Lock-tite Vs. Teflon Tape

[LawFox32]

they do basically the same thing so which is better?
Lock-tite you make a mistake and your pretty much screwed, but w/ teflon tape your just peel it off

[Ariestsheft]

I would say that teflon tape is the better of the two, just due to the fact that is easier to fix possible mistakes. But loc-tite can be better for sealing purposes over the long term. Just be sure to use the blue stuff, if you use the red kind and make a mistake you are SOL. It kind of depends on your personal tastes, if you are cautuios then you probably use teflon. If you can be over zelous you probably use loc-tite. :)

[Failure]

From what I've gathered from eavesdropping on my local airsmith, teflon tape isn't rated as high as loctite in terms of psi handling.

[xmetal2001]

Teflon Tape...the ducttape of paintball

[justinellery]

teflon tape, can't play paintball without it!!!!

[HoppysMag]

my paintball tool box Duct tape, allen wrenches, 7/16 wrench and teflon tape. Before i got my mag it was Allen Wrenches and LOTS of duct tape. xmetal2001 i like that sayin.


Originally posted by xmetal2001
Teflon Tape...the ducttape of paintball

[RJR99SS]

Loctite is usually just used on things you want sealed permanently. Once you got it on, its pretty damn hard to get off.

Loctite is used on plenty of other things, like cars for example. You put it on certain bolts that you dont want to ever move again. And trust me, its a pain to take a bolt you loctited out even with a two foot breaker bar.

The tape i think works just fine sealing for paintball guns, and the biggest benifit is that theres no effort at all in removing it.

[X-Plosive]

I think loctite beats teflon tape in every aspect except for affordablity. Loctite comes in several forms. All of you are thinking of a thread lock which is not even meant for sealing air fittings. The loctite that SHOULD be used for paintballing is loctite 545 which is a thread sealant and comes off easily. Loctite 545, it's used as a hydraulic and pneumatic sealant or something like that. It's been a while since I read the grainger catalog:) So once more Loctite rules and teflon tape is great if you don't mind white stretchy stuff that shreads. BlackVCG goes on about loctite 592 PST, it's suppose to be more gummy and doesn't fully dry. It's about $45 as opposed to $25 for Loctite 545. I can't afford it............yet.

[RJR99SS]

and teflon tape cost less than a buck...?

[Failure]

God, we have 2 grainger catalogs in our bathroom...at home! Along with northern tools. I dunno, thought it was funny that someone else here read the grainger catalog.

[X-Plosive]

yeah, Northern is another good place to pick up little DIY things.

[Butterfingers]

If you know how to use teflon tape its alot more convenient. Parts are easily removed and assembled. You dont have to wait for it to set its cheap, its less messy.

The problem is that alot of people don't know how to use it or what type to use. With any type of tape you have to wrap it "with the grain," meaning wrap it in the direction in which the fitting will screw in. This prevent bunching and unraveling.

Another problem that I see people do is overtapeing. More DOES NOT mean better. Overtaping will make the teflon tape bunch up when it is screwed into the fitting. It will not thread itself into the fitting and create a seal in between the threads like it is supposed to. For an 1/8th in NPT fitting 1.5in length teflon tape (depending on the thickness) is usually good enough.

Types of teflon that I have used:

The White Stuff (most common): This is the off the shelf generic stuff intended to be used for water service. It works, but it is usually too thin and shreds easily. If I use this I cut a 1.5 inch peice fold it in half lengthwise and wrap it around the forward edge of the fitting.

Yellow stuff: This stuff is the stuff you are supposed to be using. It is intended for gas service and is significantly thicker than the white stuff. This stuff has the texture of electrical tape and does not shred easily. I usually cut a 1.5 to 2 in peice and cut it in half lengthwise and wrap it around the forward edge of the fitting.

These meathods have always given me a postive seal the first time everytime, no exceptions. Every fitting I have assembled using teflon tape has NEVER leaked and never needed to be redone.

Pink stuff: I never used it I don't like the color pink... :) Supposedly this is the best stuff to use no cutting no folding. Just cut a 1.5 inch to 2 inch strip and you are ready to rock.

Loctite is a more permanent solution and I use it on parts that I never intend to remove.

JB weld... Like ZEN 2 parts become one...FOREVER. I used this on my spud cannon.

Either way if you know how to use it and what type to get you can't go wrong.

[hubadlatimmy]

Overall I would have to say loctite because it forms a better seal in all my experience. But there was this one roll of weirdish yellow/greenish teflon tape I found in my grandpa's old shop (he was an electrician) that stuff had to of been used for sealing city water mains or something I needed to seel a air conditioner that ran at 10,000 psi and it got the job done first time no problem. To bad it was 5 inches wide and I had it 4 years ago

[anthraxxx]

Nothing is permanent, especially when it comes to paintball as all us ugrading fools know. Because of this I would use teflon. I had loctite throughout my mag and when it came time to switch things around I managed to screw things off with some effort but the dried up loctite that was all over everything took forever to clean up. And you don't want to let those particles flow through your gun or it could start messing things up.

Another story...I have a venom line which was sealed with loctite. The piece that screws into the valve would by its very nature move every once in a while. One day all the sudden there is a leak coming out of that area. the loctite losened and started leaking. I replaced it with a some teflon which so far has sealed the leak. Moral of the story loctite can losen and leak, teflon no leak.

[Army]

I have a Grainger outlet in my town, no catalog needed! Talk about a candy store for cool tool collectors!

[hitech]

Butterfingers, thanks for the lesson in teflon tape. I wasn't aware of anything other than the white stuff. I rarely have problems, but I'll have to give the "right" stuff a try. Is it usually available at "standard" hardware stores such as ACE? Thanks.

[lazyrider77]

i always use teflon tape because it seems like loctite is not for air tight seals, but rather for strength, for keeping things threaded. although, it seems like there are types of loctite that are for pneumatic use. i dunno.
but, i do know that when i recently got my 3k flatline back from being updated by AGD, it looked like they had uses teflon tape and loctite. maybe it was the pink teflon that butterfingers talked about, except that there was a glob of loctite hanging off the one gauge, like a little extra had sqirted out. i never heard of anyone using both. Anyone know if this is common practice? what are the advantages?

[Butterfingers]

hitech, yep your local hardware store should stock it. There are like 10 diffrent types at Home Depot or Lowes. The specialty types usually have some sort of labeling on them designating thier intended use.

[Predater]

be carefull with teflon tape it can get sucked in to the internals of the gun.:mad:

[PyRo]

Loctite Loctite Loctite
There are many differant types of loctite. The type (loctite 545) used on air lines is a phnumatic line sealant, not a threadlocker like the 271. The 545 can be removed without much force, while 271 needs to be heated.

[DC Nelson]

I personally use loctite because it's more convenient and neater, but the trick is that there are (like people have said) many types. In terms of the name-brand stuff, there's red loctite, which is permenant and hard as all-get-out to get off. I've sworn against ever using THAT stuff, but blue loctite is not permanent and has always worked for me. Just be sure to let the seal dry before gassing it up, and youre set.

[Dubstar112]

I use oxygen tape, the stuff they use on the 6k tanks and other really HP things..I just go to my grand parents scuba shop, take about a piece less thatn a half inch, just enough to make one wrap around the threads an wala