Best adhesive for camera vinyl/leatherette?

gordonrgw · Apr 3, 2024

Might be considered a heretic here, but to restick loose corners of covering I've used glue stick. (eg Pritt.)
Taking a small piece of the glue stick using a cocktail stick and softening it gently to a spreadable consistency then applying it to the loose area and pressing the covering back down. Any excess is easily removed and the leatherette can be easily repositioned if necessary. it should also be quite easy to remove, if needed, in the future.
(I should add, I'm not sure how well this would work on larger sections, and you do need to ensure that it is lump-free when spreading.)

Romanko · Apr 3, 2024

BobUK said:
I use flake shellac in methylated spirits.

I made a test glueing pieces of leather to an aluminium angle using shellac, PVA and contact cement. Shellac was my favourite both for strength and ease of use. Prepare as described above. Best quality flakes are available from specialized woodworking shops. I used ethanol as a solvent. The only downside is that ethanol can shrink leather but since you are glueing vinyl it is not a problem.

Kino · Apr 3, 2024

Steven Lee said:
@chuckroast Which Pliobond? They have several products. I bought this bottle a while ago to fix the peeling leather on my film back. Extremely stinky! It took almost a year for the smell to fully evaporate. To this day I wonder if I bought the right thing, because if I had to re-leather the entire camera I wouldn't be able to use it for months after!

I had the same experience with the Low VOC version of Pliobond. The odor was indescribably bad when the bottle was new, but somehow it lost that smell after getting some air.

Now it hardly has any odor; weird.

qqphot · Apr 3, 2024

It really is amazing how atrocious Pliobond smells. But it does work pretty well for that sort of thing.

sorbrant · Apr 3, 2024

gordonrgw said:
Might be considered a heretic here, but to restick loose corners of covering I've used glue stick. (eg Pritt.)

Your heresy has been duly noted, the inquisitors have been informed to give you a good shellacking.

DREW WILEY · Apr 3, 2024

"Hot solvent" adhesives should smell atrocious - those kinds of solvents are quite unhealthy to breathe, and are quite flammable too. But most nail polish is equally unhealthy, even when masked with added scents. People actually get addicted to the fumes of solvents like toluene, just like glue-sniffers. Same thing, really.

Shellac uses relatively benign alcohol solvent except in a few special formulations, and is the invention of bugs millions of years ago. It's an extremely complex compound which has never been synthetically replicated. I call it "aphid Goretex" - its the shed lac they leave behind on trees in India, which keeps them dry in the wet season, yet also keeps them from drying out during the dry season. The world's largest importer of shellac is Sees Candy - think of that next time you are enjoying those nice chewy centers.

The same insects produce natural coccineal red dye, and they've been collected and squished for it for millennia. This dye colors the shellac itself, so shellac is subsequently bleached to various degrees of shade, with an intermediate shade being classified as orange shellac, and almost totally bleached as clear shellac. White shellacs like as in specialized wall paint primers or office white-out, are due to white pigment added afterward.

moggi1964 · Apr 3, 2024

sorbrant said:
Your heresy has been duly noted, the inquisitors have been informed to give you a good shellacking.

That made me chuckle and think of Monty Python which always puts me in a good mood!

Larry Cloetta · Apr 3, 2024

Pliobond has always worked perfectly for me, short term, or long term. Covering reliably stays put, yet if you need to peel it back later to access certain screws on the underlying body to disassemble the camera, without damaging the covering, no problem. Not sure if shellac would allow that.
Have never noticed any smell except when applying then maybe an hour after, and then only if I stick my nose right on the area. Maybe smell differs from type to type. This is the one I’ve always used:

DREW WILEY · Apr 3, 2024

Shellac even hundreds of years old can be removed. You just need a decent grade of alcohol. Ordinary drugstore and hardware or paint store alcohol is watered down. Of course, in this case, you'd allow the alcohol to seep in at the edges of the camera vinyl or leatherette, and gently proceed, and not try to pull it off all at once.

Shellac has also been used as a hot-melt adhesive. Iron-on clothing patches were based on shellac. Early print drymounting tissues used shellac.

Sirius Glass · Apr 4, 2024

My Hasselblad repairman at Samy's Camera in Los Angeles recommends PLIOBOND 25 which can be removed later is necessary.

DREW WILEY · Apr 4, 2024

Hmm ... Samy's still has an in-house technician? The one at our local photo store was let go during the pandemic.
That lost them 80% of their used camera business. Now you don't know whether to trust a used piece of gear or not. I think they now farm out inspections and repairs to KEH instead. That's gotta cost em a significant chunk of any remaining profit margin.

chuckroast · Apr 4, 2024

DREW WILEY said:
Shellac even hundreds of years old can be removed. You just need a decent grade of alcohol. Ordinary drugstore and hardware or paint store alcohol is watered down. Of course, in this case, you'd allow the alcohol to seep in at the edges of the camera vinyl or leatherette, and gently proceed, and not try to pull it off all at once.

Shellac has also been used as a hot-melt adhesive. Iron-on clothing patches were based on shellac. Early print drymounting tissues used shellac.

I make my own by dissolving shellac flakes in denatured alcohol. However, good ventilation and nitrile gloves (and eye protection, of course) are mandatory. Ingesting the fumes or absorbing denaturing agents via skin absorption is a not good thing.

xya · Apr 4, 2024

Bayliss said:
Do you know what kind of Pattex? There seems to be many types available. Thanks!

In Germany and France it's called "Classic". It's a very thin liquid, easy to spread with a brush to a fine layer. You need solvent to clean the brush.

titrisol · Apr 4, 2024

chuckroast said:
Yeah, it's pretty great. I've never thought of it as a cover adhesive, but it seems like it would work. Did you just get the flakes and dissolve them in denatured alcohol, or did you buy a commercial shellac product?

