how do I glue patches onto my suit?

Discuss caving lights, packs, helmets, clothing, etc.
For rope and vertical equipment, go to the On Rope! forum.
Cave electronics enthusiasts can also visit the Communications and Electronics Section forum.

Moderator: Moderators

how do I glue patches onto my suit?

Postby Dwight Livingston » Sep 10, 2005 4:01 pm

For years I've been sewing patches on my cave suits, and I'd like to find a better way. Is anyone getting good results glueing large patches onto their suit? What glue are you using and how are you applying it? I currently have a Meander suit, and I need to patch the butt, knees, and elbows.

Thanks

Dwight
User avatar
Dwight Livingston
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 323
Joined: Sep 6, 2005 7:17 am
NSS #: 27411
Primary Grotto Affiliation: Baltimore Grotto
  

Postby Wayne Harrison » Sep 10, 2005 4:21 pm

I followed the advice of Jim Wilson, a Colorado caver, who used some cloth-mender glue that he bought at the hardward store. He covers the patch piece with glue and the part it goes on with glue and presses them together. It not only works well, but is sort of reinforced with all the cloth glue in middle. I tried it and it works really well (before, I had been taking my coveralls to a woman who sewed patches on)
User avatar
Wayne Harrison
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 2382
Joined: Aug 30, 2005 5:29 pm
Location: Pine, Colorado
NSS #: 18689 FE
Primary Grotto Affiliation: unaffiliated
  

Postby Dan Lamping » Sep 11, 2005 8:52 am

Try "Outdoor Goop". It's typically sold at hardware stores. Similar to "Shoe Goo". It's tough stuff. For small tears and such, I don't use a patch, just coat the tear itself in Goop.

- dan
Dan Lamping
Infrequent Poster
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Sep 5, 2005 8:12 pm
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
  

Postby Dwight Livingston » Sep 11, 2005 9:41 am

I am glad to hear you're getting good results by glueing on patches. A contact cement sounds like the right thing to use; I've had luck with them in other projects.

I saw a GOOP product at the store and considered it for patching. The package, though, has very little information about the product, like what resins are used. I tried to get some info from their website, but there is not much there either. The company is Eclectic Products, Inc., who also make Shoe Goo, which has been a caver favorite for a long time. They also make ten Amazing GOOP products (not to be confused with their Amazing GOOP Epoxies.) They all are contact cements that remain flexible after application. The only difference I can see between the types is UV resistance. Some are available in larger sizes.

The product looks like it would work. I wonder if some other contact cement might be a little thinner, something that comes in a can that can be applied with a brush.

Dwight
User avatar
Dwight Livingston
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 323
Joined: Sep 6, 2005 7:17 am
NSS #: 27411
Primary Grotto Affiliation: Baltimore Grotto
  

Postby Casper » Sep 15, 2005 10:46 pm

Gorilla Glue is a great adhesive, and has worked well for me in the past. However I've noticed it likes to expand when it gets wet (and is generally fatal if ingested for this reason, so keep it far away from the pets)
User avatar
Casper
Frequent Poster
 
Posts: 67
Joined: Sep 15, 2005 10:37 pm
Location: Somewhere between here and there
NSS #: 52370
  

Postby Biggimo1 » Sep 18, 2005 8:57 pm

I am a shoe goo man all the way.
User avatar
Biggimo1
Occasional Poster
 
Posts: 40
Joined: Sep 8, 2005 5:57 pm
  

Goop for sewing patches on

Postby Ernie Coffman » Sep 20, 2005 3:07 pm

Several excellent goops, out there, for sewing on patches, etc. I use Liquid Stitch, which is called "Sewing With a Tube." I believe I picked this up at Wally World and the price was very reasonable. :D
Ernie Coffman
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 1145
Joined: Sep 10, 2005 12:07 am
Location: Grants Pass, Oregon
  

