Do any FReepers have experience with "Vulkem Max"?

Me | 8/25/2024 | Paul R.

[Paul R.]

What's your "take" on the Vulkem Max, keeping in mind that I mainly offered the shoe / boot example as a really difficult challenge for most adhesives: Difficult materials to bond to, lots of stresses repeated many times, yet the adhesive must retain flexibility.

My background includes manufacturing use of many and varied adhesives. Metal to metal, metal to ceramic, various types of "rubber", Santoprene, etc., to metal, "Rubber" & Santoprene to polypropylene(s), polypropylene to polypropylene, etc. Fast and high "green strengths" almost always needed, some faster than others. Sometimes the adhesives needed to have vibration damping qualities and / or retain flexibility. Might need high (300-400 deg. F temperature resistance.) And so on. Polypropylene always needed surface prep (varied with adhesive used.)

Anyway, the Vulkem Max just looked like it might make a good, tough, durable, general purpose adhesive at modest cost.

...most rubber soles are notoriously difficult to bond without specialty adhesives and surface prep.

And from what I've seen, the Chinese either haven't figured out how to get those bonds to hold, long term, or don't care. And they may well be using substrates (the sole materials) that are cheap at the cost of being worse about exuding plasticizers over time. Plus, you're not supposed to use lead to make "soft" synthetic "rubber" (or vinyl type materials) anymore. So, up the plasticizer content. At the lowest possible cost. But, hey, some will call me a cheapskate too: At any time, $100 is a LOT for me to spend on boots, and I've had $100 boots soles fall off after very modest use due to adhesives failing...

In my youth, I'd wear soles off (and had a few replaced) before the adhesives in the shoes / boots failed. Now, the sole wear seems similar, but the adhesives fail much sooner.

We used to have a local shoe repair shop, whose prices were quite reasonable. Did good work, too. We also actually had a shoe factory - I wonder if that's where he got his adhesives and preps? But... that was 20+ years ago, and that guy retired and no one took over. :-(

Anyway, I have the Vulkem and will give it a try on a few things. Maybe I'll even try it on a couple failed boots or shoes. If it fails there, I've not lost much. If it holds up for even a few months, it's pretty tough stuff. :-)