Silicon as a corrosion barrier?

[Kelpie]

I've got a tiny wee job to do on a dinghy, fitting alloy fairleads using s/s bolts, don't want to buy a tube of that special gunk cos I have no other use for it... can I just stick some silicone, or sikaflex, or whatever, in the bolt holes to create a barrier?

 

[PetiteFleur]

I would try some thick grease - as least you could remove it in the future.

 

[oldsaltoz]

Have used drinking straws over bolt threads and plastic washers with some success.

Have heard and Zinc rich cream is also good, sun cream?

 

[lw395]

Sikaflex works reasonably well. It's not as critical as say a mast section where a small amount of corrosion will weaken things drastically. Any non-rigid goo to keep the water out, but some silicone RTV actually attacks ali, although anodised is usually ok.

 

[Kelpie]

Looks like sikaflex is the one to go for, then, since I have some around.
I'm not too bothered about strucural damage caused by the corrosion, I just want to be able to undo the bolts again if I have to.