Liquid Electrical Tape Brands?

[IdahoMan]

Hello.

Do you use liquid electrical tape? What brand and why?

I have tried two brands:

One came in a metal 4oz container and dried hard like plastic. Nice and tough, but I can't remember the name! I think it dried up in the container or the lid got stuck shut.

The other, "GB" brand, came in a plastic 4oz container and it dies on very soft, feels like you could rub it off with your finger with enough pressure.

What do you think?


Sincerely,
IM 

[eKretz]

I use this occasionally, much prefer the harder formulation. I think Permatex makes the one I use that's harder IIRC.

[nanofrog]

Permatex 85120 is the one that comes in a small 4oz. metal can (liquid vinyl), and 3M Scotchkote 14853* also comes in a large 15oz. metal can (synthetic rubber + resin compound) The Scotchkote is a better value if you can use all of it before it dries out; otherwise, stick with the Permatex.

* Do note this stuff only has a 2 year shelf life to it and is meant to be applied over electrical tape, so use good quality tape if you opt for this.

[IdahoMan]

Thanks all!

Next thread: Liquid shielding. 

[nanofrog]

Next thread: Liquid shielding. 

If by liquid, you mean paint, such products actually exist (YShield).  O0

[5U4GB]

Bit an ancient thread but I thought some folks might get a laugh out of this, the cheapest way to get liquid electrical tape is from the usual crapvendors, and you feel less bad about it spoiling after sitting on a shelf for too long when you're only paying fifty cents or so per 30ml tube.  Anyway, this is the latest batch that arrived:



Nothing inspires confidence in a product as much as the "Ingredients" list indicating that it contains some etc.  In fact the whole thing is just "asphalt, stuff, more stuff, other bits, and some etc".

[Bud]

Plasti Dip
https://plastidip.com/product/plastidip/

[Berni]

Bought some random cheep metal can of liquid electrical tape from AliExpress and it seams to work well.

Similar for things like RTV silicone glue in tubes. Costs a dollar or two per tube and it works really well.

Also bought fake loctite threadlocker from china (It even has the same color bottle and the brand name is slightly misspelled to imitate it without breaking trademark). It looks and smells like the real thing and it grabs threads fine. Only issue is that it actually works too well and so the type that is meant to be non permanent can grab a thread too hard if you apply too much.

[Ian.M]

Look at the MSDS for your vinyl liquid electrical tape, and you will see what solvent it has in it.  Usually some combo of xylene, acetone, and naptha.  If your tin is starting to dry out, a small splash of whichever is the major component of its solvent will usually sort it out. Cap it, let it stand overnight then give it a good shake and add a little more solvent if its still too goopy.   If its got to the stage of being chunky, you'll probably need to mix solvents to approximate the original solvent mixture and leave it a week or two to redissolve.  Its better to under-thin than over-thin, as its easy to add solvent a few drops at a time while stirring to get a good consistency but much more troublesome to have to thicken it up by evaporation while keeping dust out of it.

I've had the same 4 oz can of Optinaut Liquid Electrical Tape on the go for about 20 years.  Keep can upright and keep the cap and can screw threads clean and wax or lightly grease the can one so you can get it open again months later.  If you know you aren't going to be using it for a while, make sure the lid is fully on and briefly invert it to get a good seal and minimise solvent evaporation.


Unfortunately the rubber liquid electrical tapes actually chemically cure, so once opened have a fairly short life which cant be extended with thinners.

[5U4GB]

Bought some random cheep metal can of liquid electrical tape from AliExpress and it seams to work well.

Yup, same with the stuff I got, it's over twenty times the price locally and given how simple the formulation is I can't imagine you can go too wrong with it.  The instructions were also in good English which is a good sign.

[5U4GB]

I've had the same 4 oz can of Optinaut Liqquid Electrical Tape on the go for about 20 years.  Keep can upright and keep the cap and can screw threads clean and wax or lightly grease the can one so you can get it open again months later.  If you know you aren't going to be using it for a while, make sure the lid is fully on and briefly invert it to get a good seal and minimise solvent evaporation.

There are two extra measures you can apply, the first is to wrap standard electrical tape around the gap between the cap and the can to provide extra airtight sealing.  A second measure is to spray an inert heavier-than-air gas into the can before sealing it, you can get cans of argon gas for use with paint but a cheaper alternative is to use an air duster that's filled with the appropriate flourocarbon that does the same thing.  This displaces the air and stops reaction with oxygen, but on top of that you still need to make sure the seal doesn't allow anything out.