Loctite made in China?

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

Just purchased some Loctite 254. It is in a bilingual container (English / Chinese and it says made in China.

Is this just more offshore manufacturing or is the product dubious? Certainly looks like a Loctite container.

Andrew.

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I also have some made in China, it's not surprising that companies want to be a part of the huge economy there. I have Kennametal carbide inserts made there as well as in the USA, Germany and the UK. Sandvik are manufacturing in India.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

See the second location on this page: **LINK**

https://www.henkel.com/service/search/en/4130?query=china

MichaelG.

[DiogenesIIParticipant @diogenesii]

Henkel are a huge global concern with facilities over much of the world.. Probably genuine – if it was arm-and-leg expensive, definitely genuine..

[DC31kParticipant @dc31k]

My starter for 2p. Genuine, grey import.

[Adam MaraParticipant @adammara]

Even my tomato seeds are Chinese!

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

Why not ? Everything else is made in China !

[Andy_GParticipant @andy_g]

Not the same stuff that Mr Crispin ended up with, is it?

Edited By Andy_G on 02/02/2021 16:58:35

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

I know that it is fashionable to denigrate Chinese businesses but as in the rest of the world, there are good and bad.

I used to work for a company in England that was jointly owned by two well known American aerospace companies and did very high tech repairs to turbine engine compressor and turbine blades. About ten years ago they decided to move the operation from five of their companies to a new location in China and I am confident that the quality of the work has not deteriorated.

I have also bought model engineering related equipment from Chinese based companies and have had only one instance of inadequate quality, everything else has been, at worst, acceptable and at best, really good.

Brian

[Ramon WilsonParticipant @ramonwilson3]

I bought some 638 and 641 about 4-5 years ago from ebay. Chinese manufacturer – worked fine when I got and it still does. Just as good if not the same as used at work years ago.

Tug

[Dr_GMJNParticipant @dr_gmjn]

Funnily enough I ordered some Loctite off Amazon recently. It was the cheapest listed, and arrived pretty soon, from ….India. I did wonder if it was genuine or not.

Fast forward to Monday, and for work I did an online course on counterfeit goods. An example was…Loctite.

Apparently Henkel changed the bottles to be far more difficult to fake – one feature is “Loctite” embossed on a dimpled background at the top of the bottle – and a few other things.

I immediately checked mine, and to my surprise it was genuine. Manufactured in India apparently. No idea how it can be cheaper from India than the UK, but there you go.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Just because it's Chinese don't assume it's rubbish. They do actually make some really good stuff, but they also make some right rubbish. QA doesn't seem to be a strong point.

[Anonymous]

Posted by Dr_GMJN on 02/02/2021 22:44:20:

Apparently Henkel changed the bottles to be far more difficult to fake – one feature is “Loctite” embossed on a dimpled background at the top of the bottle – and a few other things.

Does it really matter if it's an exact copy as long as it fools the user for a sufficient time for him to make the purchase?

It took me a couple of viewings (and in the context of this thread) to notice the – rather gross – differences displayed in Andy_G 's picture above.

[Dr_GMJNParticipant @dr_gmjn]

Posted by duncan webster on 02/02/2021 22:49:57:

Just because it's Chinese don't assume it's rubbish. They do actually make some really good stuff, but they also make some right rubbish. QA doesn't seem to be a strong point.

To be honest that was the whole point of the course – you do have to assume it’s rubbish because there’s often little or no QA.

[Dr_GMJNParticipant @dr_gmjn]

Posted by Peter Greene on 02/02/2021 22:54:36:

Posted by Dr_GMJN on 02/02/2021 22:44:20:

Apparently Henkel changed the bottles to be far more difficult to fake – one feature is “Loctite” embossed on a dimpled background at the top of the bottle – and a few other things.

Does it really matter if it's an exact copy as long as it fools the user for a sufficient time for him to make the purchase?

It took me a couple of viewings (and in the context of this thread) to notice the – rather gross – differences displayed in Andy_G 's picture above.

The examples we were shown said “Loctite” on the fakes. So if you can identify them once bought, you can demand a refund (assuming you got it from a “reputable” supplier). I put that in quotes because sometimes even established suppliers get fooled.

There is a heirachy of risk when buying critical components. Safest way is to buy from the manufacturer, least safe is from an unknown source. Sounds obvious but some other examples of counterfeit military and/aerospace parts that get fitted is unbelievable.

I’m guessing the new Loctite bottles aren’t actually difficult to fake, rather they require expensive slide moulds, or similar, to make them.

[Ron LadenParticipant @ronladen17547]

I don't even buy Loctite by brand name now I buy the cheaper versions at less than half the price. The only thing I look for is that they are cross referenced to the Loctite type and number threadlock, studlock, retainer etc, but how reliable that is in anyone's guess. I tend to buy the smaller bottles so they don't last as long so what you have on the shelf you know is quite fresh.

I have bought them from hardware shops, builders merchants, tool suppliers etc and have yet to find a bad one they all seem to work just like the genuine Loctite. I don't get hung up on "that it must be Loctite product" it doesn't.

Edited By Ron Laden on 03/02/2021 06:58:56

[Dr_GMJNParticipant @dr_gmjn]

Posted by Ron Laden on 03/02/2021 06:58:37:

I don't even buy Loctite by brand name now I buy the cheaper versions at less than half the price. The only thing I look for is that they are cross referenced to the Loctite type and number threadlock, studlock, retainer etc, but how reliable that is in anyone's guess. I tend to buy the smaller bottles so they don't last as long so what you have on the shelf you know is quite fresh.

