Hello,
Three questions from me: 1. When heating a waxed edge I use quite short time under heat so that the edge colour stays very light brown (Fits well with natural-coloured goods). The wax does melt and the edge does get stiffer and stronger, but I suspect the wax penetration is not that deep. Do you think it's okay for the edge durability or should I try to get really hot with the wax to make it penetrate?
2. After I've done the stitching with a waxed thread I run over it with a light flame, just to melt the wax and get a better shine to the thread. Do you use such technique? Or maybe you handle the leftover surface wax differently?
3. My rubber glue which is based on neoprene gives off some really toxic and intense fumes. Is it the common problem with rubber-like cements/glues or am I that unlucky? :D Do you use some gas masks when working with really smelly stuff?
:)
Cheers,
Radosław
@radoslaw.landowski
1) Yes, if it is light, there hasn't been much penetration/saturation. Try mixing water and PVA glue into a thin solution and applying to the edge. Wait 1 minute and burnish to a shine. It won't be as dark as wax, but definitely more durable from my own tests.
2) There shouldn't be any surface wax in the first place. As an alternative to the above suggestions, carefully draw the thread a few inches above a flame so that the wax soaks into the core to condition the thread. Careful with polyester, draw across a cheap iron on a low setting for that.
3) Use water based contact adhesive or 'solvent free' contact adhesive which looks white like PVA. Saregum is good: https://www.rmleathersupply.com/products/saregum-water-based-glue-made-in-france?variant=31692245891
I also list my favourite solvent free adhesive on the Course Supplies page of this site for the video course 'The Techniques Of Adhesion'.
Phil
Thank you for your replies!
@Ben Wu And you polish the thread with the cloth before stitching right? Doesn't the thread that is still sticky catch some dust and get darkened over time?
@radoslaw.landowski for threads, i’ll run them through the wax a few times and after that I would use a clean cloth and go through the thread to spread out the wax so that the thread feels waxy and stickey throughout. I learn this from a hermes video.
For glue, I stay away from toxic smell glue. i go mine from rmleathersupply and fineleatherworks. They have a few good ones.
@radoslaw.landowski Some great questions there, let's see what advice the group have for you!