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Andrew Chee

Weldwood Help!

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Hello all. I recently went looking for an alternative to solvent based contact cement. I wanted something that held tight but didn't have the foul odor and was easier to work with (less sticky strings).

I was reading about Weldwood in the green can and decided to try it. I got some from Home Depot and tried it out. I tried gluing the flesh side of a piece of veg tan skirting to the flesh side of something Tandy calls glazed buffalo calf (not sure the tannage but it is the flesh side).

I applied a thin layer to each side, waited for it to dry clear (about 10 minutes or so), then I put the two sides together. I was expecting it to stick like contact cement would. But what I found was that the two sides didn't actually stick at all. The surface was barely tacky and didn't grab each other.

Am I doing something wrong here? It seems like the stuff doesn't stick at all...

Andrew

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Andrew,

I don't mind the smell of the adhesive so that makes me wonky right away. I use Weldwood Gel and love it. We glued laminate for many years so the contact cements are almost second nature to me. Ten minutes might be pushing it if your shop space is a little cool or high humidity. A good test for proper time is a piece of wax paper touched to the glue, if any of the adhesive sticks to the wax paper it is too soon to adhere the two sides.

Proper use of any contact cement applied to either side of the leather will/should give you excellent results. Also: remember, most adhesives used with leather or similar substrates do not result in ultimate adhesion for at least 24 hours.

ferg

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I applied a thin layer to each side, waited for it to dry clear (about 10 minutes or so), then I put the two sides together. I was expecting it to stick like contact cement would. But what I found was that the two sides didn't actually stick at all. The surface was barely tacky and didn't grab each other.

Am I doing something wrong here? It seems like the stuff doesn't stick at all...

Andrew

Some materials, leather included, may absorb the glue and dry too fast. If the material is too porous, run a second coat over the first one a few minutes later. Try another experiment and see if this helps. When gluing large areas, some people run a second coat around the edges to help make sure the edges won't separate.

Tom

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tandy has a water base contact cement, and other waterbased adhesives, if not mistaken, there is one for adhearing the flesh sides togeather..i use the contact cement. works well for me..cheers

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I have used the Weldwood in the red can (the smelly stuff) and had to do two coats (I use very thin coats) to properly adhere two pieces of veg tan flesh to flesh. Having used the green can for woodworking projects, I have gone back to the red can as I didn't have good luck with the green can. I know it smells and you really shouldn't breathe it, but I just find it works better. Just my 2 cents.

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