Barge UPDATE

[TimKleffner]

Greetings All

I made contact with Barge Contact Cement Co representative who gave me the following information

TOLUENE [#1 component of Barge ] has been banned from California and other states are starting to follow suite. Toluene is BAD stuff !

Depending on what state your in, you may / may not be able to purchase old Yellow Barge.

here goes.......... Contact Cement

Yellow / Red Barge ... w/ toluene .... dry time 5-15 minutes

Dark blue Barge ... toluene free... dry time 10-15 minutes

Rubber Cement ...

Turquoise blue ... toluene free... dry time about 5 minutes

Company representative re-stated what we all know ... please use all products in a well ventilated area.

If your in northern states ... if you store your cement in a cool / cold place , like the garage, allow your cement come up to room temp. It does not flow well when cold.

Contact your local Barge supplier for any questions.

Happy tooling

Tim

Edited October 2, 2009 by TimKleffner

[TexasJack]

I think you meant "banned".

Toluene is a pretty common chemical. As for being "bad", I don't think I'd classify it as such. If you're exposed to any volatile chemicals in high concentration, it's not great for your health. Kalifornia is on a path to ban anything and everything; the fact that something makes their list is not impressive at all. Barge didn't say WHAT they use in place of toluene. Could be just as 'bad' (and, in fact, their warning would seem to indicate that.)

There's a certain danger when people see that some Kalifornia listed chemical is no longer in a product, or that it has gone 'green'. A lot of chemicals produced by nature have the potential to be just as toxic as those from petroleum. Reasonable care should ALWAYS be used with dyes, paints, solvents, adhesives, etc. Good ventilation, using gloves, using a good quality mask (esp. for dust) or respirator (for spraying), and cleaning up spills are all good ways to limit exposure.

I don't mind if these companies change formulations, as long as the product works as well (or better) as before, and as long as the price doesn't increase significantly.

[TimKleffner]

YES ...... I did mean ....BANNED.

Something that I did leave out of the original message was that the company rep did advise that the only difference between the product without toluene was that the dry time was longer. The adhesiveness and flexibility should stay the same.

California has banned a whole list of items and the products we use today have changed due to their bans.

Thank you .....California ! ! ! !

Edited October 2, 2009 by TimKleffner

[katsass]

YES ...... I did mean ....BANNED.

Something that I did leave out of the original message was that the company rep did advise that the only difference between the product without toluene was that the dry time was longer. The adhesiveness and flexibility should stay the same.

California has banned a whole list of items and the products we use today have changed due to their bans.

Thank you .....California ! ! ! !

You ought to live here and try to get the stuff you've been using for 40+years! Much of the new "green" stuff ain't worth a @$##%^%$#! Mike

Edited November 3, 2009 by katsass

[MADMAX22]

I dont know about in California (cant stand the state, great place but government I mean berkley is out of control) but weldwood makes a really good contact cement that I have switched to. I use the gel stuff, easier to control. I think its about $4 for a 16oz can. Coat both surfaces and allow to slightly dry and press together and your good to go in about 15 minutes. You gotta rip the leather apart if you wanna separate it.

[Rawhide]

I've switched to the Weldwood as well. I use the liquid, but I place it in a used plastic water bottle with a 1/16" hole in the top and use a small sheep skin clipping to cover the hole. It's shelf life is much longer than the barge in a plasic container, and I think it holds extremely well. I just squeeze out what I need and spread it around with a hotel card key.

Works great!