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Torque seal substitute

J

jimgreen

Well Known Member
Friend
Anyone know if there are any products equivalent to Torque seal?
For some reason the shippers treat it as hazmat which jacks up the cost quite a bit.
 
As suggested by others, I grabbed a bottle of old, ugly colored nail polish from the wife... leave the top off a couple hours to thicken and you're good to go.
 
Great idea, if you can stand the wrath of your overlord.
Ok, just the ugly stuff that doesn't go with her new outfit.
 
Testors model paint will thicken up nicely. If you're like me you probably have a little bottle or two around already, too thick to use but not dried out enough to throw away.
 
I love ACS, but ALL of their shipping charges are ridiculous. I understand that Amazon is a much bigger player, but how can they deliver stuff in 2-3 days for $2 and ACS wants $27 to get it to you in a week or two? - And before this turns into an Amazon discussion, I am just using them as an example. Even small players deliver quicker at a fraction of the cost of ACS. They remind me of the old music warehouse where you could get 100 cassette tapes for $1 plus S&H - which turned out to be several hundred dollars over the life of your obligation. Either ACS does not know how to negotiate shipping rates, or they are making their money on the shipping.
 
ACS

pa38112 said:
I love ACS, but ALL of their shipping charges are ridiculous.
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I think that's the fault of UPS and FedEx, mostly. When I'm not in a hurry, I just specify "USPS First Class", which is only a few dollars for most things. One other trick I learned is that you can add a note in the Special Instructions to "Ship via FedEx". FedEx delivers on Saturdays but UPS doesn't. It seems like I always discover that I need a part on Thurdsay...
 
jimgreen said:
Yup, that's the stuff they ship hazmat.
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I asked ACS today. Email exchange below.

Me: Is there a hazmat fee for shipping this new brand torque seal product?
ACS : If the item is shipped by ground transport, no haz fee. Air shipments are considered hazardous.

So there shouldn't be any hazmat fee if shipped UPS/FedEx/USPS ground, although I haven't ordered any recently to confirm.
See Q+A tab here: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/crosschecktorqueseal.php?clickkey=3836
 
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pazmanyflyer said:
I asked ACS today. Email exchange below.

Me: Is there a hazmat fee for shipping this new brand torque seal product?
ACS : If the item is shipped by ground transport, no haz fee. Air shipments are considered hazardous.

So there shouldn't be any hazmat fee if shipped UPS/FedEx/USPS ground, although I haven't ordered any recently to confirm.
See Q+A tab here: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/crosschecktorqueseal.php?clickkey=3836
Click to expand...

Updated email from ACS:
The torque seal cannot be shipped via USPS under any condition. If the item is shipped by ground transport (ie UPS Ground), no haz fee. Air shipments are considered hazardous.

So no torque seal shipped USPS at all.
 
Thanks guys. I guess I'll try some of the alternate methods suggested. I can't justify ordering that stuff and paying UPS rates.
 
Go to Home Depot/Lowes, get a sample size of their most brilliant color interior or exterior latex house paint (color - your choice). It's already pretty thick and it dries quickly. Put it in a small paint bottle - like finger nail polish bottle with an applicator, and apply your 'torque seal mark'. You could also use oil based paint, but it will take longer to dry and it's not very thick. I've painted stripes on the asphalt ramp in front of our hanger - for two jets- with interior white latex house paint, and they have been there for five years! They haven't peeled off or faded.

If it chips off your nut, put a little more on at your next condition inspection - after you check the torque. The small paint sample containers at lowes is good for at least a hundred RV's.
 
'...This stuff works great. Aircraft Spruce carries it....'

Just received a tube of this Dykem torque seal for free shipping, via Amazon.. I too found that Torque Seal from Aircraft Spruce had a crazy high shipping cost, although i didn't know that it was considered "hazmat"!

I don't know how Amazon does it, but anything I buy through them shows up within a day or two on my doorstep! In this case, this little tube of torque seal came in the typical Amazon box surrounded by bubble wrap to take up all the extra space in the box.
 
