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Long tom coffin
10-12-2011, 11:33 AM
Recently went to the range with a buddy who had some meprolights on his Gen 3 19. After about a 100 rounds he shot the front sight loose. It had no threadlocker on it. Apparently he had the sights installed when he purchased the pistol, and told me he witnessed the guy who did it apply blue threadlocker to the rear sight during installation, but didn't see any applied to the front sight.


That said, is it an absolute necessity to have threadlocker on your sights, especially with the screw in variety like Glocks? Or was this just an instance where the front sight might not have been screwed in tightly enough?

JV_
10-12-2011, 11:37 AM
I've found blue (242) to be insufficient for front sights because of the heat. On some of the outdoor range days, we shoot a case of 9mm in a few hours, the gun gets too hot to hold.

I've also tried red (271) without success, I've moved on to 620 for most things front sight related.

I use 242 or 271 for rear sights.

Ga Shooter
10-12-2011, 11:37 AM
I always use threadlocker on my front sights with Glocks. And yes I did learn that the hard way, but I found out I watching my front sight good when I watched it hit the ground and did not loose it.:D Not sure why it was used on rear.

Long tom coffin
10-12-2011, 01:17 PM
I've found blue (242) to be insufficient for front sights because of the heat. On some of the outdoor range days, we shoot a case of 9mm in a few hours, the gun gets too hot to hold.

I've also tried red (271) without success, I've moved on to 620 for most things front sight related.

I use 242 or 271 for rear sights.

Wow. Wouldn't that make front sights a royal PITA to get off though?

JV_
10-12-2011, 01:19 PM
Wow. Wouldn't that make front sights a royal PITA to get off though?Not really. Warm up the screw with a soldering iron and it comes right off. It's even recommended by Dawson for front sights (they specify dovetails but I still use it for Glock front sights)

Watch the video:
http://www.dawsonprecision.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=80000EE1-1300732916

fuse
10-12-2011, 01:26 PM
I have used red (271) and it has worked well for me (several classes) however I don't think I've gotten a gun quite as hot as JV has.

I would say blue is definitely insufficient. Red you will probably be ok, just tighten that screw down hard and don't shoot the gun or even bump the front sight for 24 hours to allow it to fully cure.

Or use 620 if you have access to some for the most peace of mind.

Yes, they are very tough to remove with red. I would assume it's even a little tougher with 620.

Mark Housel
10-12-2011, 01:37 PM
I would say blue is definitely insufficient. Red you will probably be ok, just tighten that screw down hard and don't shoot the gun or even bump the front sight for 24 hours to allow it to fully cure.

Or use 620 if you have access to some for the most peace of mind.

Yes, they are very tough to remove with red. I would assume it's even a little tougher with 620.

I used Blue Loctite for quite some time with no problems.... until I ran across a tube that would not set up. :mad:
Fortunately that was a single batch of slides and I was made aware of the problem quickly.

Dispatched the entire stock to the landfill, switched to Red Loctite and never had an issue afterward over hundreds of slides.

There seems to be a fundamental difference between the products and the Purple and Blue seem to 'separate' and require lots of shaking. Red is a clear homogeneous liquid.

Removal of Red Loctite definitely requires heat.

EricP
10-12-2011, 05:33 PM
I used Blue Loctite for quite some time with no problems.... until I ran across a tube that would not set up. :mad:

Loctite has an expiration date. I found an old bottle in the shop that did the same thing.

KevH
10-12-2011, 07:57 PM
I've used red Loctite on Glock front sights for years with no problem. As previously mentioned, you need to buy a fresh bottle every now and then.

When you want to remove the sight use a hair dryer (or heat gun) to warm up the screw and it will unscrew with no problems.