How to prevent overglue?

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

Hey all,

So I’m making a padded belt, but I’m wary of getting cement on the face/grain of the strap. Is there a way to protect/prevent it? I had the thought of just masking it off with tape, but in the past, tape has seemed to deglaze the grain. Thoughts?

Thanks, and may you never burn your bacon.

— AZR

[Dwight]

1:  don't use glue . . . use contact cement . . . put it on with a plumber's brush . . . (cheap metal handled / size of a pencil / buy at Harbor Freight in a bag)

2:  it goes on both surfaces that are to be put together . . . let it get 95% dry . . . then put them together.

3:  a minimum amount of care will keep it off where you don't want it.

May God bless,

Dwight

[TomE]

A gum eraser or "plastic" eraser does a pretty good job of removing excess contact cement. I apply cement sparingly, let dry for 5-10 min then warm it with a heat gun to "activate" the adhesive before assembly.  Heating produces a strong bond with less cement.

[Handstitched]

When I need to apply contact adhesive  with precision,  I use cotton ear buds, ( or Q tips) single use, and you might  use a few, but are cheap as . It might be a bit fiddly but it saves cleaning up after. 

Hope that helps.

HS

[Double Daddy]

14 hours ago, Dwight said:

1:  don't use glue . . . use contact cement . . . put it on with a plumber's brush . . . (cheap metal handled / size of a pencil / buy at Harbor Freight in a bag)

2:  it goes on both surfaces that are to be put together . . . let it get 95% dry . . . then put them together.

3:  a minimum amount of care will keep it off where you don't want it.

Just to add to Dwight's excellent advice: I use Weldwood "Red Can" Original contact cement because it's widely available at nearly every BIG BOX store, hardware or paint supply in my neck-of-the-woods. It's been my go-to adhesive for cabinetry, countertops, etc for 30yrs now...and following the directions on the can (purt'near identical to what Dwight described above), you will get excellent results. Just get it where you want it the FIRST TIME...because there is very limited adjustment once those two surfaces are joined together. That's really what contact cement is for: bonding things you want JOINED...as in, "let no man tear asunder," if correct procedure is followed.

I use the very same metal handle "acid" brushes from Harbor Freight...with a 36pk only costing $3, I just use 'em & toss 'em...trying to clean cement outta one usually isn't worth the trouble. The bristles are stiff enough to allow control over where the cement is placed on your leather pieces. Chip brushes are also an option for larger areas that need gluing...HF's in my area also has those in bulk 36pack.

Don Gonzales even did a video on the stuff a few weeks back, comparing it with other options...he uses GALLONS of it every year in his TX saddlery shop.  

Good luck...and I even like burnt bacon!

[BlackDragon]

I use Barge cement and I don't use the cement as a fastening agent. It's more to hold in place until I stitch it together type of thing.

When I glue up larger projects I use the can brush. When I want to do more refined work on small projects I use a plastic spreader.

They're made of plastic and easy to clean. Even if the contact cement has been on there a few days I can use a rubber eraser and it comes right off.

When gluing I pull the brush from the can and use the spreader to pick up some glue.

I then spread the glue by pulling towards the inside, away from the visible edge. If you pull towards the visible edge there's a good chance it'll be seen when finished. When starting out you can draw a line where to stop pulling your glue. After a while you'll get the hang of it.

Let it set until it's tacky (about 10min) then put the two together. This is kind of a one shot deal. Once the two pieces touch it's going to be tough to get them apart cleanly.

After putting them together I let the cement finish setting. How long it actually takes I'm not sure. I go to another project and work on that then come back. So maybe a couple hours.

This would be a box stitch and if I was actually doing this I would have punched my holes and finished the visible edge before gluing.