Gentlemen: I have my doubts about acetone being used in nail polish but it's possible some manufacturers are using it to cheapen their products. It's a poor solvent for this purpose. However there is no doubt acetone is used in almost every nail polish remover. I keep some in the medical cabinet to unstick fingers bonded together with crazy glue. That being said acetone should never be anywhere near any electronics. I have shut down production lines because someone snuck acetone onto the line for cleaning. It doesn't have to come in contact to damage plastics and other encapsulating materials used for electronic parts. The vapors are enough to cause latent defects that may take years to mature. It particularly damages polystyrene used in some high stability capacitors. Wonder why your VFO drifts? It may be because someone used acetone on it years before. If you must use a solvent for cleaning, say flux, use isopropyl alcohol.
Loctite is corrosive. Read the label. It is not recommended for some metals or plastics. If you most use Loctite in electronics use the blue (mild) colored product. Some Loctite is used for chemical welding and can never be undone. Glyptal is the favorite of the military, Collins, and FAA. However xylene has been banned in electronics in many countries. Ever heard of glue sniffing zombies? It does brain damage and it's a mild carcinogen. There may be a xylene free Glyptal out there; I don't know. My bottle is 50 years old. A little dab will do you if you keep the cap on tight. None chemical means such as the formally mentioned Nyloc nuts or mechanical locking hardware is the preferred technic for locking parts and they don't void your warranty. (See Eric's earlier post on corrosionX.) 73 Fred, AE6QL -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ron D'Eau Claire Sent: Friday, December 28, 2012 5:37 PM To: [email protected]; 'Elecraft' Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Problem with a K3 screw Fingernail polish uses acetone which, of course, will soften *some* plastics, but unlike the solvent in Loctite, acetone evaporates completely and the end result is quick-drying, chemically stable coating. Of course there is always Glyptal which uses xylene for its solvent. That, too, will soften some plastics. But it, too, dries to a chemically stable state, unlike Loctite. I don't know what Loctite uses. 73 Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Phil Kane Sent: Friday, December 28, 2012 3:42 PM To: Elecraft Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Problem with a K3 screw On 12/28/2012 11:08 AM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote: > Instead I borrow a trick from my post WWII aircraft service days: > paint. A drop of fingernail polish between the nut what it tightens > against works very well. If you don't want it visible, paint the > threads with some and then put the nut on over it, or paint the face > of the nut that presses against the fan with black fingernail polish > (a common color nowadays :-) and screw it in place before it dries. > > It's not so strong that you can't remove the nut, but it should > prevent loosening due to fan vibration. > > And then there's always lock washers. How much and what type of solvent does the fingernail polish carry as compared to LockTite? My preferred solution is to use nylon-insert stop nuts, which I learned about when I worked at the Douglas Airplane Works for a brief time. The local ACE Hardware outlet carries them in all sizes. 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane Elecraft K2/100 s/n 5402 ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