Postby Ralph E. Powers » Sep 25, 2005 4:37 pm

I've one patch (sewn) on the breast pocket of my suit... thought about putting another one on... but got to thinking... conservationally speaking is this really a good idea?
We've caves here, where some passages are lined with popcorn and sometimes enact like velcro when one is trying to negotiate them. In many cases this is the main trail through the cave and thus can't be helped.
But anyway, I wonder about bits and pieces of thread that come off our suits (something that can't be helped... other than avoid going caving altogether... :shock: ... no, not that! ahhhh!) but as with many patches these are sewn designs on a shaped piece of (heavy cloth). Over time one would think that bits of thread and pieces would come off. With a glued patch one could concievably tear off the patch itself and it would remain in the cave (til the next caver found it or not at all)... this is after the patch has been on for a few years and a dozen or more washings. Just how durable are these glues?
I dunno, just thinking aloud here.
User avatar
Ralph E. Powers
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 2101
Joined: Sep 10, 2005 5:48 pm
Location: Chattanooga, TN
NSS #: 37616
  

Sewing patches on your shirts/ other a sundry cave clothes

Postby Ernie Coffman » Sep 25, 2005 6:31 pm

So much for that sewing stitch that I recommended a few days ago. We were washing my SAR shirt and poof, all of my liquid stitched patches came off; thus, no go! I would go for the shoe glue or other sources like it. Sorry if anyone purchased any of that junk. It does an easy patch job, but...comes off in water. I don't think so! :(
Ernie Coffman
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 1145
Joined: Sep 10, 2005 12:07 am
Location: Grants Pass, Oregon
  

Postby cavescom » Sep 30, 2005 10:23 am

Shoe Goo or Plumbers Goop available at Walmart is the way to go. I patch my suit all the time with it and use it for just about anything that requires a forever hold.

TIP: When buying a new cave suit by a couple tubes of Shoe Goo and a can of Toluene from Ace hardware or other local hardware store....in a very well ventilated area mix the two products about 1/2 and 1/2 or maybe a bit thinner...stir vigorously and paint on to the butt, knees and elbows. Make sure the mixture is thin enough to soak into the material. Once dry your knees, butt and elbows are bombproof!

Mark Passerby, Caves.com
User avatar
cavescom
Prolific Poster
 
Posts: 195
Joined: Sep 19, 2005 9:09 pm
Location: Michigan
  

Shoo Goo and Plumber's Goo

Postby Ernie Coffman » Sep 30, 2005 2:19 pm

Thanks Mark for your post. Guess the mixture is a good one, as you recommended it. There are some chemicals out there that you don't want to mix, so...just smile. :D
Ernie
Ernie Coffman
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 1145
Joined: Sep 10, 2005 12:07 am
Location: Grants Pass, Oregon
  

Postby DirtDoc » Oct 2, 2005 10:19 pm

GOOP

Mark is right. Pretty great stuff. Marketed under a jillion names with amazingly different prices. Everybody’s favorite Goop, Shoe Goo, etc. Same stuff as Aquaseal (premium priced for you diver folks). It is urethane. You can thin it with toluene, which you can get in cans at Ace hardware at a reasonable price. Use it thick (from the tube) to glue up your boots, fix your computer circuit board, plug gas tank leaks, thin it and paint your knees (of the cave suit) and they become indestructible and waterproof. It’s a glue, it’s a sealant, and tough. Thin it and it dries faster. Don’t sniff it, though, or you will get a Big Head. Very Big.

DirtDoc
User avatar
DirtDoc
Frequent Poster
 
Posts: 85
Joined: Sep 28, 2005 1:23 pm
Location: Denver, CO
Name: Dwight Deal
NSS #: 3592
  

try tearmender!

Postby Peggy Renwick » Dec 13, 2005 8:40 pm

TearMender is an awesome latex fabric glue. I've only found it at Ace hardware stores. It's the liquid patch of choice for most Black Hills cavers. Try not to overdo it, though - it doesn't set very well when it's laid on too thick.
and remember when you found the key
to his hideout in the pyrenees
but you wanted to keep his secret safe
so you threw the key away
-- the decemberists
User avatar
Peggy Renwick
Occasional Poster
 
Posts: 31
Joined: Oct 13, 2005 2:45 pm
Location: Ithaca, New York
  

Postby Andy Shoun » Dec 14, 2005 11:02 am

I used contact cement to glue some very large patches on the seat and knees of some "new" pants for caving. It turned out very stiff, but the glue is holding very well. Later, I used shoe goo to put smaller patches on the inside of the pants to repair tears and am very happy with the results. I like the flexibility of shoe goo better.
-Not all who wander are lost.
User avatar
Andy Shoun
Frequent Poster
 
Posts: 70
Joined: Sep 6, 2005 11:54 am
Location: Greenville SC
  


Return to Equipment Forum

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users