So the reccomendation is to remove all screws and check the integrity of the plastic? Kind of poke at it a bit? Or will it crumble up as others have stated and be self evident?
Loctite reacts with phantom shell
- Thread starter Aerialvelocity
- Start date
It's always better to be sure than have a malfunction and cause more damage to your copter or others. If the loctite has affected the plastic it will crumble away when touched.
I've been building rc kits since I was 12, I'm 41 now and I'm surprised I never learned about this loctite plastic reaction before. Kind of a hard lesson!
I think I got lucky, I pulled all of the screws, detachable prop guard mounts and peaked under all of the motors. No cracks or crumbling! It has been about seventy two hours since the installation. There looked to be a little dried blue loctite in some of mounting holes. I don't know whether it's from me or DJI. I ran some Q-tips through all of the mounting holes on all arms, none of the blue residue could be removed, and no cracking or crumbling occurred during. There appeared to be absolutely no damage caused. I haven't flown since I've used the loctite, I'll keep a eye out for any issues with the mounting areas.
I may have gotten lucky indeed!
Queen of the house must be wondering why is she loosing her nail polishes so quickly.
She said and I quote "hey that's my expensive stuff".
No wonder it smells good. Is there a frame where the loctite causes the damage? It has been about seventy two hours since the application and no cracks or crumbling of the plastic shell.
I would like to know if I am in the clear.
Thanks for the good news. I'll still I keep an eye on it though. I'm sorry you had issues with the stuff.
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2015
- Messages
- 3,534
- Reaction score
- 2,041
- Age
- 48
Yep keep an i on it! I posted many times back warning not to use loctite . First time i did it was fine for a couple months/many flights then started crumbling to the point where EVERY hole was ruined. Probly took a while for the vibrations to get to it. Best thing ive found is to use absolutely nothing but check/ retighten after 1st flight and then every few flights. 9.5 outa 10 times it doesnt even need tightening
When I bought my prop guards months ago the instructions said to use blue locktite, which I did. Now over 175 flights no cracks and no damage to shell
Probably already been answered but you can NOT use Lok-tite on plastic! It disentegrates the plastic exactly as you have described. It is ONLY for metal-to-metal surfaces and, if there is plastic sandwiched between, I don't recommend it. Instead, look on Amazon for "Threadlocker for Plastic." It will accomplish the same goal of locking your threads without ruining the plastic components.
Your shell is likely ruined & will need to be replaced. If its ONLY the lower shell you may be able to avoid reshelling by picking up a set of UAV-bits' Phantom Reinforcement Plates. If you have even the slightest doubt that the Lok-tite came in contact with the upper shell then I would just reshell to be safe. Another alternative to reshelling would be the UAV-bit reinforcement plates coupled with taping the shell seams. You could use white or clear tape to reduce the appearance factor.
Your shell is likely ruined & will need to be replaced. If its ONLY the lower shell you may be able to avoid reshelling by picking up a set of UAV-bits' Phantom Reinforcement Plates. If you have even the slightest doubt that the Lok-tite came in contact with the upper shell then I would just reshell to be safe. Another alternative to reshelling would be the UAV-bit reinforcement plates coupled with taping the shell seams. You could use white or clear tape to reduce the appearance factor.
Ordered new shell, I plan on dying it anything but white. Uav bits...I was trying to figure out who made those motor reinforcement mounts.
You can get a new replacement she'll overnight on amazon for $76. Save yourself the hassle and months of DJIs support and just do that.
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2015
- Messages
- 24
- Reaction score
- 10
A few days ago I installed the non-detachable DJI prop guards on my Phantom 3A. There was a bit of dry blue substance on the replacement screws which I assume was thread locker. The instructions that came with the DJI prop guards stated " Do not use locktite on the screws"
But I also believe you'll be OK if you didn't get *too* sloppy with the Loctite, it only takes a little on the threads.
Back on this past Tuesday, I once again removed all of the screws and detachable prop guard mounts to check for any deterioration of the plastic. I didn't find any, I even ran q-tips dipped in rubbing alcohol and then dry q-tips through all mounting holes and area. At this point, I believe I got lucky but will continue to keep an eye on these areas for any future problems.
- Joined
- May 6, 2015
- Messages
- 56
- Reaction score
- 10
- Age
- 65
Interesting point re vibration , I noticed for the first time severe vibrations after the last firmware update ....... Has been perfect up to this point mmmmm
In all of my years of building motorcycles, rc helis or anything else that threaded metal to metal, I have always used threadlocker. I can understand your statement if you are referring to a metal screw and a plastic thread. But other than that, I didn't see a issue. You have use the smallest amount necessary which in this case is miniscule and let it set up for a bit. If one can't do that then by all means do not use loctite at all. Just don't go dipping screws in a loctite bath or something.
Last edited:
Loctite does make a thread locker for plastic - #425. Its not cheap but it's also a lot less than a new shell.
Wow.... Amazing. Good you managed to land safely.
You can get it apart and swap motors so no doubt you will be all good with a shell replacement. Hope your airborne again soon.
btw- that didn't look like a sparing application of locktite.... Sorta like I'd do it...
You can get it apart and swap motors so no doubt you will be all good with a shell replacement. Hope your airborne again soon.
btw- that didn't look like a sparing application of locktite.... Sorta like I'd do it...
Similar threads
