effect it

 

[Snapping Twig]

I've used a BIC lighter to do it, but a soldering iron sounds better.

 

[rwsmith]

Maybe with all this good advice

Maybe with all this good advice you are getting here, you made a good deal after all!

 

[texagun]

Is there any reason you "need" to remove the screws? If not, I think I would leave them alone before I took the risk of buggering up the screws on a 98% Model 27.

 

[zoom6zoom]

Use heat. Having been required to use MEK in industry before, I highly recommend avoiding it. Nasty stuff that can do horrible things to you. We had to wear respirators while using it and I still worried about it.

 

[JDBoardman]

Locktite Red 271 needs to be heated to at least 482 degrees F (250 degrees C) to be separated. You also need to unscrew the parts while hot, because it can reset when it cools down. The soldering iron technique may work, a heat gun will also do the job.

MEK will NOT touch Locktite Red, you need Methylene Chloride and a wire brush. Methylene Chloride is truly nasty stuff; it is found in some industrial paint strippers, it can break down epoxy, and its fumes cause cardic arrest. In addition, it burns skin (DO NOT let it get under your fingernails - you will be truly sorry if you do) and most rubber and nitrile gloves fall apart when exposed to methylene chloride. If you must use it, use it outdoors and have a source of running water close by to wash off the inevitable spill.

 

[Doc44]

I have shot many of my S&Ws for years and never removed a screw to clean any of them. I have never had a problem.

Bill

 

[*chris*]

Locktite Red 271 needs to be heated to at least 482 degrees F (250 degrees C) to be separated.

Could you just put the entire gun in a oven then disassemble it while hot? Will 500 degrees damage the finish or temper of the metal? I would assume that all springs would be toast?

Chris

 

[McGivern]

Look on the bright side, it won't shoot loose.

 

[BJoe]

Look on the bright side, it won't shoot loose.

You got a point. When buying a used gun, even one in excellent shape, you have no idea what was done to in it in the last 30-40 years. I prefer to strip them, inspect, clean, lube.

For something that I may rely on to save my life that's not asking too much.

Each to his own I guess.

 

[amazingflapjack]

It can be cleaned thoroughly by inserting the tube of a can of brake parts cleaner everywhere it will go around the hammer and trigger, cocked and un-cocked, with the grips off. Then allow to dry and lightly lube. Does a great job without dismantling the revolver.

 

[shouldazagged]

Call me a sentimental old fool, but I don't like stuff that will dissolve me before it eats the Loctite or can trigger cardiac arrest, and I'm not sure I trust my skills with a soldering iron. I'd let a good smith work on it. Worth it if you got it really cheap.

 

[gwpercle]

I would just shoot it "as is" and if something needs to come apart take it to the gunsmith. If he breaks something it will be on him to fix it. Flapjacks cleaning method works well, I don't like taking things apart cause it's to easy to bugger something up and use the "spray all the gunk out" method. Carb/brake cleaner is much cheaper from auto parts store also.
Gary

 

[semperfi71]

I have heard that placing a firearm in the freezer...which has too tight a fit from epoxied bedding...can release the bedding/epoxy fit (via shrinkage) and allow one to separate the stock from the action.

I am not a gunsmith. I do not think trying the freezer method could harm the handgun and it might free the screws.

If not it looks like a planned heat method might work.

 

[BJoe]

Some great ideas here. Thanks. I actually bent a Midway screwdriver trying to turn, I always keep at least 2 for the popular size and managed to do this without 'buggering' up the head.

Next is heat. Then freezer. At this point it is a battle.

 

[Darrell41653]

A solvent called MEK will cut Loctite easily. Found in paint stores only and very flammable. Vapors are strong and l would suggest using it outdoors. Remove grips first

Agreed. I have used this stuff to remove red loctite from bolts before.
I ride and tinker with dirt bikes, and I have seen the red stuff used on bolts it shouldnt have.

I had my local ACE Hardware order a can
. I occasionally have had to soak and let it sit overnight, but it does work.

 

[DWalt]

Either MEK or its close chemical cousin Acetone should attack the Loctite. Contrary to popular opinion, neither solvent is that toxic to your health. Acetone is more volatile and more flammable than MEK, but both are flammable, so work outside and not near open flames. It is best to not expose your skin to either solvent very much, as they will dissolve fats in your skin and cause dermatitis.

I have cleaned many guns and parts using MEK prior to hot bluing instead of boiling in a silicated detergent solution, and it works very well for that purpose, as MEK and Acetone are peerless degreasers. I think that using heat is the best approach to removing Loctite-ed screws.

Spray carb cleaner is very good for de-gunking guns, and it's the only thing I use. I suppose spray brake cleaner would also work, but I have not used it. They are probably close to being the same thing.

 

[LeMans]

BJoe,

I could be mistaken, but I seem to remember that someone took an electric soldering iron and engaged the tip to screws that had been treated with locktite thereby causing the threads to be heated hot enough to essentially remove them. You might want to look into this if it is important for you to remove them.

terry

Wasn't me but that is exactly the way I do it when I have to remove small screws that are loctited in place...

 

[Warren Sear]

I definitely would not put the whole gun in the oven at 500 degrees. That would flock it up way more than a little red loctite on the threads.

 

[Cpo1944]

If everything is working well , why mess with it ???
If it aint broke?????