Material can also be found at "Parts is Parts". Their website is...
http://www.guitar-parts.com

Or, you can try "Vibro World", at...
http://www.vibroworld.com

(Most of these types of products are actually manufactured by Kayline Processing, or the Hickory Leather Co.)

[This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 30 March 2002 at 01:40 AM.]

George

URL Corrected - Joey

I was after the manufacturer or large distributor so I can buy it by the large rolls.

Best Regards,
rick barber

Big job, but well worth the effort!

Bryan

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Help prevent juvenile delinquency...teach children to STEEL

[This message was edited by Bryan Knox on 02 April 2002 at 07:03 AM.]

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Carter D10 9p/10k
Richard Sinkler

http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/6b29ab49/bc/1ATolex+Tutorial+Text/New+Glue +Review.doc?BCWFnq8APfcu_d4C

[This message was edited by Ken Fox on 02 April 2002 at 07:04 PM.]

New Glue Review

After the original document I put together concerning Tolex® application and associated products I found a new, much better glue. This product is neoprene-based water soluble, product that cleans up with soap and water, no nasty solvents required.

This new product comes from Custom Pak Adhesives. Their company URL is Http://www.custompak.com. The Custom Pak person I spoke to is Jeff Pitcher and his phone number is 1-(800)-454-4583; his email address is jpitcher@custompak.com. This product comes in a one gallon jug like a milk jug and the price is under $24 per gallon (plus shipping).

Application

I recently used this new glue to apply a snakeskin Tolex® covering to a newly constructed Gibson GA15 cabinet. (Photos are in my Yahoo briefcase) This is definitely the most pleasurable product I have ever used for Tolex®.

It is very thin as compared to contact cement, and is easily applied with a bristle paintbrush. Apply the product to both materials to be glued as you would with contact cement and wait until it is “tacky” before putting the two pieces together. Jeff told me in a recent email “The main thing to remember is to let the carrying agent (in this case water) flash off before mating the two pieces. Using a hair dryer can speed up this process. Depending on your conditions this can take anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes.”

I found that it got tacky fairly quickly (it was summer and the air was warm) and it lends itself to adjustment of the piece very well. If you “goof” when you put the pieces together it is a simple matter to remove it and place it again. I did the entire cabinet with a 1 ½” cheapie, Home Depot paintbrush. The product was so easy to apply that a roller was not needed. Coverage is excellent, I don’t think I used more than a pint to do the entire cabinet including back panels.

One of the biggest differences in working with this product is that the Tolex®, which is vinyl, does not stretch because of the interaction with the glue. That means that it does not have a tendency “pucker” or bubble up, which is a common problem when applying Tolex® with contact cement. Since it does not stretch it therefore does not shrink when the product finally cures and sets. This is especially important for doing nice corners, or seams. According to Jeff, “… the adhesive will have it’s full cure in 24 hours but is designed to be machined immediately after the two pieces come in contact”. This statement applies more to using the glue for laminating counter tops etc.

I was able to keep working the entire time and didn’t need to walk away and wait for the product to setup to continue on to the next piece. By the time I had covered the next piece of Tolex® and cabinet surface with glue, the last area I worked on was set well enough to continue. This alone is a valuable asset because there is very little time wasted.

Clean up

Clean up is much easier than with contact cement because it is water soluble there are no nasty solvents, and no toxic fumes. The glue has very little odor and it is not unpleasant. I kept a small pan of warm water nearby to rest the brush in when I wasn’t applying glue, this helps a lot but it is difficult to get all of the glue out of the brush, so I recommend disposable type brushes. The glue comes off of your hands with soap and water. The Tolex® itself can be cleaned up as you go along with warm water. For areas where you have seams, or are doing corners sometimes glue will ooze out and need to be wiped off. Jeff also said, in his email to me, “Regarding clean-up; this is a water based product and should clean up ok with water. Warm water works the best. Try putting pine-sol in it. Because it is neoprene based it’s going to be a little difficult regardless”.

Conclusion

This is the product to use for Tolex® or for vintage tweed applications. It is easier to use and it is easier to clean up. It doesn’t have any of the toxic fumes or chemicals. It does not stretch or shrink the vinyl or cause puckering. I will never go back to contact cement after using this product. The only drawback is that it is only available in one gallon containers (as far as I know) and if you a only have a small project this may be a problem.