new Barge cement, yuk

[Daggrim]

I think I'm many months behind the curve on the new glue formulations. I just used the last of my old Barge cement, and opened a new can. Five minutes after it's put on the leather, it no longer has the "contact cement" action of yesteryear. It's just dry and not sticky. I had to recoat and stick together real fast. Bummer. Is there any other cement out there that still has that contact action?

Doug

[MADMAX22]

I have been using the tandy contact cement as of late. Seems to do the job pretty good. I did run across the contact cement they have at Lowes (home improvment store) and grabbed a can of that stuff. Not sure of how it works yet as havnt tried it out but it is cheaper if I remember correctly.OK now that I looked the tandy stuff is just rebadged barge cement so probably same issue there. The stuff I got at lowes is Weldwood gel formula contact cement. Gonna give it a try on my next project and see how it works. It was 5.48$ for a 16oz can

[esantoro]

I have been using the tandy contact cement as of late. Seems to do the job pretty good. I did run across the contact cement they have at Lowes (home improvment store) and grabbed a can of that stuff. Not sure of how it works yet as havnt tried it out but it is cheaper if I remember correctly.OK now that I looked the tandy stuff is just rebadged barge cement so probably same issue there. The stuff I got at lowes is Weldwood gel formula contact cement. Gonna give it a try on my next project and see how it works. It was 5.48$ for a 16oz can

Madmax,

i like Tandy's contact cement. Are you sure it is rebadged Barge, which I've never tried and am unable to compare?

ed

[Hilly]

I use Dap Weldwood from the local hardware store. About $6/qt. Holds really well. You can also get it in a water based formula that has no toxic fumes. It works just as well, but takes slightly longer to tack off. The only bad part about the non toxic stuff is that it's blue in color, so you have to be even more careful to not get it where you don't want it.

[bruce johnson]

I have missed this thread. I am on some other related and unrelated forums that deal with cements. The thing with the new Barge is that it will separate unlike the old formulas. It needs to be stirred before use and during use if it sits very long according to them. Some of the boot and shoe guys got some new forumula and didn't get the new instructions. They slathered on mostly solvent off the top, and it behaved just like Doug's experience. I have tried the Weldwood in the past. It does a pretty good job on flat things, and is cheap and available. The big problem I had with it was that it didn't reactivate with heat like Barge and Renia will. I can put on a couple coats of either, let it dry, and drown the piece. Pull it out and let it case up. Then hit it with a heat gun and it tacks right back up. As long as I put it on the leather dry first, it stays put. If I put any of them on wet leather they will peel off.

[skipj]

I bought some "Master Cement" "Monarch of THem All" from Sheridan Leather at Wickenburg last year. It's from Petronio Shoe Products. Works like contact cement.

Bruce, didn't the old Barge cement work with wet leather? I thought I remembered that from a showmaking class I took long ago.

SkipJ

[bruce johnson]

Skip,

My neighbor used Masters. Masters will bond to some oilier leather that maybe the Barge doesn't. I was used to Barge and knew how it behaved and when I made a run somewhere I'd pick up some of each and save the HL fees. I bought 8 or 10 gallons when it went out. Now he is using Renia, and I am on the last of the Barge and liking the Renia too. I also have some SAR that is working alright.

My experience with the Barge is that it will work on wet leather, but you have to put it on dry leather and then wet from the other side. If I put it on wet leather it never binds and eventually will roll off like rubber cement. For my groundseats I go this tip from a boot repair guy. Put the Barge on dry leather - two thin coats best. Let the Barge dry, and then you can drop the soles or groundseat pieces, whatever in water. They can soak and sink, doesn't matter. Then take them out, let them sweat and hit the Barge with heat. It tacks right back up and you can stick them down and mold or press and they will hold. You can have some Barged pieces that dry out and hit them the next day and they will tack up. You can also use a little heat to separate Barged pieces cleaner too. I haven't played around with the other cements enough to know if they will behave like this, but in my hands the Weldwood took longer to tack and wasn't very heat responsive.

[Vikti]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I seem to be not seeing something. What is the contact cement being talked about here? Is it rubber cement on steroids (ie: made for the leather industry) that is just bit harder to remove? I ask this because the last "contact cement" that I used was back in my SCA days when I added padding to the inside of my armor and the stuff I used made a permanent bond between the padding (neoprene) and the leather. I know that today, almost 6 years after making my armor, if I tried to take the padding off by any means, heat, water, you name it, that it won't come apart.

Thanks for the answers in advance.

[MADMAX22]

Madmax,

i like Tandy's contact cement. Are you sure it is rebadged Barge, which I've never tried and am unable to compare?

ed

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/home/de...avlocation=left

All of those seem to be made by barge. Im not sure of how much different they are from the other barge stuff they sell but it comes from the same company.

[esantoro]

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/home/de...avlocation=left

All of those seem to be made by barge. Im not sure of how much different they are from the other barge stuff they sell but it comes from the same company.

$30 a quart!!!!!!! I guess it is Barge. I stocked up on Tandy contact cement a while back at about $8 a quart. The quart cans I received look similar but do not have Barge anywhere on the can. I guess they were getting rid of old non-barge stock. I guess I'll be going back to Duall 88 at around $12 a quart next time I need to stock up.

ed

[Rayban]

DAP Weldwood-gel formula, yellow in color....I don't know how you can do any better.