Shoe repair glue advice?

Hi

The entire rubber sole has come off one of my Peter storm boots. You have to apply to both surfaces before sticking together. Is a 30ml tube enough to stick down the full sole?

Boot Size is 12 and the glue I’m thinking of ordering is Klebfest which has good reviews.

Edited By Simon Robinson 4 on 17/04/2020 13:50:51

Hi - I have tried fixing walking boot soles a few times and it has never really worked for more than a couple of uses and you risk being stuck somewhere remote if they come off half way round a walk. I also tried getting them fixed professionally by a cobbler and that failed too. The soles take such a battering in this country and walking conditions can be so wet and acidic that even top quality boots seem to last for 3 or 4 years for me.

They are walking boots but fortunately I only wear them when working the garden and in the shed. So not sure how much wear and strain they get digging over the veg patch or chopping logs.

I just repaired my split and peeling slipper soles with gorilla glue and gaffer tape.

I'm not optimistic.

I once had a pair of industrial safety boots modelled on traditional army boots that lasted me 13 years.

Finally the sole came off one walking in the Outer Hebrides - and it was final. It was good that I had a spare pair of heavy shoes with me.

Try a Polyurethane glue it may work, in a shoe factory they would use a hot polyurethane adhesive and significant pressure to fuse the base and sole.

I've always found that cyanoacrylate [super glue] works best for shoe repairs where the rubber sole has come away from the leather . I mend all the family;s shoes this way and they stay stuck. You have to hold the join together until the glue sets.

Being cheap (or perhaps an eco-warrior before such things were fashionable) - I used to stick rubber soles on new leather shoes and replace them when they wore through to the leather. A "Rubber" glue was supplied with the soles to do the job - usually together with a free gift (typically a miniature cheese grater). This all worked very well.

However, several work boots and other shoes with assorted synthetic soles have absolutely refused to be re-glued using all the assorted adhesives in my considerable gluey arsenal. I can only assume that manufacturers realised the growing number of cheap people (sorry) -  Ecologists around - and decided to make their products un-repairable.

Initial cost doesn't seem to be a factor in boot longevity - so I'm afraid I now assume boots to be disposable items and buy any that combine the key elements of being cheap and comfortable. The Brand name doesn't cut any ice at all.

Regards,

IanT

Edited By IanT on 17/04/2020 15:19:51

Simon, This works well for me.

have repaired most of my work /walking boots with Polyurethane glue.....Comes in a tube a bit like Silicone......

IT's my go to heavy glue these days.......flexable and totaly w/poof.....

apply the glue, then put gentle weight on the item to hold the parts together ......

24hours and hey presto job done.....

My work boots regardless of make always has the soles peeling off at the toes.....(scrubbing around on floors)

the rest of the boot falls aparts before the toes go again....

Available in all colours and not so expensive anymore......

I've had good results with a product called ShooGoo on running shoes and women's fashion shoes.

Simon,

" So not sure how much wear and strain they get digging over the veg patch or chopping logs".

Try an axe for the logs, just saying, before Neil beats me to it.

Bear..

+1 for this, because of a condition in my feet I have to have shoes that support the whole foot, the inner parts of the shoes are made from a mould of my feet. The shoes have flat soles and after 6 months constant use, I virtually live in them, the soles come unstuck at the heel and toe, I've tried Evostick, which works short term but I find super glue lasts indefinitely, I do clamp the shoe at the repair and leave for a while.

Martin P

One way to solve the problem of the glue not sticking the sole to the boot is to; first fully remove the sole. Clean it up well, liberally coat with super glue then stand barefoot on the soles.

I've had excellent results with Gorilla Glue Clear recently. It gave an invisible water tight repair when the sole on my shoe came away. It's lasted a month of constant use and is still good

Simon,

Yes. Don't spread it too thick. Use some form of spatula, a lollipop stick will do the trick

Dave

Aquasure its a glue used to make or repair wet suits, sticks like nothing else and remains flexible, 100% waterproof, it comes in 2 versions standard -- takes 12 hours to cure or Rapid -cures in around 1 hour, IMO the standard is better ! PM me if you are stuck and cannot find locally to you.

John

Well, my gorilla glue and gaffer tape repair to my slippers has lasted all day, including a spell machining in the garage.

Can't believe it'll make it to the 28th, though, when my new slippers are due...

I've used hot glue (the cheap Parkside sticks from Lidl) very successfully, but you have to work fast. I found judicious pre-heating with a hot air gun gives you a bit of extra time, and being generous with the amount of glue increases the thermal mass and slows setting. Also give the glue-gun plenty of time to get really hot - that stuff sticks practically anything if its hot enough.

It's good to prepare some sort of clamping arrangement first, especially for the area at the front, which seems to be the point at which unsuccessful gluing attempts fail.

Like IanT, I used to stick rubber repair soles onto new leather-soled shoes - it made them less lethally slippery too.

I tried the parkside glue gun method it sticks really well to the foam bottom of the shoe but just peeled off the rubber sole. Maybe not hot enough?