PTFE (Teflon) tape is a thread-sealing medium applied to male threads in threaded pipe joints, where the seal is formed along the helical thread flanks themselves rather than at a discrete gasket: the tape fills the spiral clearance between engaged male and female threads and acts simultaneously as a void filler and a lubricant that permits tighter make-up. The governing selection rule is that thread sealant is required only for joints classed as sealing-on-the-thread (typically tapered male into female forms); joints that carry a dedicated sealing element — a deformable olive in a compression fitting, or a felt/elastomeric face washer — seal independently of the thread and must not be taped. Application direction is constrained by the tightening direction, since the wrap must be laid so that thread engagement tightens rather than unwinds the tape, and this topic sits within pipe jointing and sealing practice in plumbing and gas services.
PTFE (Teflon) tape is a thread-sealing medium applied to male threads in threaded pipe joints, where the seal is formed along the helical thread flanks themselves rather than at a discrete gasket: th…