Yes, buy flakes and dissolve in IsoPropyl Alcohol.
There was a guide on how to safely apply leatherette so that it can be removed in French
Ha! LCR has it translated

Gluing Leather In A Reversible Way

By Clemens Mug

learncamerarepair.com

GLS · Apr 7, 2024

dxqcanada said:
Hmm, I use typically use Pliobond, but it is not so easy to obtain in the UK.

Agreed. I couldn't find a supplier anywhere for it when I needed to re-attach a portion of peeling leatherette on one of my Hasselblad A12 backs.

In the end I used "E6000 plus" adhesive, which worked very well. It's important to clean all the old glue off thoroughly beforehand though.

Arthurwg · Jun 2, 2024

BTW, what's the best substance to use to clean off old adhesive before regluing? Acetone, alcohol, or Goo Gone? Or is this even necessary?

Don_ih · Jun 2, 2024

Arthurwg said:
Acetone, alcohol, or Goo Gone?

Depends what the original adhesive was. So, test using the least nasty first. And it generally is necessary to remove as much as you can. The last Leica I took apart, I sanded the outside of the body clean.

GLS · Jun 2, 2024

Arthurwg said:
Acetone, alcohol, or Goo Gone?

I would advise avoiding acetone if possible, as it can easily attack plastic parts. IPA or methanol would be safer to try first.

chuckroast · Jun 2, 2024

GLS said:
I would advise avoiding acetone if possible, as it can easily attack plastic parts. IPA or methanol would be safer to try first.

I concur, though I use ethanol moreso than methanol. For the really tough stuff, I will resort to surgically and minimally applied naptha whilst wearing gloves, and then remove the naptha residue promptly. I never use acetone.

eli griggs · Jul 31, 2024

I've mentioned this before but Shellac is pretty safe stuff, I mix my flakes with ethanol, in this case "Everclear" liquor about 95%, which is often used to make extracts of Vanilla, Almond, Orange, etc and shellac is edible, used for example for an outer coating for some candies.

It's what is used on old and new fountain pens to glue up a new ink sac, latex or silicone to the nib holding end of the pen.

I use ethanol instead of denatured alcohol because, other than alcohol poisoning, it's safer to have mixed up for use, especially if kids get into it.

Shellac Pound Cut Mixing Chart

Pound Cut is the amount, by weight, of dry Flake SHELLAC dissolved in One gallon of Denatured Alcohol.

www.shellac.net

I use a low volume of Orange shellac flakes in Everclear, for a three pound cut of only a few ounces of finished product, as needed.

The mixed shellac can be diluted by more alcohol, to drop to a two or one pound cut.

Keep your jar of shellac flakes in a tightly shut Mason jar, stored cool and out of direct sunlight.

BobUK · Aug 1, 2024

A tip given to me about storing decorators knotting. A similar, if not quite the same substance as shellac.
Place the small jar of knotting in a larger jam jar, and pour about half an inch of methylated spirits into the larger jar, then screw the lid on tightly.
The vapour stops the knotting/mixed shellac jar lid from jamming on tight with dried knotting.

Arthurwg · Aug 4, 2024

ic-racer said:
Not all contact adhesives are the same. I also sometimes struggle with thick adhesive that leaves unfavorable results. For the last few years I have been using this 3M product that goes on thin and is black.

There are also spray adhesives that go on thin too. View attachment 367236

I tried this and it seems to work well, at least on the small area I needed to glue.

samcomet · Aug 4, 2024

For what it is worth I've had success with 3M 80 Vinyl and Rubber Adhesive. It's a spray but I put a bunch into a jam jar lid and paint it onto the surface with a cotton bud. Seems to hold up well.

JensH · Aug 5, 2024

eli griggs said:
I've mentioned this before but Shellac is pretty safe stuff, I mix my flakes with ethanol, in this case "Everclear" liquor about 95%, which is often used to make extracts of Vanilla, Almond, Orange, etc and shellac is edible, used for example for an outer coating for some candies.

It's what is used on old and new fountain pens to glue up a new ink sac, latex or silicone to the nib holding end of the pen.

I use ethanol instead of denatured alcohol because, other than alcohol poisoning, it's safer to have mixed up for use, especially if kids get into it.

Shellac Pound Cut Mixing Chart

Pound Cut is the amount, by weight, of dry Flake SHELLAC dissolved in One gallon of Denatured Alcohol.

www.shellac.net

I use a low volume of Orange shellac flakes in Everclear, for a three pound cut of only a few ounces of finished product, as needed.

The mixed shellac can be diluted by more alcohol, to drop to a two or one pound cut.

Keep your jar of shellac flakes in a tightly shut Mason jar, stored cool and out of direct sunlight.

Hi,

shellac in isopropanol is great to glue real leather (the thin Morocco/Saffian like on pre-war Rolleiflexes) onto the camera. Here you can get it in art supplies, I use a quite concentrated solution, it flows similar to honey.
Indeed it is fine for fountain pen sacs, too.

Best
Jens

non sequiteur · Aug 20, 2024

You can thin down contact cement with acetone or paint thinner. Makes is waaaayyyy easier to get a nice thin even coat on both surfaces.

I have used both pva and thinned contact cement. I prefer the pva. I did not clean the surface, I found that the glue residue surface from the old leatherette made for a better adhesion than bare metall. Note, I have mostly used it on tlrs, not linhof technicas... And I used proper sheep leather, not leatherette (as I had a hide lying around and quality leatherette is hard to find locally)

Best adhesive for camera vinyl/leatherette?

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