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Scott Hersha said:
Go to Home Depot/Lowes, get a sample size of their most brilliant color interior or exterior latex house paint (color - your choice). It's already pretty thick and it dries quickly. Put it in a small paint bottle - like finger nail polish bottle with an applicator, and apply your 'torque seal mark'. You could also use oil based paint, but it will take longer to dry and it's not very thick. I've painted stripes on the asphalt ramp in front of our hanger - for two jets- with interior white latex house paint, and they have been there for five years! They haven't peeled off or faded.

If it chips off your nut, put a little more on at your next condition inspection - after you check the torque. The small paint sample containers at lowes is good for at least a hundred RV's.
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I think I'd rather go with a lacquer nail polish; it's more brittle when cured, thus more likely to disclose relative movement than the more flexible latex paint.
 
As of a year ago or so, Harbor Fright sold torque-seal in orange for sure, maybe yellow too. (I have not looked for it there recently.)
 
one source

Jim, I managed to coerce Fastenal to order me a couple tubes of Dykem Cross-Check from their wholesaler....normally you have to get a case of 24! $10 ea. :eek:

if you don't have a Fastenal where you can swing a deal, let me know and I'll mail you a tube! :)

happy torqueing!
 
I picked up the Dykem Cross Check on Amazon for around 10 bucks for the yellow color. Blue was the cheapest. Organe is about 9 bucks with free shipping.

You can buy it in a case of 24 for $160 shipped if you want a huge lot. I just picked up 2 tubes since I am just on my tail kit.
 
good tips...

lots of suppliers, but waaaaaaaay back in this thread, there was an issue that the US suppliers would not ship to Canada; thus the quest for a source within the great white northern state, (where we give this stuff out to children at hallowe'en! :D)

....unless you are buying a case of 24....all the same colour, which then makes it NOT dangerous cargo? yeah, go figure. :rolleyes:
 
Dykem Torque Seal

We noticed the posting from Jeff regarding the cost of shipping Dykem torque seal, and in checking our system we found that a few of the colors were coded incorrectly which applied a "haz' fee. We have corrected the coding .These are only 3 oz. tubes so they can be shipped via UPS ground under "ORMD" and thus a haz fee does not apply. Haz fees would apply if it shipped by air and torque seals cannot be shipped USPS. Thanks to Jeff for bringing this to our attention.

Aircraft Spruce
Customer Service Dept.
 
Soucing Torque Seal In Australia

The first quote I got here in Tasmania for Dykem Cross Check torque seal was $80 for a 1oz tube. I was almost crying on the phone I was laughing so hard when they told me. I've found other suppliers in Australia, however they wanted crazy money for it once shipping was included. I finally took a gamble and ordered some on ebay from the UK (Racebikebitz). I recieved it today, two weeks after ordering, and it's the real deal. I'm not sure how they get around the hazmat shipping charges (carrier pigeon perhaps?) but I've chosen not to look this gift horse in the mouth. Anyway, the total including shipping was 10.20GBP, or about 16.50AUD given that the the pound is still on it's Brexit epic downward spiral. Just a solution for those out here wanting torque seal, but willing to wait a couple of weeks.
Tom.
 
DIY Torque Seal

Using your choice of fluro paint, add a little chalk dust. This thickens the paint up and gives it some mass. I used this formula in the Overhaul Shop when setting up prop governors in the days before you could buy pre-made stuff. Worked just fine.

I would just grab some chalk dust from the maintenance hanger... we used it when assembling tubes to tyres. Fluro spray paint from the hardware store works well. Then just play with the formula a bit to get the ratios right as too much dust isn't advantageous.
 
99cent bottle of whatever color you want nail polish from the aviation aisle at Walmart Some micro ballons or cotton floss and yer good to go.
 

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jim31886 said:
99cent bottle of whatever color you want nail polish from the aviation aisle at Walmart Some micro ballons or cotton floss and yer good to go.
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I'm curious to know if you have tested this to see how well it 'breaks' when the fastener is shifted out of its original position?

