It's simple to use.   You just clean the bolts (and nuts if applicable), shake, apply and then assemble the parts.  The blue formula is for things that you don't want to shake loose but you might want to be able to take apart again.

There are a number of different types, with blue (medium strength) and red (heavy duty) being the most well known.  Refer to the package for specifics and instructions for use.

I have actually had occasion to use this on the trail and it saved me from having to revisit the repair later.  That's always nice!

I guess there are some things that could be argued to fall into the category of "panacea products".  You know what I mean - those "engine pills" that claim to stop the engine from burning oil, restore power, and save expensive mechanics bills...

Clearly, some of those things do nothing more than generate wishful thinking.  Most "one pill fixes everything" products really don't work all that well, and in the long run many do more harm than good.

I may be deluded, but in my experience, I do not think Radiator Stop Leak is in this category.  In fact, I have used this product to affect more or less permanent repairs back in the days when I really could not afford to spring for a new radiator, and even a quick fix at the radiator shop was not in my budget.

I remember being amazed that my 1948 Willys radiator worked so well.  The Jeep didn't overheat and the radiator didn't leak.  What more could you wish for?  Well sooner or later it did start having some problems with leaking, so I went out on a limb and put some Bar's Radiator Stop Leak into it.  I knew there was a chance it might not work but I was desperate.   I was somewhere between nowhere and who knows where, and my radiator was not holding water.  After pouring a package of this wonder powder, the radiator actually stopped leaking and I was able to fill it up and continue driving - for three more years!

As   I said, you never know when you're going to need some of these things.  I had purchased a couple of tubes of Radiator Stop Leak and stowed it aboard the Jeep when I installed the tool box on the roof rack.  Almost three years went by and I never needed it.  I sometimes would look at it when the tool box was open and wonder if maybe this was a hold-over from the days of driving old vehicles and it was time to give the space over to something else more in keeping with my late-model ride.  But I kept it in there anyway.  Something about how handy it had been in the past.

Anyway, one day, we're out on the trail and one of the guys in the group slices his radiator.   I wasn't happy to see this and we soon had a minor mess on our hands.  The radiator was leaking heavily and we were a good ways from anywhere.  Fortunately there was abundant clean water nearby.  I retrieved the Radiator Stop Leak and brandished it about.

I wish I could say that it solved the problem but it didn't - at least not by itself.  I made the mistake of not fixing the large leaks before trying the Stop Leak.  The fins were too badly cut to be plugged by the powder in my kit.  Anthony (shown above) had to crimp the leaking fins in order to make the holes go away.  The residual Stop Leak left in the radiator may have helped get him out of the woods, but when he got to the gas station, he added more and drove almost 200 miles home without any trouble!  I think that if we had held off adding the Stop Leak until the fins were crimped (my bad) he probably could have stayed on the trail with us!  Next time I'll know!