I have bought them from hardware shops, builders merchants, tool suppliers etc and have yet to find a bad one they all seem to work just like the genuine Loctite. I don't get hung up on "that it must be Loctite product" it doesn't.

Edited By Ron Laden on 03/02/2021 06:58:56

 

I know what you mean, and I understand Duncan's comment about not all Chinese stuff being bad, but for me, the difference in cost between Loctite and others isn't worth the risk. For the amount I use I'd rather avoid the "just buy the right stuff and this wouldn't have happened" type comments! I have used non-Loctite in the recent past, but always wondered if or when I'd be re-doing it…so from now on, I'll just go for branded stuff I think, especially considering what I learned from the counterfeit goods course this week.

Just my opinion!

Edited By Dr_GMJN on 03/02/2021 08:56:59

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

Turns out that the Loctite 243 that I purchased from Ebay is a FAKE, I am trying to work out how one registers a complaint to Ebay, but cannot see how to do so. Anyone know how to do this?

Andrew,

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

Posted by Andrew Tinsley on 03/02/2021 10:20:26:

Turns out that the Loctite 243 that I purchased from Ebay is a FAKE, I am trying to work out how one registers a complaint to Ebay, but cannot see how to do so. Anyone know how to do this?

Andrew,

Fake product or fake packaging?

In a different context (photographic chemicals) the genuine product was bought in industrial quantity and decanted into fake bottles – The savings presumably made it worth while, however in this case it worked just as it should.

 

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 03/02/2021 10:40:28

[Ron LadenParticipant @ronladen17547]

I wonder how many people realise that Loctite products have a 12 month shelf life across most of their product range, I bet its in the minority. Who in the home workshop will take a hardly used £15 bottle of Loctite and bin it because its a year old, not many. You hear of people using Loctite that is donkeys years old and still good.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Dr_GMJN on 03/02/2021 08:55:36:

Posted by Ron Laden on 03/02/2021 06:58:37:

I don't even buy Loctite by brand name now I buy the cheaper versions at less than half the price….

I know what you mean, and I understand Duncan's comment about not all Chinese stuff being bad, but for me, the difference in cost between Loctite and others isn't worth the risk. For the amount I use I'd rather avoid the "just buy the right stuff and this wouldn't have happened" type comments! …

Just my opinion!

…

I apply a bit of engineering logic to the problem: how good does the glue need to be for the purpose I have in mind? For me, the answer is usually 'not very' in which case I don't waste money on excessively good products.

By far the biggest problem with superglue in my workshop is old product. I mostly use a few drops at a time, maybe once a fortnight, and super-glue goes off, small quantities rather quickly. Joints made with old glue are weaker, then the glues gums up completely. In my workshop cheap unopened Poundshop capsules are better value than a small bottle of expensively but slowly used Loctite. Bigger containers last longer, but if strength matters don't use old glue even if it has a reliable brand-name and cost la small fortune.

Once in a blue moon I make something that does need a reliable joint, or I need a lot of glue in one session, and for that I cough up.

Hobby engineering doesn't have the same high standards as safety-critical 'real' engineering. We don't do engineering calculations or properly understand everything we do. We often extemporise, for example by using scrap, other sub-optimal materials, bodged work-holding, or adapted tooling. We reduce thread engagements, braze with underpowered torches, weld with primitive equipment, bodge 3-phase, believe ancient tools are wonderful, learn on the job, and rely on processes industry has long since replaced. Most of us enjoy buying 'bargains'. In that context, rushing to buy certificated materials, calibrated tools, and insisting on traceability is likely to be a waste of money, especially if these things are misused in an amateur workshop.

Glue is an example; not only is it essential to buy reputable product that's been stored correctly, it's also necessary to clean joints thoroughly. Cleaning is quite difficult to do properly. Most of my early glue failures were due to dirt and not following the instructions rather than relying on cheap unbranded product. If you want 'quality' everything has to be done right, it's not done by just flinging money about.

Dave

[Dr_GMJNParticipant @dr_gmjn]

The example I'm thinking of is a lathe handle I'll be building soon, from a kit. It says it requires a silver soldered joint, but advice from on here is to use "Loctite" (currently I have no silver soldering equipment). In this case I don't want to find the retainer has failed just when I need it, so I'll use the right stuff for the sake of the extra few £.

[Dr_GMJNParticipant @dr_gmjn]

Posted by Andrew Tinsley on 03/02/2021 10:20:26:

Turns out that the Loctite 243 that I purchased from Ebay is a FAKE, I am trying to work out how one registers a complaint to Ebay, but cannot see how to do so. Anyone know how to do this?

Andrew,

Out of interest, how do you know? If it was the bottle type, do you know it's not just genuine old stock?

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Counterfeiters will resort to all sorts of tricks to con the purchaser.

US air filter companies had big problems with the filtering medium being just a toilet roll rather than a proper element.

C.A.V. had a major problem with counterfeit fuel filters. In those days japan was the home of counterfeiters, and one company copied the then current cursive CAV on the filter as GAV. Detailed examination showed the medium to be very inferior.. The whole company colour scheme and logos were changed.

Later a middle eastern scam was brought to my knowledge, in that one of our supplier's product was being very expertly faked. Even to using the correct alloy, and using what appeared to be our aftermarket packaging!

But the give away was the absence of the marks made on the dies which denoted the date of production.

Insignificant, but there if you knew where to look.

The culprits were successfully prosecuted.

So you have to be SO careful!

Howard

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