Which Anti-seize Lubricant Brand Wins?
This head-to-head test of 7 anti-seize lubricant options has the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Loctite C5-A copper-based anti-seize
Price shown in test: $13.78, more than twice the price of the Permatex
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The quick take
No single winner was declared in this test. Here is where the top-ranked pick landed, straight from the measured results.
Best in 1 of 4 measurements, including Breakaway torque average across all 4 samples.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Breakaway torque, slightly-rusty-start bolts (2 samples)
- 1Loctite C5-A copper-based anti-seize76.1 ft-lb
80.1 ft-lb
- 2Permatex aluminum anti-seize lubricant74.8 ft-lb
85.2 ft-lb
- 3Nickel-Graf81.9 ft-lb
87.3 ft-lb
- 4Lubrimatic high-temperature grease97.5 ft-lb
102.7 ft-lb
- 5Control (no product applied)109.5 ft-lb
123.6 ft-lb
- 6Fluid Film128.6 ft-lb
125.9 ft-lb
- 7Candle wax138.6 ft-lb
123.0 ft-lb
Breakaway torque average across all 4 samples
- 1Loctite C5-A copper-based anti-seize73.9 ft-lb
best (lowest) of all 7 treatments including the control
- 2Permatex aluminum anti-seize lubricant77.7 ft-lb2nd
second best of the field
- 3Nickel-Graf81.9 ft-lb
third of the field, close behind Permatex and Loctite
- 4Lubrimatic high-temperature grease96.4 ft-lb
worse than all three true anti-seize compounds but still noted as pretty good relative to the untreated control
- 5Control (no product applied)about113.4 ft-lb
(derived from the four individually stated figures; not restated as a single average in the closing recap)
- 6Fluid Filmabout124.3 ft-lb
(derived from the four individually stated figures), narrator explicitly states it 'didn't do quite as well as the control'
- 7Candle waxabout139.0 ft-lb
worst (highest) of all 7 treatments
Visible thread corrosion after torque test
- 1Loctite C5-A copper-based anti-seize
hard to assess visually since the product itself is a golden brown color, but based on the strong torque results the narrator says it did an amazing job preventing rust from causing the bolt to stick
- 2Permatex aluminum anti-seize lubricant
no visible rust, did a very good job
- 3Nickel-Graf
no visible rust on the threads
- 4Lubrimatic high-temperature grease
fairly good job, held up fairly well
- 5Control (no product applied)
a lot of rust on the threads of the bolts
- 6Fluid Film
numbers weren't as good as some of the other products; visible presence of Fluid Film residue noted on the threads
- 7Candle wax
quite a bit of visible rust on the threads, described as not doing a very good job of preventing rust
Corrosion resistance on mild steel (hydrogen peroxide/vinegar/salt rusting agent, checked at about 5 hours)
- 1Loctite C5-A copper-based anti-seize
no visible corrosion, did a terrific job
- 2Permatex aluminum anti-seize lubricant
no visible corrosion, looks great
- 3Nickel-Graf
really good job, though the narrator notes there might be some oxidation beginning to form
- 4Lubrimatic high-temperature grease
great job at corrosion resistance, no signs of rust after wiping the grease off
- 6Fluid Film
terrific job compared to the control, only a very small amount of surface rust near the top of the steel strip
- 7Candle wax
looked fairly good on the surface, but chipping away the wax revealed a lot of rust had formed underneath; did not provide real protection
- 5Control (no product applied)not tested
Breakaway torque, clean-start bolts (2 samples)
- 2Permatex aluminum anti-seize lubricant77.7 ft-lb
73.0 ft-lb
- 3Nickel-Graf78.2 ft-lb
80.0 ft-lb
- 4Lubrimatic high-temperature grease82.6 ft-lb
102.6 ft-lb
- 5Control (no product applied)124.1 ft-lb
96.5 ft-lb
- 6Fluid Film111.3 ft-lb
131.5 ft-lb
- 7Candle wax151.7 ft-lb
142.7 ft-lb (a larger torque adapter was needed part way through because the original adapter's alarm sounded)
- 1Loctite C5-A copper-based anti-seizenot tested
Claimed max temperature
- 1Loctite C5-A copper-based anti-seizeup to1,800 F
product has an expiration date, stated to be used by 2023
- 2Permatex aluminum anti-seize lubricantup to1,600 F
claims parts can be removed easily even after corrosive conditions or extreme heat
- 3Nickel-Graf
described as high-temperature on the packaging but no specific maximum temperature figure is listed
- 4Lubrimatic high-temperature grease
not stated in the transcript beyond being marketed as a high-temperature grease
- 5Control (no product applied)not tested
- 6Fluid Filmnot tested
- 7Candle waxnot tested
Water spray-off resistance (30 lb pressure, 1 min, ~100F water on a coated metal plate)
- 1Loctite C5-A copper-based anti-seize
quite a bit of the anti-seize washed away in the very center of the plate, described as doing slightly worse on this specific test than the Permatex
