How to get loctite out of a threaded hole?????

[NYH1]

My new Marlin got here yesterday. I sent my old one back last month because the front sight was off center. Marlin sent me a new rifle. Today I was going to put my XS ghost ring sights on it and I can't. The front screw on the front sight was only on with a HALF of thread......if that! The rest of the hole is FULL of loctite. I can't get it out. I tried contact/brake cleaner. What do I do? I CAN'T even catch a thread on this hole. Thanks, NYH.

[quickdtoo]

Heat!! Mini-torch or soldering iron, acetone is said to work on it too. I use a sewing awl to dig it out, then run a screw into it to finish it up.

Tim

[Steve P]

I second Tim's opinion.  I have a large needle in my gun screwdriver kit.  That is what I use to remove loc-tite and fingernail polish from screw holes.  If it doesn't flake out, you can use a little heat.  In my experience, the use of heat has been very rare unless the screw was still in the hole.  Once the screw is removed, the needle usually does the trick.

Steve 

[KN]

I use a smaller drill bit in my fingers to "drill" it out first. Then a bottom tap to clean the threads.    KN

[NYH1]

Thanks guys!

[NYH1]

Just an update.  I asked this question on a few different sites.  A guy on another site recommended heating up a coat hanger and dipping it into the hole to melt the Loctite, then clean the threads with a tap.  I ordered a tap from brownell's and did just like he said.  It worked perfect. 

I heated the coat hanger and dipped it in each hole a few times.  I ran the tap down them and the tap felt like it was bottoming out to soon.  It was compressing the melted Loctite.  I heated up a large sewing needles and held them with vise grips to pick the rest of the Loctite out.  Then I ran the tap back through them.  The whole process was a piece of cake and took about ten minute.

I figured I'd post this incase anyone runs into the same problem down the road.