Marabu Fixogum Rubber Cement

Andreas Thaler · Apr 17, 2025

Since my tube of Pliobond is almost finished and the adhesive is apparently unavailable in Europe, I'm looking for an alternative. I want to use it to bond leatherette and anything else that needs to be removable during repairs on cameras.

The description of Fixogum Rubber Cement sounds promising:

Elastic adhesive for graphic design and craft use. Glues paper, cardboard, paste board, plastic film and other flexible materials. For non-permanent or permanent fixing. Glued parts will not deform. Does not ripple the paper, ideal for photographs. Any adhesive residue can simply be rubbed off. On the basis of natural rubber and organic solvents. Not resistant to ageing. Acid-free.

Products Archive - Marabu Kreativ

www.marabu-creative.com

As soon as I have a tube of it I will report on my experiences.

dxqcanada · Apr 17, 2025

Have you tried to find Konishi G17? Polarbear sells in in UK, but not sure if there are any EU distributors.

reddesert · Apr 17, 2025

The description of the Fixogum product, especially as oriented toward craft use, makes it sound like the glue that in the US is called "rubber cement" - the most common variety is Elmer's brand, and you can get it in craft stores and such. Rubber cement is good for gluing paper together, and would probably work reasonably well for leatherette, but I don't think it's as strong as contact cement. Pliobond, DAP Weldwood, and E5000 are all brands of contact cement that are fairly common in the US, but I don't know what brands are common in Europe.

Andreas Thaler · Apr 18, 2025

dxqcanada said:
Have you tried to find Konishi G17? Polarbear sells in in UK, but not sure if there are any EU distributors.

Thanks looks promising:

Konishi BOND G17 All Purpose Adhesive 20ml (Glue spatula incl.)

INTERNATIONAL BUYER: THERE IS A SHIPPING LIMIT ON THIS ITEM. MAXIMUM 2 UNITS PER ORDER. Description: Excellent adhesive for re-attaching leatherette to camera bodies and shutter curtains to metal rolls. Safe for use with plastic parts. The glue is 4 VOC compliant and not only has less odor, but...

polarbearcamera.com

I can buy Fixogum at a hardware store in Vienna, but I'd have to order this glue from the UK. But I definitely want to test it.

Andreas Thaler · Apr 18, 2025

reddesert said:
The description of the Fixogum product, especially as oriented toward craft use, makes it sound like the glue that in the US is called "rubber cement" - the most common variety is Elmer's brand, and you can get it in craft stores and such. Rubber cement is good for gluing paper together, and would probably work reasonably well for leatherette, but I don't think it's as strong as contact cement. Pliobond, DAP Weldwood, and E5000 are all brands of contact cement that are fairly common in the US, but I don't know what brands are common in Europe.

Yesterday, I spent a long time searching the web for recommendations for a Pliobond replacement and also looked at what was available on the market.

There were surprisingly few removable adhesives, but one strong adhesive outperformed the next, according to the manufacturer's specifications

I don't know why Pliobond isn't available here. It used to be available at Microtools Germany.

Perhaps this is already a result of the new US - Europe trade relationship. I would be very sorry about that, as I really appreciate US products for camera repair (from Edsyn, for example).

Pliobond is available from Microtools USA, but it doesn't ship to Europe because of its ingredients.

However I'm no logistics expert.

reddesert · Apr 18, 2025

Pliobond was reformulated in the US several years ago to be lower VOC (volatile organic compounds) content. One consequence was that the new formulation is rather bad smelling, I prefer to use it outside. Contact cements typically have some kind of organic solvent that evaporates - you can get more info on each from its MSDS - and it wouldn't surprise me if the rules about these are somewhat different in Europe and the US. I had the understanding that typical contact cements are "like rubber cement but stronger," but I do not know what properties make one stronger than another.

Andreas Thaler · Apr 18, 2025

I now have a tube of Fixogum. I'll be using it for the next repair project.

ivan35mm · Apr 19, 2025

Andreas Thaler said:
I don't know why Pliobond isn't available here. It used to be available at Microtools Germany.

I was going to say, I literally just bought some Pliobond from Micro-tools DE... I guess their stock is depleted.

I'm curious of your thoughts on the Fixogum?!

I also use a product from China called "Zhanlida T7000" that I get locally from a phone repair store here in Madrid. Works great for bellow repairs, as it is black in color.