- 2Permatex aluminum anti-seize lubricant
did a very good job overall; some product washed away from the very center of the plate which would likely rust over time, but performed better on this test than the Loctite
- 3Nickel-Graf
did a great job; only a small area in the very center washed away and would likely rust
- 4Lubrimatic high-temperature grease
the initial grease spread diameter on the plate was noticeably smaller than the Permatex and Loctite coverage to begin with; water washed away a lot of the grease, leaving the very center of the plate totally exposed bare metal, though a thin layer of grease remained in the rest of the sprayed area
- 5Control (no product applied)not tested
- 6Fluid Filmnot tested
- 7Candle waxnot tested
All measurements (3 more)+
Breakaway torque, clean-start bolts (2 samples, nuts torqued to 90 ft-lb then heat/rust cycled)
- 1Loctite C5-A copper-based anti-seize68.1 ft-lb
71.3 ft-lb
- 2Permatex aluminum anti-seize lubricantnot tested
- 3Nickel-Grafnot tested
- 4Lubrimatic high-temperature greasenot tested
- 5Control (no product applied)not tested
- 6Fluid Filmnot tested
- 7Candle waxnot tested
Corrosion resistance on mild steel (hydrogen peroxide/vinegar/salt rusting agent)
- 5Control (no product applied)
a lot of rust formed on the untreated control, described as forming within about 30 seconds of applying the rusting agent in a separate quick demonstration and confirmed as heavily rusted at the 5-hour check
- 1Loctite C5-A copper-based anti-seizenot tested
- 2Permatex aluminum anti-seize lubricantnot tested
- 3Nickel-Grafnot tested
- 4Lubrimatic high-temperature greasenot tested
- 6Fluid Filmnot tested
- 7Candle waxnot tested
Product type
- 6Fluid Film
lanolin-based penetrant/lubricant and rust protector, not marketed as an anti-seize compound; claims to work even over tightly adhering existing rust without a perfectly clean surface
- 1Loctite C5-A copper-based anti-seizenot tested
- 2Permatex aluminum anti-seize lubricantnot tested
- 3Nickel-Grafnot tested
- 4Lubrimatic high-temperature greasenot tested
- 5Control (no product applied)not tested
- 7Candle waxnot tested
How it was tested
- heat and long-term corrosion test: bolts torqued to 90 ft-lb, baked to roughly 550F for 1 hour, sprayed with an oxidizing/rusting agent, then exposed to a rusting agent for about 90 days before measuring breakaway torque on both originally-clean and originally-slightly-rusty bolt sets (2 samples each)
- visual thread inspection for corrosion after the breakaway torque test
- corrosion-blocking test on mild steel using a hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and salt rusting agent, checked at about 5 hours
- water spray-off resistance: 30 lb of direct water pressure for 1 minute at about 100F applied to a coated metal plate
- capstone test: using anti-seize as a substitute for engine oil in a small engine with the oil drained out, to see if it prevents seizure
Data notes and caveats
This is a myth/concept test (does anti-seize actually work, and do cheaper alternatives work as well) rather than a video that crowns one named product as the winner, so winner/runnerUp/budgetPick are left null even though the products do rank clearly by breakaway torque: Loctite (73.9 ft-lb average) best, then Permatex (77.7), Nickel-Graf (81.9), Grease (96.4), Control/no product (about 113.4), Fluid Film (about 124.3, worse than doing nothing), and Candle wax worst (about 139.0). All four per-product average figures for Control and Fluid Film were derived by averaging the four individually stated clean-start and rusty-start breakaway-torque numbers, since the closing recap only restated averages for the three anti-seize compounds and the grease; the derived values are internally consistent with the narrator's own qualitative claims (e.g. explicitly stating Fluid Film did worse than the control). The capstone engine-oil-substitute test used an unspecified anti-seize product (the transcript never names which of the three tested brands was poured into the engine), so that result is reported as a video-level finding rather than attributed to any single product: the engine did not seize, but the connecting rod failed, apparently because the anti-seize (and specifically its aluminum content) is abrasive and lacks true motor-oil lubricating properties. Narrator's closing take: all three true anti-seize compounds did a really good job preventing corrosion; grease is a decent fallback if nothing else is available; candle wax does not work.
More Shop Chemicals & Lubricants
Which Brake Parts Cleaner Brand Wins?
Gunk (Chlorinated)
See the results
Which Oil Spill Absorbent Brand Wins?
16 products tested
See the results
Which Hand Cleaners Brand Wins?
Permatex Fast Orange Extreme
See the results