Which Adhesive Is Best

[electrathon]

How about using rubber cement that has been thinned to a brush able consistency, applying to both pieces and letting dry before pressing together?

In general, rubber cement is for temporary bonding, contact cement is for permanent bonding.

Properly glued, contact cement is permanent. Good top quality contact cement is strong enough to glue and hold the sole on a shoe, you can't get much more permanent and in need of strength than that.

[splinters]

In general, rubber cement is for temporary bonding, contact cement is for permanent bonding.Properly glued, contact cement is permanent. Good top quality contact cement is strong enough to glue and hold the sole on a shoe, you can't get much more permanent and in need of strength than that.

If I understand correctly then the rubber cement would be OK to temporarily hold two pieces together that I was going to stitch together.

Thanks for taking the time to set me straight.

[Thor]

Renia is a German brand which is used a lot by shoemakers. For some funny reason it is not as popular here like kövulfix which comes from up north.

Anyway wood glues do work for me well. I'm using Ponal. Like most wood glues they aren't meant for bending and will stiffen the item a bit. Environment is a killer for most any wood glue. Read the manufacturer's directions. For instance, Ponal will loose some of it's bonding properties at low temperatures and all if frozen or too old. As for thinners you should see what the base is, some have to be thinned with water and others with the brand's own thinner. I never keep wood glue longer than a year. Also wood glue should not be set to dry or get tacky before putting the pieces together. If you do, the pieces will come apart.

Renia offers a range of glues and they have been to Sheridan this year as well as coming to San Antonio this October http://www.renia.com/englisch/start.html so their products should be available in Texas as well. Here's an overview on a UK page of their products http://www.algeos.com/html/products/adhesives/renia.html

[electrathon]

If I understand correctly then the rubber cement would be OK to temporarily hold two pieces together that I was going to stitch together.

Thanks for taking the time to set me straight.

Yes, if you are going to sew you can get away with just rubber cement. You may have some separation along the lamination line over time.

On items like wallet insides I will often use leather weld. It allows repositioning and does not gum up the sewing needles like rubber or contact. If I need it to really hold I use contact.

[rawcustom]

Good thread, like you I figured this info is buried in the archives and I've been hesitant to start digging. I have experimented with many adhesives in many different applications.

IMO the absolute strongest bond you will get in leather is a polyurethane glue like gorilla glue. However polyurethane glues are terrible messy with all the foam and expansion and require a lot of clamping pressure to work right (force the foam expansion into the material, not force the joint apart). Most times you will be left with noticeable clamping marks, and it will make items much more rigid.

Epoxy works great when the leather is clean and dry, but takes time to cure, can be a mess, can soak in and discolor, needs less clamping than poly, and is not very flexible.

Cyanoacetate (superglue) great for tacking clean leathers, soaks in and discolors easily. Hard to work with because it runs everywhere if you use it in volume and dries very hard. I would not want to sew through it.

Contact cement, I have used Barges blue (without toluene) Petronio master, Wood DAP, and E6000.

Barges blue seems to be very messy with stringy'ness in the application. Bond seemed adequate.

Petronio Master has been my favorite, but thickens by the bottom of the can. I'll have to try to thin with acetone like suggested above.

Wood Dap has been adequate and the easiest to find for me. It seems to be the thinnest of the CC I have used, but seems to work fine.

E6000 I don't like this one very much. It dries way too fast and I can't seem to find the happy medium of tacky for a good bond but not too set that the glue is dried.

When I apply CC and the glue seems to absorb in I rarely add more. I don't think adding extra gunk to sit between the layers is going to do much. I've also found that letting them sit to long is when I can pull the cured glue out from the seams. After pressing the pieces together I always hammer on the joints as I read that somewhere and why not beat on things when you have the chance?

[stu925]

I'm a DAP Weldwood user also. I've had zero trouble with it. I let it set up 10-15 minutes and then press the pieces together then thump them with a deadblow hammer. I can tear the pieces apart if I have to but I'm actually tearing the leather not making the glue joint fail. I very rarely have to clamp if I follow that procedure, the glue will hold it all together and I usually star stitching within 15 minutes or so of gluing. The bottom of the can of glue tends to get very thick and snotty, I usually dump it and pick up another can when that happens as I'm usually down to the last 1/2" or so anyway when it happens.

Stu

[camano ridge]

I like Dwight and others use Weldwood contact cement exclusively. As has been said before once it is no longer tacky stick the two pieces together press. Now walk away and let cure for several hours. Like Dwight said it will pull apart but you are going to have to work at it because will be tearing leather not separating the glue. If you are easily separating the two pieces something is wrong. Are you using the Red Label (flammable) or the water based green label?

TheKaptin, Like Halitech said it is generally best practice to glue and stitch, however I have made some things with glue only because of their application, Including a couple of straps. Those straps have never separated. Take a couple pieces of scrap glue them together with the weld wood. Then over a week or so bend flex what ever you want to do to the leather and see if it does what you want it to.

[splinters]

Thanks very much gents for the choices and side effects.

[OLDNSLOW]

when using weldwood contact cement can the item to be sewed be left for a few to several days before going back and sewing or does it have to be sewed together soon after gluing? From a quick search it looks like weldwood is available at lowes and other big box suppliers, is that correct, or is it a completely different product.

Thanks

[Colt W Knight]

when using weldwood contact cement can the item to be sewed be left for a few to several days before going back and sewing or does it have to be sewed together soon after gluing? From a quick search it looks like weldwood is available at lowes and other big box suppliers, is that correct, or is it a completely different product.

Thanks

You can let it sit however long you want as long

I buy mine from Lowes and Ace hardware, but I have also seen it at Wal Mart and Home Depot