Tips for helping pins stay put!!

[meryll83]

Now maybe it's just me, but when I'm roaming around the world I forever seem to be losing pin backs and am pertrified I'll not notice and end up losing one of my pins as well.

Any ideas on how to prevent this?

I thought superglue but then what if I want to move them?!

 

[M2DD's]

Most of the store at disney sell locking pin backs for the pins. Also check ebay out.Someone may habe them listed,

 

[Gina]

I use locking pin backs like these:

http://www.spgrip.com/getpinned.html

They're used a lot by Harley riders, to keep their pins on while riding, so you can find them at a motorcycle shop or on ebay.

 

[meryll83]

oooh they're good, I'll have to see if I can find a vendor for them here in the UK!

 

[Lesia]

you can buy those wherever they sell pins at disney, too.

 

[jaineparr]

I ride a Harley and collect Disney pins, too.

The locking pin backs that are available at biker shops have a shorter barrel. If you are putting a pin through a leather jacket, you don't have a lot of pin sticking out the back side to work with. I find that there is usually some of the pointy bit sticking out of the barrel after I lock it in place and I have to protect myself from getting stuck.

The locking pin backs sold at Disney have a longer barrel because the lanyards are thin and a lot of the pin sticks out. If you use a Disney locking pin back, the point of the pin is usually inside the barrel and there are no sharp pointy bits sticking out.

Even using locking pin backs and checking them regularly, I've still had those locking things come off. I haven't lost a pin yet, because most Harley pins have two fastening points (and they are usually smaller than Disney pins) and I only lose one pin back at a time.

That being said, there are different types of Lock Tite, a glue used on nuts and bolts to hold them in place. I'll ask mechanic Wonderful Husband which type to use. One is permanent, the other isn't.

 

[meryll83]

That being said, there are different types of Lock Tite, a glue used on nuts and bolts to hold them in place. I'll ask mechanic Wonderful Husband which type to use. One is permanent, the other isn't.

Did you find the answer to this Jean?

I don't know whether it's a product we actually have over here in the UK, but it would still be useful to know...

 

[jaineparr]

Just got off the phone with Wonderful Hubby. Here's what he said.

Red LocTite is about as permanent as you can get.

Blue LocTite is the next stage down from red.

To take something apart that's been fastened together with LocTite, you have to heat it. That heat would be bad for an enamel, even from the back.

Most of the pin holder parts are made out of brass, which is pretty soft and will strip out easily. The kind of force you'd use, even after heating, would strip it out and it would spin, but not move, or perhaps it wouldn't even spin, because you couldn't get a grip on it.

LocTite would only be good if you never again in your life want to move the pin.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

I've got the locking pin backs on the two pins I keep permanently on my camera strap. (The Donald motorcycle pin I use as my Avatar, and my Dis pin.) As previously stated, the biggest downside to these backings is their size. They stick out from the back of the strap a good 1/4".

I wear a special kind of shoe that has a setting screw in the heal. Whenever I take them to be adjusted, they put a drop of clear nail polish in to hold it in place. I would think a dab of this in the hole of a pinback would work about the same to lock it in place. It's clear, too, so it wouldn't be as messy (or permanent) as lock-tite.

Here's a tip for a more on-the-go fix if a pin is getting loose: I stopped at one of the pin stations during a recent trip and asked if they could trade me backings. I had one that was real loose, and I was afraid I was going to lose the pin. They didn't have a spare pin back to give me, although they did show me where they had packs of them for sale. Instead of buy those, though, they showed me a trick. For a rubber Mickey-shaped backing (as opposed to the metal ones), stick the pin through in a place other than the center hole, creating a new hole. It took a bit of force to get it through, but it was nice and snug when all was said and done.

Another tip: if I'm trading pins and the other person has metal backings, I'll ask them if I can keep my Mickey ones. They seem to hold better.