My Bike Lock Survived a Glue Attack

I could not find much info to help me with my recent glue predicament so I figured I should post my story to hopefully help others:

Last week I locked my bike up at a popular metro station near the big university in my city. I only left it for a couple of hours but when I came back I found super glue had been applied to the key hole of the U-lock in an attempt to jam it. Luckily, the glue was still drying and with some force I was able to open the lock and leave with my bike, bending one of my keys in the process.

I was happy that my bike didn’t get stolen but pretty bummed out about my Kryptonite New York Standard lock being jammed up with glue and inoperable. I spent about 3 hours pouring acetone into the keyhole and rooting around with a paper clip but to no avail. Spraying water into the glue/acetone mixture created chunks of solid gunk that were scrap-able but it felt like an impossible and endless task to clear all the gunk.

I gave up, and in a last ditch effort submerged the lock in acetone with the keyhole facing down. I let it sit for about a day and a half. When I came back all the hard and soft plastic had melted off, leaving only the metal lock components. I was shocked when I inserted the key and was able to open the lock. Soaking in acetone worked, but the key still felt gummy moving around in the keyhole. I poured more acetone into the keyhole and used the key to gently ram the hole. The glue had consolidated overnight in the acetone and was now emerging into the keyhole as big pieces, which I could easily pick out with a paper clip. Before long I got all the glue out and could see the shiny bottom of the keyhole. I poured more acetone in but it all drained out of the lock, since there was no more glue to keep it welled up in the keyhole.

Now I can easily open and close the lock again without having to jiggle the key or use extra force. My next stop will be to the store to get some tri flow and get the lock lubed back up to perfection. It feels good not letting the thieves win