Cotton Swab,s They Don't Hold Up Like They Use Too..

[Itch]

Q Tips and all of the others I have tried recently just do not hold up anymore.. I use them for applying dye and edge coat on holsters and other products and they just unravel ending up making a mess if not real careful.. Any one try the wooden stick ones with better results?

[Troy Burch]

I have a box of them, same thing. I now only use them for cleaning solutions. I got a pack of 1/2" swabs from SLC and they work great, you can take a paper towel and squeeze the dye and edge coat out and reuse them mutiple times.

[Colt W Knight]

Some off brands have plastic shafts, but they aren't as stiff as the rolled paper ones.

[billybopp]

Look around and see if you can find tape head cleaning swabs, or electronic swabs.

Something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tape-Head-long-stem-cleaning-swabs-/300612804119

They aren't as cheap as drugstore cotton swabs, and some are FAR less expensive than others, but the cotton fibers are wound MUCH more tightly so they tend not to shed their fibers. If you search you'll probably also come across foam swabs which may work for you or not.

Hope that helps

Bil

[JREESER1]

I know it is expensive at $15.00 (Elite price), but the Tandy Edge Coat Applicator Tool, # 3437-00 works very well. I use it to apply glue for holding stitching gussets seams, as well as the intended edge coating. The liquid, adhesive/tint/dye, is applied evenly and neatly. If you clean it with warm water immediately after use, it stays easy to use for any purpose I used Q-tips.

jr

[TomG]

Go to a beauty supply store (around here, it's Sally's), and get some foam tipped applicators. Mine have a foam pad at each end.

You can use paper towel to remove the excess out of the pad after use and reuse them many times. I paid about $3 for 30 of them.

They lay down a nice coat and are easy to control.

[cardinal leather]

I needed something small to dye the inside of a punched hole. q tips were to big so pulled a piece of cotton off of a cotton ball and wrapped it around a round wood toothpick. it worked great. I have tried it on a number of different applicators from sharpened pencils to chop stix from panda express. I like the chop stix best as they are flexible and strong and you can always break or sliver a piece off for smaller applications. haven't used q tips since. A bag of cotton balls last a long time and can be used for other things. Also have one of the stainless applicators that jreeser1 is using. that works well to,haven't tried it on glue but sounds like it would work well. Jim

[Basically Bob]

I use a piece off 100% wool felt folded over on itself and held with a clothes pin. When the edge gets fuzzy, I just sear it with a lighter. I found that it works better than any thing else I have tried. Thank you, Al Stohlman!

[Wild Bill46]

Itch

Im exactly as mentioned by others, in finding cotton swabs to be almost utolerable to use,

Too, as others have mentioned, sometimes find myself using Tandys Aluminum applicator,

But have found it to to be cumsy at best, but, still somewhat better than most other applicators.

Now THANX to Bob I'll give his version a try , it seems to be a better idea than any of the others.

Thanx Bob ! and Good luck Itch ! ------------------- Wild Bill46

[Basically Bob]

Bill. Be sure to use good quality wool felt. The other stuff just falls apart.

[Wild Bill46]

Thanx Again, Bob -------------------- Wild Bill46

[Itch]

Guy's Thank you all for the replies.. My biggest trouble is when trying to put edge coat or dye on the inside of belt slots on High ride and pancake holsters.. Usually can get 1 or 2 nice clean swipes and then the swabs start to head South.. I will check on some small foam applicators.

[Wild Bill46]

In an admittedly clumsy attempt to help you, maybe you could use Bob's idea with wool felt,

In a fashon simular to using a patch, in gun barrel cleaning ?

Just a thought, maybe it'll help ? ---------------------- Wild Bill46

[biglew]

I needed something small to dye the inside of a punched hole. q tips were to big so pulled a piece of cotton off of a cotton ball and wrapped it around a round wood toothpick. it worked great. I have tried it on a number of different applicators from sharpened pencils to chop stix from panda express. I like the chop stix best as they are flexible and strong and you can always break or sliver a piece off for smaller applications. haven't used q tips since. A bag of cotton balls last a long time and can be used for other things. Also have one of the stainless applicators that jreeser1 is using. that works well to,haven't tried it on glue but sounds like it would work well. Jim

I paint very small leather edges with a 1mm awl and also use the blue gluing tools from rockler to paint edges

[Basically Bob]

I have found that a tiny rat tail file will give me the cleanest lines without a mess.
Just dip the end into a dye bottle - the grooves on the file pick up the dye and when you slide and twist the file into the hole or slot, it releases the dye. The only downside is that unlike an absorbant Qtip you have to reload it several times for something like a belt slot.

Might be worthwhile trying it.

Here's a pic.

Sorry about the duplicate ... Shouldn't post anything before I have had my morning coffee

Edit Fixed it for you. Tom