The Energon Pub

There's a million threads about tightening all kinds of joints, but there's one thing I can never find a clear answer on for when it comes to tightening pin joints using polish.

Where does the polish go?

Do you put it on the end of the pin and have it sink through the pin... hole. (marked with the red arrow):
And does it matter which side you use? Are using both suggested?

Or do you put it where the actual joint is and have it create a thicker layer between two parts, and less of the pin (marked with green arrow, both sides for style):

So, pin or joint? Red arrow, green arrow? Both, maybe?

I tried using nail varnish on a pin joint for the first time last weekend. I went with green AND red arrows. It had a little effect on some joints but none on the worst, even after five applications.

Does nail polish even sink in? I thought it was more of a thick kind of liquid. Bummer, though.

Anyway, focusing more on the floor polish kind of polish (sorry for not mentioning). Anyone have any tips for that?

Even if it sinks in, I imagine the movement of the joint would just wear it away. Nail polish is not permanent. I've only ever used it on ball joints.

Best fix for pin joints is a slightly bigger pin. Can require some boring/making the pin holes bigger. Very tough to do and takes a lot of precision, but not impossible.

If using some kind of polish/enamel/etc to try and increase friction at the connection point, plastic all the way. Most of that stuff is not going to be absorbed into metal. May dry on the surface but that's going to yield a very temporary fix.

And becareful it don't eat through the plastic.

I used Pledge Floorcare and have had pretty good success. While its not perfect and does require re-applying depending on how much use it gets.

http://www.amazon.com/SC-Johnson-Pledge ... +floorcare

Other things I have heard but are much more dangerous is using superglue.
Technique requires applying it slowly into a joint. Then moving the piece for several minute until it dries. Again much more dangerous, but from seeing the results are a lot better than any other route.

Far as the knee joint here, I would say go inside and not outside. Some of those pins are so tight that the polish would never get inside.

Jeen0808 wrote:Does nail polish even sink in? I thought it was more of a thick kind of liquid. Bummer, though.

Moving the joint around will help to distribute the stuff. Any really small gaps will cause capillary action to suck it in.

KnightAero wrote:Other things I have heard but are much more dangerous is using superglue.
Technique requires applying it slowly into a joint. Then moving the piece for several minute until it dries.

I've never done it to a joint without taking it apart first, but one needs to move it every 10 seconds for about 30 minutes. Therein lies the clue to why I've never tried it *yawn*.