Stainless Steel Nut And Bolt Removal Tip

One thing about fishing, you're continually learning, whether it be about new products, techniques, or rigging your boat. Case in hand, my friend Craig Salmonson messaged me that he picked up his new WX2060 Skeeter from J and B Cycle and Marine in Timmins, and it was time to rig it. Over the years, I have helped Craig rig several of his bass and walleye boats, so I knew the drill. When installing the rod holders, I noticed that I had to reverse the bolts on them so that they faced inwards to prevent the bolts from possibly tearing the cover. No big deal, so I thought. As I proceeded to remove the bolts and nuts, I found them nearly impossible to unfasten. They seemed to be welded together. After stripping a Philips head on one of the bolts, Craig proceeded to cut the bolt off. After he finished, he told me that he heard that adding some dish soap to the thread of the stainless steel threads would make it easier to remove the nuts and went in the house to get some. When he returned with a bottle, I poured some dish soap on the threads. After waiting 15 seconds, I tried unscrewing the bolt from the nut again. To my surprise, it started to loosen off. I had the tighten and untighten it a couple of times so the dish soap could get onto the threads when it started to get tough to unscrew. The rest of the bolts and nuts came off easily by using dish soap. I asked Craig why they locked together, in which he replied that stainless steel has a habit of welding itself together. When I got home, I looked up what causes stainless steel to weld itself together when fastening. In a nutshell, I learned that when tightening, pressure builds between the thread surface and breaks down the protective oxide coatings, which create friction that seizes the metal. To avoid any friction, you can use and lubricate on the threads. However, I would suggest dish soap as it works great and wash off easily and tighten with a screwdriver or wrench rather than a power tool. Hopefully, this tip helps if you ever run into this problem.