We're going Krazy Glue crazy!
August 24, 2012 1:24 PM Subscribe
Is there a heavy duty lock made that is tamper-proof from pranksters wielding Crazy Glue?
Folks have taken to pouring Krazy Glue in keyholes and all over some locks of a venue I do events at. We're buying new locks and cutting them off weekly, and it's becoming a giant pain, cost and inconvenience. Is there any way to end this little battle once and for all with a great prankster-proof lock?
Folks have taken to pouring Krazy Glue in keyholes and all over some locks of a venue I do events at. We're buying new locks and cutting them off weekly, and it's becoming a giant pain, cost and inconvenience. Is there any way to end this little battle once and for all with a great prankster-proof lock?
Response by poster: Batmonkey - Yep, the cops have been called.
posted by miss lynnster at 1:43 PM on August 24, 2012
posted by miss lynnster at 1:43 PM on August 24, 2012
Response by poster: Unfortunately, that lock won't work. These are actual chains that go around a gate with locks at the end that are getting Krazy-Glued, it's not door locks. I should've been more specific. Whoops.
posted by miss lynnster at 1:45 PM on August 24, 2012
posted by miss lynnster at 1:45 PM on August 24, 2012
I remember a magnetic-keyed padlock from a couple of decades ago. Wikipedia has some information. I don't know whether you can still buy these, or whether they're very secure. But at least they don't have a keyhole to gum up!
posted by spacewrench at 1:48 PM on August 24, 2012
posted by spacewrench at 1:48 PM on August 24, 2012
There are lots of keyless padlocks around with numbers on dials or buttons. Someone could still gum them up with glue, but you might be able to scrape it off and keep using the lock. It'd be worth a try, if you're buying that many locks anyway.
You could also put up a light and a fake security camera, assuming you don't want to install a real one.
posted by echo target at 1:53 PM on August 24, 2012
You could also put up a light and a fake security camera, assuming you don't want to install a real one.
posted by echo target at 1:53 PM on August 24, 2012
What do you know - sounds like it's been an issue before on AskMe.
posted by suedehead at 1:59 PM on August 24, 2012
posted by suedehead at 1:59 PM on August 24, 2012
I know it's not what you are really after but it might slow them down as Krazy glue doesn't stick well to grease, well more it sticks to the grease instead of whatever you are gluing. Could you put petroleum jelly or WD40 or even a lot of oil in the locks. The keys could still go in pushing the grease out but it might stop the glue getting in. Just shooting some ideas here. Wax might also work, but you'd have to heat it to get it out, but you could seal the key entrance with it, if they are doing this in the dark they might not notice heck even clear tape I guess it depends how in a hurry they are.
You can get padlock guards, but I think they are mostly to stop people cutting or drilling locks so but they don't really stop the glue getting on the lock, just make it more awkward to get to the keyhole so maybe the glue will only be at the entrance and easily removed with acetone and hobby shops sell super glue debonder that works pretty well.
posted by wwax at 2:03 PM on August 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
You can get padlock guards, but I think they are mostly to stop people cutting or drilling locks so but they don't really stop the glue getting on the lock, just make it more awkward to get to the keyhole so maybe the glue will only be at the entrance and easily removed with acetone and hobby shops sell super glue debonder that works pretty well.
posted by wwax at 2:03 PM on August 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
Krazy Glue (cyanoacrylate) dissolves in acetone/nail-polish remover, but I'm not sure it wouldn't hurt the lock if you pour it in there. I want to say "not," but it might be worth an aggravation-saving try regardless.
posted by rhizome at 2:58 PM on August 24, 2012
posted by rhizome at 2:58 PM on August 24, 2012
Response by poster: @Justkevin - No doubt they'd vandalize that too. They're determined folks.
posted by miss lynnster at 3:14 PM on August 24, 2012
posted by miss lynnster at 3:14 PM on August 24, 2012
wwax's WD40 idea works. Doesn't harm the lock, just spray enough to saturate the heck out of every so often. Squirt enough of it inside the keyhole so it drips out.
Whoever's vandalizing your locks will have to dump an entire tube of crazy glue to muck up the lock. Might make it cost more than its worth to mess with the property. WD40's a lot cheaper than crazy glue. And if they're using that much glue and the keyhole is saturated, you can just chip off the blob with a hammer.
The downside is that your keys are going to get coated with WD40 and it'll spread/leak everywhere.
posted by porpoise at 3:51 PM on August 24, 2012
Whoever's vandalizing your locks will have to dump an entire tube of crazy glue to muck up the lock. Might make it cost more than its worth to mess with the property. WD40's a lot cheaper than crazy glue. And if they're using that much glue and the keyhole is saturated, you can just chip off the blob with a hammer.
The downside is that your keys are going to get coated with WD40 and it'll spread/leak everywhere.
posted by porpoise at 3:51 PM on August 24, 2012
(cyanoacrylate) dissolves in acetone/nail-polish remover, but I'm not sure it wouldn't hurt the lock if you pour it in there.