I've been using torque witness paint for many years and have seen good and bad, and, unfortunately, ugly. One method that I've seen used for many years and which I've adopted is to use just regular nail polish (red, of course, but that's just me!) to paint a thin "index" line on the fixed and rotating portions of a joint. If the line visually "lines up" the joint hasn't moved. This works over extended periods in harsh conditions (turbine engine controls etc). It doesn't provide a "crumble" function like some of the thicker torque indicators provide.
 
FuturPilot said:
Need to thicken mine up a bit, but, 89 cents at Wallyworld.
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A thin stripe or small dot is more effective for showing rotation of a fastener than painting nearly the entire bolt and nut. With everything covered how can you easily determine if rotation has occurred? The thin stripe with show misalignment if rotation is present. The torque seal isn't for locking down the attachment, it is just a witness mark.
 
Toque seals main purpose is showing the the nut/bolt has been torqued my an individual. I have seen several different colours used when multiple people work on the same aircraft to identify who torqued the fastener.
I would be careful using the torque seal paint as an indication of rotation or loosening of a bolt or nut. I have had several instance where I start to back off a lock nut and the torque seal turns with the nut and threads of the bolt and therefore not showing and rational movement.

I use Cross Check brand from ACS. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/crosschecktorqueseal_09-02033-1.php
 
Jetmart said:
Toque seals main purpose is showing the the nut/bolt has been torqued my an individual. I have seen several different colours used when multiple people work on the same aircraft to identify who torqued the fastener.
I would be careful using the torque seal paint as an indication of rotation or loosening of a bolt or nut. I have had several instance where I start to back off a lock nut and the torque seal turns with the nut and threads of the bolt and therefore not showing and rational movement.

I use Cross Check brand from ACS. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/crosschecktorqueseal_09-02033-1.php
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Every fitting, be it fuel, static lines, hoses etc. on SuzieQ have a RED STAR ⭐on them that I put on IMMEDIATELY after torquing them. That way I know what I have torqued and what still needs my attention. Retorque or other redo: BLUE STAR⭐ or, next torque: GREEN STAR⭐. All complements of Sharpie Ultra Thin.
 
FuturPilot said:
Need to thicken mine up a bit, but, 89 cents at Wallyworld.
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Leave the bottle open till it evaporates to the desired consistency. My grand girls gave me all their old bottles. Most were already thick. Ultimately, I prefered torque seal and found tons on Amazon. Pretty much any color.
It's strictly a mark indicating a fastener has been torqued.
 
I used to use Torque Seal before it disappeared from the market, apparently on account of the factory burning down. Then I switched to Dykem Cross-Check, which I never liked quite as well, finding it messy and harder to apply. I also tried Permatex Bolt Mark, which turned out to just be the Dykem product rebranded. My wife doesn't use nail polish.

I finally got around to trying Vibra-Tite Viz-Torque and I like it better than Dykem, and about as well as good old Torque Seal. It's cheap, dries quick, does what it says on the package - and most importantly, doesn't squirt messily everywhere like Dykem always does. I get it from Amazon for six bucks a tube.
 
I know everyone has good intentions when using and relying on torque seal, and I will likely get flamed but the only thing torque seal indicates is that it was applied.

Worse yet, if you see a nut or fitting with torque seal on it, you will pass over that nut or fitting BECAUSE it has TS on it, even if it is not tight. Can you say “expectation bias”?

I have run across numerous examples where the builder has thought he torqued the nut or fitting and then applied TS, yet when checked, the fastener was barely finger tight. I am sure that it wasn’t intentional but it happens and once the TS is applied, you won’t give that fastener another thought, even during condition inspections.

I’m certainly not discouraging its use; o ky illustrating the potential issue with it.

Just my opinion, based on numerous Tech Counselor visits.

Flame away!
 
I make cessna sized carbon fiber drones at work. Every fastener gets a dab of Schrauben Sicherungslack available at amazon. Its german so you know the fastener is Good'ntite. Works great and is non toxic.
 
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