Light Capture · Apr 19, 2025

Andreas Thaler said:
I now have a tube of Fixogum. I'll be using it for the next repair project.

I would try standard UHU offerings. You can probably get it in any nearby store. I tried different contact cements and E6000 and some other alternatives. While some others have better ultimate strength than standard synthetic UHU, I use it for most things now. It's reasonably easy to remove, dries transparent like E6000 and dries quick unlike E6000. How well it adheres depends on the layer applied.
If more permanent bond is needed apply more. Works great and stays where applied. E6000 is ultimately stronger for most things than either contact cement or standard UHU.

UHU is what Leica recommends in their service manuals for some things (I don't think it's the same formulation these days but reminded me to try and see how it works now).

There are tons of other glues that could be better for specific purpose like bellows or other places where you would like the bond to be very permanent and very flexible (E6000 after full curing would be better).

Ian Grant · Apr 19, 2025

Evo Stik Impact (contact) adhesive is the equivalent of Pliobond. It's used (commercially) for attaching bellows, and also leather/leatherette. I use it for shutter curtains as it's relatively flexible when dry, I should add I'm talking about quite large shutter curtains.

Ian

Andreas Thaler · Apr 19, 2025

Light Capture said:
I would try standard UHU offerings. You can probably get it in any nearby store. I tried different contact cements and E6000 and some other alternatives. While some others have better ultimate strength than standard synthetic UHU, I use it for most things now. It's reasonably easy to remove, dries transparent like E6000 and dries quick unlike E6000. How well it adheres depends on the layer applied.
If more permanent bond is needed apply more. Works great and stays where applied. E6000 is ultimately stronger for most things than either contact cement or standard UHU.

UHU is what Leica recommends in their service manuals for some things (I don't think it's the same formulation these days but reminded me to try and see how it works now).

There are tons of other glues that could be better for specific purpose like bellows or other places where you would like the bond to be very permanent and very flexible (E6000 after full curing would be better).

Thanks!

Standard UHU is available everywhere here.

Andreas Thaler · Apr 19, 2025

ivan35mm said:
I'm curious of your thoughts on the Fixogum?!

I‘ll report!

Andreas Thaler · Apr 19, 2025

Ian Grant said:
Evo Stick Impact (contact) adhesive is the equivalent of Pliobond. It's used (commercially) for attaching bellows, and also leather/leatherette. I use it for shutter curtains as it's relatively flexible when dry, I should add I'm talking about quite large shutter curtains.

Ian

Thanks!

Also this makes the adhesive world look friendly again

Ian Grant · Apr 19, 2025

It's actually Evo-Stik I misspelt it. I know that was used when I had bag bellows made in 1977, and Camera Bellows (now Custom Bellows) make bellows for companies like Linhof. It's available in various sizes, from small tubes to 5 litre tins. For our uses the small tubes are the best.

I've used it myself, many times, when making bellows, and attaching them or Chinese replacements to frames or camera bodies, wood and metal.

Ian

Andreas Thaler · Jun 11, 2025

Today I used Fixogum to glue the leatherette on the bottom and the screw cover on the eyepiece of a Canon T90.

The adhesive is easy to work with; it only leaves moderate threads and dries quickly.

For a stable bond, I would apply it to both surfaces.

Residues can be completely rubbed off.

I'll stick with this adhesive and gain further experience with it. In particular, I would like to check the strength of the bond.

Dan Daniel · Jun 11, 2025

Andreas Thaler said:
Today I used Fixogum to glue the leatherette on the bottom and the screw cover on the eyepiece of a Canon T90.

The adhesive is easy to work with; it only leaves moderate threads and dries quickly.

For a stable bond, I would apply it to both surfaces.

Residues can be completely rubbed off.

I'll stick with this adhesive and gain further experience with it. In particular, I would like to check the strength of the bond.

I'll be curious to hear about what happens when you try to remove a skin with this glue. Give it a few days to set up and let us know. That's a recurring issue for me. So far Pliobond retains flexibility and removability.

Andreas Thaler · Jun 12, 2025

Dan Daniel said:
I'll be curious to hear about what happens when you try to remove a skin with this glue. Give it a few days to set up and let us know. That's a recurring issue for me. So far Pliobond retains flexibility and removability.

Could you give me an example of what you mean exactly?

Marabu Fixogum Rubber Cement

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