So it works no better than a paint pen but is somehow better? This article fails to make any point at all and seems to be someone just rambling about something they think is better for no discernable reason.
Photography by J.G. Pasterjak
If you’ve read many of my wrench-turning stories before, you may have heard me extoll the virtues of visibly marking fasteners in between the buried wang jokes and hidden references to ’80s industrial bands. After a particularly bad experience with a broken Mustang Watts link fastener a few years back, I’ve been deeply in the church of marked fasteners to be able to visually inspect continued tightness.
[How the right fastener can prevent hardware failure on track]
Whenever I bring up the subject, though, I always reference the use of paint markers or even Sharpies to mark your nuts and bolts. I guess I always assumed there was probably a dedicated product for this type of work, but certainly my makeshift solution was as good as any dedicated product, right?
Haha nope. Add this to “Pogs will make a comeback” on the roster of things I got wrong.
I’m now a fully ordained minister in the church of Vibra-Tite Viz-Torque 202 series tamper detection paste.
And, to be fair, I’m not solely pitching Vibra-Tite here. Although theirs is the one I use (as well as being a fan of their anaerobic threadlockers), there are plenty of other options out there like Dykem’s Cross Check lineup and some stuff from German companies I can’t pronounce.
The point here is that the dedicated solution, in this case, is so far superior to the improvised solution that it makes me wonder why I wasted time with paint pens for so long, and makes me question my devotion to non-specific solutions for many of the other things I do.
So, here’s the difference with the Viz-Torque stuff and its ilk: The paste goes on in a smooth glob–it sort of has the consistency of latex caulk out of the tube–and dries to a highly visible finish. The dry consistency is tough but brittle.
If the fasteners turn enough to upset the application, the glob cracks in place rather than stretching, or dislodging from either the fastener or substrate. It also holds on fairly tight, but it’s removable once you actually intend to remove and re-install the fastener. It sort of chips off the surface rather than wiping off or smearing off.
This all sounds like really simple stuff, right? Like, a paint pen works just as well for less than the $7 that a 1-ounce tube of Viz-Torque costs, right?
Well, not really.
Like, a paint pen works okay I guess, but I also use paint pens for plenty of other stuff that’s more well suited to their capabilities. And fastener torque tends to be a fairly mission-critical proposition. It took me out of a national trophy spot in the aforementioned Mustang with a problem that would have been easily visually identifiable with a little red line of Viz-Torque on a bolt.
A paint pen could have yielded the same result, but my paint pens are frequently engaged elsewhere. With a product like this that performs a critically important function, I’ve kind of come to the realization that having the proper product in the proper place in my box to do the proper job is worth the seven bucks.
My new love of visual torque inspection has made me reassess my approach to a few other things in my tool drawers as well. While cracking your wallet for tools can sometimes sting, I can’t remember many times when I’ve regretted purchasing a specialized tool to take the place of the improvised half-assed solution I’d been employing. Especially now that I’ve got a BMW in my project stable and it seems like literally every fastener is a different size, different format and thoroughly inaccessible, the first phase of several installs involving this car is simply getting an order together for the specific tools, adapters, extensions or anxiety pills that will make it easier, if not simply possible in the first place.
So go order some Viz-Torque and tell them I sent you. They won’t know what you’re talking about, and you won’t get a discount or anything, but I’ll think it’s funny, and that is what's really important here. Well, that and using the right tool for the job, even if you think you can get away with something else that will probably work, but may also accidentally cut a brake line. Sadly solving that particular misstep would require a “Drill bit that also lets you go back in time,” and not even the Snap-On truck guy had those in stock.
So it works no better than a paint pen but is somehow better? This article fails to make any point at all and seems to be someone just rambling about something they think is better for no discernable reason.
Ben said:So it works no better than a paint pen but is somehow better? This article fails to make any point at all and seems to be someone just rambling about something they think is better for no discernable reason.
Well, the mark is more persistent and easier to identify as broken than a paint pen. Sorry I thought I was more clear about that part.
But maybe its best feature is being a dedicated tool for an important job that won't get cross-used as something else or improperly stored or depleted when you need it most. It feels like it has the most value is being a hyper-specialized item with a single application that it's perfectly suited for while being suited for nothing else.
In reply to Ben :
"the glob cracks in place rather than stretching, or dislodging from either the fastener or substrate. It also holds on fairly tight, but it’s removable once you actually intend to remove and re-install the fastener. It sort of chips off the surface rather than wiping off or smearing off."
JG Pasterjak said:It feels like it has the most value is being a hyper-specialized item with a single application that it's perfectly suited for while being suited for nothing else.
That sums it up.
I work for a major OEM where something like this is quite important. We use paint markers.
That is pretty commonly used at quick oil change places, on the drain plug.
We used it in aviation.
I've been meaning to get some for the bigger jobs I send out. I put a new top end in an RMK600 last week and I should have put something on the head bolts and cylinder bolts, just in case people decide to "fix" things themselves.
I used this on my racecar all the time. Now I use it at work.
One of the BIG advantages of this is that you don't need to look at the fasteners too closely.
It typically breaks off a fairly large chunk of the material if the fastener loosens a bit. That makes it easy to spot from across the room.
No mark on the fastener means that it did get loose.
With paint markers you still need to get close enough to see if the marks are lined up.
We use it at work now on equipment that would require a shutdown to inspect closely. With this you can check from further away while the equipment runs. If you can see the mark, chances are it's still German (gudandtite).
We use a similar product on every single nut and bolt at work. Makes such a difference when a customer complains about something being loose and sends a picture back.
"Well. You loosened it. Thats why its loose."
I was under my car two days ago looking for the source of some suspension noise. One of the rear sway bar mounts was loose. Unfortunately, didn't resolve the problem.
As I'm looking over the suspension, I saw that the camber bolts had a couple of colors of paint on them, but the colors don't line up. Time to get it on a rack.
While cleaning up, I thought I should remember to ask a question on the forum for a recommendation for marking fasteners, then this pops up today.
Should I be worried?
JG, I for one, thought your writing was exceptionally well done with humor and clarity! What more could we ask from a guy who also wrenchs and drives at a high level?
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