What went wrong?

[Hilly]

Have any of you ever cemented a lining in something to have the cement let loose 6 months later? This recently happened to me when I opened a Chan Geer style notebook I made about 6 months ago. I'm sure I had a good enough coat of cement on both the liner and my project, and I waited the recommended amount of time before sticking the liner down. The only thing I can think of is when I installed the liner, I did not apply it to the notebook while it was laying flat. The cover was bent very slightly, as per directions. I'm just stumped as to why this would happen, and am wondering if all contact cements are not created equal?

[Kevin]

Hilly, My answer may not help you one bit, but here goes.

I do think you did the right thing by prebending your piece before putting together, otherwise you get a wrinkley mess.

Contact cements are not created equally. I prefer Master's cement and another person at work prefers Barge. I feel the Master dries faster and "drier", the other person likes the Barge because it takes longer to dry and allows for flexibility in putting the parts together.

At home I use Weldwood and it seems to work pretty well.

Cement can be too thin, too thick, too dry ,too wet, sometimes it takes two coats.

If I'm glueing something like suede pigskin or cloth, I like it to be a little thick so it doesn't soak through.

I usually prefer the glue to be thin and use two coats if the glue is all that will be holding my pieces together. Sometimes the pieces need to be roughed up so that the glue can get a grip. Depending on the situation, I might even brush some glue thinner on the leather first as I feel it pulls the glue into the fibers. That may just be my imagination, or it may be the glue talking. Just kidding, we have a spray booth.

Kevin

[Bree]

Have any of you ever cemented a lining in something to have the cement let loose 6 months later? This recently happened to me when I opened a Chan Geer style notebook I made about 6 months ago. I'm sure I had a good enough coat of cement on both the liner and my project, and I waited the recommended amount of time before sticking the liner down. The only thing I can think of is when I installed the liner, I did not apply it to the notebook while it was laying flat. The cover was bent very slightly, as per directions. I'm just stumped as to why this would happen, and am wondering if all contact cements are not created equal?

What kind did you use?? I had trouble with Pliobond. It just didn't do the job at all for me. The job I'm talking about is cementing patches both fabric and leather to leather coats and vests after which they would be sewn. Contact cement isn't real good at bonding leather especially if it is smooth. It needs to be roughed up so it has some bite on the cement. Another thing is not to overcement it. Too much cement is almost worse than too little. Oh... you need to make sure that the glue is dry enough or the bond won't take very well.

All that said, there are major differences in the various cements. For example, there are VOC/solvent-based cements and aqueous-based. Cement used for laminates can have different properties than something like Tanner's Bond or Barge Cement. Most contact cements are basically neoprene rubber. But there are also acrylics, polymers, and other substrates that all share the characteristic of bonding to themselves after the glue dries.

I prefer Barge cement. I buy it by the gallon. I have used it for years and years and it works very well for me. Titan DX is pretty darn good too!

[Ian]

What kind did you use?? I had trouble with Pliobond. It just didn't do the job at all for me. The job I'm talking about is cementing patches both fabric and leather to leather coats and vests after which they would be sewn. Contact cement isn't real good at bonding leather especially if it is smooth. It needs to be roughed up so it has some bite on the cement. Another thing is not to overcement it. Too much cement is almost worse than too little. Oh... you need to make sure that the glue is dry enough or the bond won't take very well.

All that said, there are major differences in the various cements. For example, there are VOC/solvent-based cements and aqueous-based. Cement used for laminates can have different properties than something like Tanner's Bond or Barge Cement. Most contact cements are basically neoprene rubber. But there are also acrylics, polymers, and other substrates that all share the characteristic of bonding to themselves after the glue dries.

I prefer Barge cement. I buy it by the gallon. I have used it for years and years and it works very well for me. Titan DX is pretty darn good too!

Bree, I sew a goodly amount of patches for several area clubs. What I do is give them a quick shot of 3M spray adhesive. It makes them tacky enough to hold while I sew them and it doesn't leave any residue on the vest/jacket. Don't use Barge - it will leave a mess on the jacket if the patch has to be removed (those 'Prospect' patches will have to be changed sooner or later)

[steveh]

When cement is tacky, stick the two pieces of leather together, take a slicker on the liner side, and rub it down real good, this takes any wrinkles and air pockets out of the leather and helps it bond better.

steve

[TroyS]

Personally, if I am lining something with fabric, canvas or pigskin, I use 3M "90" Super Strength Spray Adhesive. BUT, be forewarned, if you spray both pieces, let it tack-up for about 30 seconds then stick it together, it ain't coming apart easily at all! You'll ruin your liner before it seperates. You can pick it up at any home improvement store (Home Depot, Lowes, Ace). It also gives a nice even coating and doesn't leave high and low spots from too much or too little adhesive. I'm telling ya, it'll stick ugly to Brad Pitt or Agelina Jolie!

[MADMAX22]

Personally, if I am lining something with fabric, canvas or pigskin, I use 3M "90" Super Strength Spray Adhesive. BUT, be forewarned, if you spray both pieces, let it tack-up for about 30 seconds then stick it together, it ain't coming apart easily at all! You'll ruin your liner before it seperates. You can pick it up at any home improvement store (Home Depot, Lowes, Ace). It also gives a nice even coating and doesn't leave high and low spots from too much or too little adhesive. I'm telling ya, it'll stick ugly to Brad Pitt or Agelina Jolie!

Agreed LOL