Tectorius Vibra-Stop – Tool Time

At first, the announcement of yet another thread-locking compound seems about as groundbreaking as a new way to boil water. When it comes to thread lockers, Loctite, Permatex, 3M, and an assortment of other companies already have the bases covered. But this one is different.

It’s called Vibra-Stop, and rather than being designed to hold nuts and bolts in a never-let-me-go death grip, this brush-on liquid is primarily intended to prevent fasteners of all kinds from loosening due to vibration.

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Several factors make Vibra-Stop different from other threadlockers:

1. Acrylic-based and pre-applicable: It doesn't have to be applied right before installation. You can brush it on a nut, bolt, or other fastener and store it indefinitely without any loss of effectiveness.
2. Reusable: Tectorius claims that a Vibra-Stop–coated fastener can be installed, removed, and reinstalled up to five times without needing reapplication. In real-world use, performance begins to diminish around the fourth use, suggesting a recoating at that point.
3. Multi-surface compatible: It works on plastic, wood, and other non-metallic surfaces. This makes it ideal for small plastic screws in instruments and electronics, as well as fasteners with soft or fine threads.
4. Not limited to threads: It also helps secure dowels, guide pins, and similar components.
5. Resistant and sealing: It is waterproof and resists most solvents, providing a sealing effect around bolts, studs, or dowels.
 

Vibra-Stop is not a replacement for high-strength threadlockers such as Loctite Blue or Red. So, if your intent is to secure the axle nuts on your record-breaking land-speed racer, this isn’t the answer. But if you want to prevent vibration and other chatter-type movement from loosening some of the key hardware on your street or dirt motorcycle—or your car, truck, snowblower or GSX-R-powered skateboard — Vibra-Stop may be the answer, especially for fasteners you frequently have to remove and reinstall.

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