North America Loctite India

[PeterT]

Ordered what I thought was a good deal on Amazon. 50ml of Loctite 242 for $22.49 with Prime. Sold/fulfilled by AC Tools

Amazon.ca

Lists at KBC at $64.48 for 50ml or $20.27 for 10ml.
Hmmm... why the 3X price difference. Best before date approaching maybe? Middleman price enhancement syndrome maybe? What the hey, click Buy. My bottle is 10 years old & I don't trust it.
It arrived in 1 day. Checked the label. Hmmm... Made in India you say. OK, this ones going back.
But wait. Some Googling of Henkel says they have a plant there

Henkel builds new adhesives factory in India

Henkel held a groundbreaking ceremony with 200 guests to commemorate the construction start of its 20,000 square meters adhesives factory in Kurkumbh, near Pune. The new plant will be India’s largest adhesives plant and is expected to start production by early 2017.

www.henkel.com

Now what? Is it the real stuff or some garage operation? Or maybe legit & some enterprising fellow is recognizing 'glue arbitrage' & N-Am is universally getting screwed?

 

[Former Member]

This is nothing new, I purchased a book in NA is listed at $300.00 from India for $25.00 plus $10.00 for shipping. Same ISBN as the NA version except it had listed in it not for sale outside India.

I believe the technical term is gouge where you can.

 

[DPittman]

Get this one Peter...
I ordered twice and it probably was 5-6 months before I actually got a bottle. The first one was $14 and never showed up and finally got refund from Amazon. Awhile later I thought I'd try again. 2nd order the bottle was now only $8.42! I again waited for months but eventually recieved it. I haven't looked at the date on the bottle though. I didn't know the stuff could go bad. If it doesn't, I've got a lifetime supply of it.

 

[PeterT]

@DPittman so how did it work out, can you tell the difference between the India stuff?

I'm almost thinking it could be real but....I decided to return my order for refund because this is going into something I don't want to risk & there was no charge for return shipping. I also ordered 222MS (purple) at same time, due to arrive tomorrow. I'm guessing I will be the same origin source, similar price/volume. That one even said 'Genuine'. But some reviews suggest otherwise. A whopping 6 reviews. Note to self - don't shop when you should be in bed asleep! LOL

Genuine Henkel Loctite 222 Threadlocking Adhesive - Low Strength - Easy Disassembly - Suitable for All Metal Threaded Assemblies - Glue 50 ML : Amazon.ca: Automotive

Genuine Henkel Loctite 222 Threadlocking Adhesive - Low Strength - Easy Disassembly - Suitable for All Metal Threaded Assemblies - Glue 50 ML : Amazon.ca: Automotive

www.amazon.ca

I've heard different theories of Loctite shelf life. Invariably the spec sheets say within 1 year of opening. I think I've safely pushed 5 years on thread locker & retaining fluids no problem. I don't have many data points to go off. I used some 2-3 year old retainer on bronze & aluminum. Luckily test piece, it worked so well it locked up almost instantly. No primer or accelerator. Caught me completely off guard. I bought a similar flavor & exact same thing happened. Turns out those particular alloys have an acceleration effect on cure, but shelf life wasn't an issue. On the other end of spectrum I created my own back to back $ disasters where something critical let go in the air, traced to ~8-10 year old stuff that travelled with me in my tool box. So I have self imposed limits. I bought some very obvious Chinese knockoff stuff. It was OK but the viscosity was very different than what they were attempting to replicate. I've also bought some obvious Chinese 'Loctite' CA glue which seemed just fine. So its a minefield out there. LOL

 

[DPittman]

@DPittman so how did it work out, can you tell the difference between the India stuff?

I'm almost thinking it could be real but....I decided to return my order for refund because this is going into something I don't want to risk & there was no charge for return shipping. I also ordered 222MS (purple) at same time, due to arrive tomorrow. I'm guessing I will be the same origin source, similar price/volume. That one even said 'Genuine'. But some reviews suggest otherwise. A whopping 6 reviews. Note to self - don't shop when you should be in bed asleep! LOL

Genuine Henkel Loctite 222 Threadlocking Adhesive - Low Strength - Easy Disassembly - Suitable for All Metal Threaded Assemblies - Glue 50 ML : Amazon.ca: Automotive

Genuine Henkel Loctite 222 Threadlocking Adhesive - Low Strength - Easy Disassembly - Suitable for All Metal Threaded Assemblies - Glue 50 ML : Amazon.ca: Automotive

www.amazon.ca

I've heard different theories of Loctite shelf life. Invariably the spec sheets say within 1 year of opening. I think I've safely pushed 5 years on thread locker & retaining fluids no problem. I don't have many data points to go off. I used some 2-3 year old retainer on bronze & aluminum. Luckily test piece, it worked so well it locked up almost instantly. No primer or accelerator. Caught me completely off guard. I bought a similar flavor & exact same thing happened. Turns out those particular alloys have an acceleration effect on cure, but shelf life wasn't an issue. On the other end of spectrum I created my own back to back $ disasters where something critical let go in the air, traced to ~8-10 year old stuff that travelled with me in my tool box. So I have self imposed limits. I bought some very obvious Chinese knockoff stuff. It was OK but the viscosity was very different than what they were attempting to replicate. I've also bought some obvious Chinese 'Loctite' CA glue which seemed just fine. So its a minefield out there. LOL

Well I haven't actually tried it yet. I see it also has an expiry date of 2023 which there is zero chance that I will use it up by then. I have been using a little 6ml tube of a Permatex brand red threadlocker that I must have had for 10 years already. Each time I use it I expect it to go dry but I keep getting a few drops out of it and I am always amazed how well it holds. I think parts still could be destroyed if I tried dismantling them without using heat.

It looks like this India stuff is maybe a bit thicker than the permatex stuff. I am disappointed it doesn't have the wonderful fruity smell that the Permatex stuff has. It smells so good I'm often tempted to give it a taste. Things would probably go better around here if I did put some on my lips once in a while.