Thoughts on a different way to re-glue skins?

This might be a bit early in the year for this post, but I thought I would see if anyone has any comments - - before I make a fool of myself and put it on my website.

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Skin re-gluing  - Plan C

Plan B is what you do when Plan A does not work. So consider Plan C below in this light. I've not been that happy with the usual methods of re-gluing skins. Painting the glue on is messy, and if you paint over old glue sometimes strange things happen. I suspect this may be related to the solvent.  Iron-on glue sheets from Black Diamond are an improvement in this regard, but I found the process a bit messy - getting the excess glue off for example.

I also think, based on some Emails I exchanged with the folks at Skins Direct, that the BD glue sheets are thicker than need be, and that the extra thickness actually changes the characteristics of the glue. After using my new Skins Direct skins all last winter, I became a big fan of the thinner glue layer they use.

Towards last spring I knew that the skins would need re-gluing for the next season. Just more adhesion as the glue surface was otherwise OK.  At the end of the season I experimented with a new (to me) method.  According to my contact at Skins Direct, the adhesive in BD Gold Label is essentially the same as what they use. So I decided to make my own iron on glue sheets. The test areas I did last spring seemed to work fine.

I've now re-glued my skins for the coming season, and thought I would describe the method now before I forget how I did it. Hey, forgetting is easy for me.

The process:
Cover a piece of cardboard with parchment paper, folding it over the ends and fastening it on the back side so the paper is tight and smooth. I ended up with about 2 and a half linear feet of the paper to work with.

Pour a good puddle of BD Gold Label in the middle of the paper and use a 6 inch plastic squeegee to quickly spread the glue evenly over the surface. I ended up using about a half a can. Doing it outside in cool weather helps. Let the glue dry thoroughly, and don't let the surface become contaminated.

When the glue is dry, lightly press another piece of parchment paper over the surface. Don't push too hard, because this will become the release layer. After a day or so the glue sheets are ready to use.

With a fresh straight edge razor blade, cut strips from the glue sheet just wide enough to cover sections of the skin. With this method, you do not need to remove the center nylon tape if the skins have it.

Peal the release paper back an inch or so, precisely place the strip, and stick it down as you would masking tape. Stick one end down, peal the release paper back for a foot or so and press down, then repeat.

When the skin is covered, iron the glue in the same manner as you would for the BD glue sheets. The iron does not need to be too hot; just hot enough to melt the glue. It's the same method I described here:

www.larryscascaderesource.com/weird/weird_files/skins.html

After ironing, turn the skin over and trim off the excess parchment and glue with a razor blade. This just keeps things need and prevents little balls of sticky glue from getting all over the place.

Let the skins cool, and peal the parchment off.  As of right now, the result looks great. I'll let you know if I still like this method half way through the winter. Or maybe sooner if the skins vaporize, explode, or wake up in the dead of night and go on a killing rampage.

Larry

I like the thinking Larry.
I know this is a sticky subject.
When I reglued my BD glidelight cowskins with the OEM BD strips, I thought that the strips were too thin, just my thinking. But the results have been very gratifying, easy to remove from ski on or off, skins pull apart glue to glue easier, hold adhesion when wet. Just my take on the matter.
Good creative research with a messy subject matter.

I took the advice of the BD people and warmed up the glue in a pan of hot water before application (I used a brush). The glue flowed on much better and levelled itself well. The result was a glossy surface much like new skins.

Consider covering the nap of the skins with blue tape to prevent the inevitable glue clumps from permanently sticking.

Nothing beats a scraper and an iron or heat gun for removing the old glue.

I took the advice of the BD people and warmed up the glue in a pan of hot water before application (I used a brush).

Thanks for reminding me about this trick Clem,

But knowing me  - - hot glue pot - - I might burn Seattle down again. You know, the Great Seattle Fire and all,   

Larry

Since we're discussing gluing skins... My pair has very little sticky left, and what is still sticky is mostly sticking to pine needles. I haven't got a clue how to even start cleaning, much less re-gluing, these suckers. Is it worth trying to do it myself, or am I better off just paying someone? Is there a guide anywhere that covers this?