preventing locks being glued

[Hojo]

As someone who was always better on the theory side of things, Super glue will overpower the effects on WD-40 and act as a Acid on it therefore leaving a messy residue annd not to mention the lock sticking. But if you want to remove superglue/silicon soak it in a bath of acitone, put a fish tank warmer in there set it to about 40 and leave it for 2 or so weeks...Does a nice job

[tastyfish]

Meanwhile your fish freeze to death.

The super glue doesnt have to melt the brass, the cylinder of a lock isn't brass(I think its stainless steel, but iv never tasted it before so I wouldn't know) but the glue will defanatly melt it enough to stick. but the warm acitone bath does sound like it would work to get it out.

But in theroy if you could find a chemical that quickly nutralizes the acidic propaties of the super glue, that may work, but youl'd have to try it, i'm not 100%. And if it did work, you would have to replace the chemical everytime someone tryed to glue it.

[dry132]

I carry some superglue remover in my van in case this happens, not a detterent but a solution. Get it from screwfix.com

I believe you can also buy it at your local hardware store under the name "acetone". Acetone dissolves cyanoacrylate based super-glues quite well, and is cheap. I think most nail polish removers have acetone in them too if you don't feel like buying it by the gallon.

On the flip side, I've heard that there are some "special" superglue solvents that work even better, but cost disproportionately more. Perhaps if you have many glued locks, a gallon of acetone would last much longer.

[GateTwelve]

Even if you coated the inside of the lock with WD40, wouldn't you still have a large chunk of hardened superglue inside the lock which has conformed to the exact shape of the lock, and would be just as difficult to get out? Maybe I'm missing the point.

[Rowlock]

Superglue, fortunately, isn't a filling adhesive. It won't bond anything that's not in direct contact with another surface, and it won't congeal in lumps when it dries. Alas, that does make it pretty ideal for messing up locks, whose components are generally in good contact, pressed up against one another. But at least you won't be left with too big a goopy mess once you've unstuck it all...

[GateTwelve]

Eh, I'm a bit skeptical still on what it would do upon normal drying.

Well, on an unrelated not, I'm going to go see if my neighbors are home *grabs superglue*

[Rowlock]

Superglue is a weird beast, to be sure. It doesn't technically "dry", as such - the bond is formed by the cyano acrylate molecules (an acrylic polymer) reacting with trace water on the surfaces it bonds. The molecules start twisting up and bind together, forming a very fast joint. The reaction, however, doesn't travel very far through the glue, which is why the surfaces need to be in direct contact to bond well.

That said, I haven't ever tried introducing superglue to an actively wet environment. The cyano acrylate is generally disolved in an ethyl or methyl alcohol to keep it nice and runny so it's possible that the glue would, in effect, dilute on contact with larger water droplets and just end up getting washed away. It may coat solid surfaces with a film residue of dried resin, but unless they were touching at the time they wouldn't subsequently stick if they touched after the film had dried.

Anybody fancy some back-yard chemistry experiments? Just don't stick your fingers together!

[paulbecky2004]

just read the idea a few posts back about having a magneti key to remove a cover..

seems bit pointless, thats one more key to loose! i imagine being a locksmith it would make it harder to pick/unlock the padlock as you would have to figure out a way to remove the magnetic cover first?

[another aussie]

just read the idea a few posts back about having a magneti key to remove a cover..

seems bit pointless, thats one more key to loose! i imagine being a locksmith it would make it harder to pick/unlock the padlock as you would have to figure out a way to remove the magnetic cover first?

I think it is a 'horses for courses' situation. If you live in a pretty low crime area you should still have good locks but probably don't have to bother we lock covers. But if you look at the cost of good locks and the cost of superglue (like 30 cents for a cheap tube) then maybe it makes sense to pay for a lock cover and grin and bear it, carry an extra key or whatever and not have to deal with the damage that vandals can cause, hey whatever works for you, ya know?

[Dent]

Just a note about Acetone, so no budding young lockpickers jump out and play around with the stuff...

Always wear gloves, the stuff absorbs fast through skin contact and will mess up your liver.... so be safe when using!!!!

[raimundo]

Nail polish remover, that explains everything.

[jason0]

so what do you do about epoxy, bondo, polyurethane (aka gorilla) glue, and the likes? I don't know about your average vandal, but i wouldn't use superglue.

Instead of acetone (at a decent purity) which is nasty and VOLATILE stuff, has anyone tried MEC (methyl ethyl chloride) it's nasty stuff still, but at least it won't explode. you can get it at a local home depot, not sure if you can get relatively pure acetone retail.

[master in training]

what would you do about no more nails type stuff? that would mess a lock up pretty well too, does anything break it down or would you just be forced to drill and replace the lock?

[BUNGYSTRAP]

Prevention will only compromise the ease of use for the lock but a cheap pen sized blow torch will eradicate super glue inside the lock. These little blow torches can be bought very cheaply and make a worthwhile addition to your toolbox for this exact scenario.

[PF]

What you guys are talking about is foreign to many of you... Helps to know your topic!

1- Nail polish remover is adulterated Acetone... fragrance & color added.

2- CA adhesives ("superglue") _do NOT_ melt ANYTHING... think of the temperature involved! At best (the Acrylate) it may soften (act as a solvent) some plastics (Notably acrylic, styrene and polycarbonate). NOTE: Even shellac (or Nail Polish) can be used as an adhesive... try it between 2 dimes! (CA melting brass.. or Stainless, yet- Jeez!)

I'd like to know whose 'old-wives-tales' are being spead in the guise of information!


Re: Jasono's Post:

bondo is an epoxy - 2 part chemistry to create cross-linking molecule... and tough to inject Into a lock.

polyurethane glue - as Polyurethane, reacts with H2O vapors to cure into (again) a cross-linked molecule-- but it's more ater-like at the start.

Also- as stated Acetone is Highly toxic to the liver... and you won't know it for Years!

And as stated in several places- Heat IS effective in breaking the CA adhesion... especially when combined with shear forces.