This won't work, because acetone evaporates very rapidly, like alcohol. I doubt that acetone would hurt the lock, but neither would grease or WD40 -- I bet that's a workable deterrant.
posted by Rash at 4:01 PM on August 24, 2012
This won't work, because acetone evaporates very rapidly, like alcohol. I doubt that acetone would hurt the lock, but neither would grease or WD40 -- I bet that's a workable deterrant.
posted by Rash at 4:01 PM on August 24, 2012
Are these jerks actually cutting through the locks and entering your venue, or just screwing up the locks and leaving? If the latter, then perhaps you could station a couple people inside, and when they come with their crazy glue your inside people could --- while staying totally inside the gates --- take a series of flash photographs.
I realize this might be too confrontational for some, but perhaps a bit of confrontation is what these people need.
posted by easily confused at 4:41 PM on August 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
I realize this might be too confrontational for some, but perhaps a bit of confrontation is what these people need.
posted by easily confused at 4:41 PM on August 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
These are actual chains that go around a gate with locks at the end that are getting Krazy-Glued
Without a picture, I can't tell exactly how / if this would work, but you might be able to use two locks, one secure one to deter thieves and one cheap one to lock the chain in a position that prevents access to the expensive one.
If the attackers glue the cheap lock, you can remove that quickly with bolt cutters with minimal difficulty and replace it at little cost. The attraction of glueing locks is that it's quick and requires no expensive or bulky equipment, all of which advantages are removed if they have to destroy a lock first to do serious damage.
If that's impossible, I've read that a blast from a blow torch will melt glue, so that might be worth a try, along with the previously-mentioned ideas of acetone and pre-coating the inside with WD40.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 11:10 AM on August 25, 2012
Without a picture, I can't tell exactly how / if this would work, but you might be able to use two locks, one secure one to deter thieves and one cheap one to lock the chain in a position that prevents access to the expensive one.
If the attackers glue the cheap lock, you can remove that quickly with bolt cutters with minimal difficulty and replace it at little cost. The attraction of glueing locks is that it's quick and requires no expensive or bulky equipment, all of which advantages are removed if they have to destroy a lock first to do serious damage.
If that's impossible, I've read that a blast from a blow torch will melt glue, so that might be worth a try, along with the previously-mentioned ideas of acetone and pre-coating the inside with WD40.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 11:10 AM on August 25, 2012
Response by poster: easily confused - Okay, I'll actually tell a little more about this. I've been doing tours of the Los Angeles River. Unfortunately, some confused activists believe that letting others know and see that L.A. has a river will disturb the birds (which makes no sense, because our efforts to get people educated on the river revitalization is all about pressuring the city and state to improve the water quality and habitat of a river we allowed to fall into disrepair. If it weren't for the kayakers I work with, the river wouldn't be currently protected by the Clean Water Act.) The activists are zealots though, and there's no reasoning with them... so what they do is go to the access gates in the middle of the night on a regular basis and Krazy Glue everything, thinking that it will stop people from seeing the river. It doesn't, but not being able to open the gates is an inconvenience to a lot of people. The gates are not in an inhabited area with structures, so there is no way to have people there 24/7 though. Our season ends Sept. 30 so just a month more of it... not sure if there's anything in the budget to put in cameras but probably not.
posted by miss lynnster at 10:45 AM on August 26, 2012
posted by miss lynnster at 10:45 AM on August 26, 2012
How about a wildlife camera and a call to the District Attorney's office? Looks like $200 is the price of entry, but you'll want to Google for quality reviews.
posted by rhizome at 1:22 PM on August 26, 2012
posted by rhizome at 1:22 PM on August 26, 2012
Okaaayyyy.... and I'M supposed to be the one who's 'easily confused'! Sounds almost like they want to somehow keep the river a secret just for THEM to enjoy, nobody else allowed.
As for my thought about hiding a couple people inside to take photos: do these people tend towards particular days of the week, like every Friday night or something? That would reduce the need for a 24/7 stakeout. (And if you try something like this, I'd recommend it be at least 2-3 people on your team: absolutely NOT just one person! Don't engage them in anything more than simple photography.) Alternatively, have you tried calling in the local TV news or newspapers and telling them about this vandalism --- I should think they'd like this kind of conflict.
posted by easily confused at 6:39 AM on August 27, 2012
As for my thought about hiding a couple people inside to take photos: do these people tend towards particular days of the week, like every Friday night or something? That would reduce the need for a 24/7 stakeout. (And if you try something like this, I'd recommend it be at least 2-3 people on your team: absolutely NOT just one person! Don't engage them in anything more than simple photography.) Alternatively, have you tried calling in the local TV news or newspapers and telling them about this vandalism --- I should think they'd like this kind of conflict.
posted by easily confused at 6:39 AM on August 27, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
out of curiosity, have y'all called the cops about this property-destroying, access-denying vandalism?
posted by batmonkey at 1:29 PM on August 24, 2012