Thread: brake sealant and fittings question

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If you're working with stainless, use compression fittings. It's not worth trying to flare. Swagelock is like the Ferrari of compression fittings. Swagelock compression fittings require no special tools, only two combination wrenches.


Everybody has covered it already, no sealant on flare fittings but you do need sealant on pipe thread fittings. However, I highly discourage the use of teflon tape. Even if you're really careful and don't tape all of the way to the end, when you disassemble you will get strings of teflon tape in the system. Teflon tape can plug up the small orifices often seen in hydraulic systems. I recommend a non-hardening sealant that won't chunk of leave stringies behind. These include Permatex High Tack, #2, and Aviation Form-A-Gasket. Sealant should never be used to seal the threads of a flare fitting. Even if you seal the threads, it will just follow the tube and leak there. The angled faces of a flare are what do the sealing. I have used Copaltite on the faces to seal steam traced flare fittings, but never on the threads.