Posted on 08/25/2024 8:29:08 PM PDT by Paul R.
Do any FReepers have experience with a product called "Vulkem Max"? This appears to be a considerably improved version of Vulkem 116, a well established and very good product itself, used for caulking and sealing in difficult conditions / situations, but I can't even find any reviews on the web for Vulkem Max.
If you have a local shoe repair guy, one who does things old school, go speak to them. I have one a few blocks away who’s great, and is putting new soles on my Matterhorns. The rest of the boot is fine, but after a decade, I wore down the treads. I DID buy a new pair, but I wanted to have my old ones as backup.
If you need someone and are willing to ship back and forth, I can recommend him. He routinely repairs my vintage shoes, too (1940-1970), so he does things the old-school way.
For durability, I recommend Matterhorn, but I did initially receive a defective pair of boots and go through a lot of trouble to get them to send me a new pair. At $500+ per pair, there was no excuse for what happened.
I never had much luck with iron on patches. They just don’t seem to have very durable adhesion. Possibly my Mom (she was doing the patching) did not apply enough pressure. It may be I should lay the patch on the denim, outline it with a “washable” marker, lay a bead of a heat reactivatable solvent base glue* inside the outline, let it dry to slightly tacky, then apply the patch with the iron and heavy pressure. That might give the adhesive on the patch something to really hang on to.
*Weldwood contact cement might work - I’d want something that really gets down into the denim.)
This doesn’t have any bearing on the Vulchem Max (I think?): It appears the Max is either a new product or has very limited distribution, as “experience” with it seems non-existent... :-(
Well, to re-emphasize, while re-adhering a loose work shoe or boot sole makes a darn good practical test of many things about an adhesive, that’s not my end goal. What I’m hoping is that the Vulchem Max turns out to be a very good general purpose economical adhesive that hangs on to virtually any clean substrate short of Teflon and similar surfaces, with great tenacity under difficult conditions.
My go to is 3M 5200 Marine adhesive
I’ll add that some of the shoe repair adhesives are likely quite good, but, on a $$ per oz. basis and for general purpose outdoor usages...
It works in extreme weather conditions, very strong and not brittle. Better than silicone.
It really depends on your requirements. Fuze-It is made by PPG.
3M Marine adhesive is another good choice.
I actually used some 5200 on my old johnboat several years ago. Good stuff. From what I can gather, it may be VERY similar to the Vulkem Max, tho’ I don’t see anything about 5200 being useable on wet surfaces? In any event, it’s over twice the price of “Max”. How much of that is the “name” I don’t know.
hahahahaha....
People!
Thanks for the replies, and good information is good information for future reference, but...
I’m not looking for alternatives, I’m asking for info. (experience with) what I have. (A tube of Vulkem Max.)
Like “how far can I push this stuff in the long haul?” :-)
Thanks!
Interestingly enough, of the specs I have, the Vulkem Max appears to be near identical to the Fuze It. At half the price per oz. :-)
Note / question: How much quicker is the cure of Fuze It if, after, say, a 1 hour initial curing period on a warm, humid morning (85 deg. F?), one cranks that up to an afternoon car interior temperature of, oh, maybe 10 deg. F?
Maybe I’ll just do the “work boot test” with the “Max”. What the heck...
It’s called Shoe Goo . . .
Right - I picked up a tube of Vulkem Max @ Menards. $8.99 and then the 11% rebate. :-)
Indeed, it is “Shoe Goo”. The tube size seems to have been downgraded, but not the price. Just like the competency of our gov’t, eh?
I have used 3M 5200 and gotten good results. There are similar products from other companies. Silicone won’t hold up to the bending of the shoe.
I bought a tube of Vulkem Max 116. It was touted as a great driveway crack repair caulk that is self-leveling in the crack.
Had a wide crack (up to 1” in some spots) in my driveway and used it. Found out the Vulkem needed to be really warmed up and the caulk applied on a hot day (not a cold weather caulk). I also bought some poly rope foam of varying diameters to push down in the crack before the Vulkem was applied. Then I applied a light crushed stone coating over that and gently swept it after a bit. It’s been about a year and that one crack is still filled and no voids have opened up.
I work in the adhesive industry. In fact, Vulkem is manufactured by a sister company.
That said, most rubber soles are notoriously difficult to bond without specialty adhesives and surface prep.
Buy new boots or see if the manufacturer offers resoling
Right. Silicone also doesn’t have good long term adhesion to many “soft” plastics that exude plasticizer(s) over time.
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