Using glue on suedes and leathers
Most suede and leather garments are put
together with varying amounts of glue, cements and adhesives.
Garment manufacturers use these adhesive materials in hemlines,
cuffs, seams, inner facings, collars, pocket flaps, lapels,
button holes, waist bands and many other parts of garments. The
purpose of using these adhesives is to bond the skins together.
So far, so good.
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First, the adhesives used in manufacturing
in many instances have a tendency to bleed through to the
surface of the skin and leave dark stains that are difficult to
remove because the adhesives have soaked deep into the skin.
Second, most of the cements and adhesives
used by the manufacturers are soluble in drycleaning fluid and
will dissolve when the garment is drycleaned by the leather
cleaning process. When the glue dissolves in drycleaning, it
tends to bleed through the skin to the surface of the skin.
This glue bleed is especially evident in
lapels, pockets and collar areas that have double stitching.
This leaves stains on the skin surface that are difficult to
remove. In addition, hems, cuffs and inner facings which were
glued will come loose and must be reglued to restore the
garment to its original condition.
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The question of what type of glue to
replace the original glue that dissolved would be answered by
the use of a solvent resistant glue like the Royaltone
Perma-Hold glue. Use of a solvent-resistant glue will eliminate
the problem of glue bleeding through the skin and staining it.
So knowing now the problems associated
with solvent-soluble glue, let us examine the alternatives.
The hems, cuffs, etc., could be reglued
with the same old solvent-soluble glue that dissolved and came
loose, bled and stained the skin in the first place. This will
be your choice if you are determined to be a glutton for
punishment and enjoy working on glue bleed stains and regluing
hems, cuffs, etc., whenever the garment comes back for
recleaning as well as having dissolved glue in your drycleaning
fluid to redeposit on the articles you clean.
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The desirability of a solvent resistant
glue for regluing cuffs and hems and for repairing rips and
tears in suede and leather is based on the following
considerations:
1. A permanent glue will not dissolve and
come loose in the cleaning process thereby eliminating the
expense and trouble of regluing cuffs and hems or replacing
patches every time the article is cleaned.
2. A permanently glued hem can be safely
loosened by following the procedures recommended by the
manufacturer of the glue if the hem has to be shortened or
lengthened.
3. A permanent glue will not bleed through
and stain the skin.
4. A permanent glue does not contain
solvents that are toxic or flammable.
5. A permanent glue does not dissolve in
the cleaning solvent and contaminate the cleaning system with
unwanted non-volatile residues that redeposit on items being
cleaned and clog filters.
To further substantiate the position in
favor of the use of a permanent solvent-resistant glue,
let’s examine the characteristics of solvent-soluble glue
that tend to make its use far less desirable and more costly
and dangerous. Keep in mind that the problems associated with a
solvent-soluble glue are eliminated by the use of a permanent
solvent resistant glue or adhesive.
Avoid regluing
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Bleed through danger
Second, solvent-soluble glue tends to
bleed through the skin during cleaning and drying or during
regluing if applied too heavily. This leaves dark stains that
are difficult or impossible to remove. The solvent-resistant
permanent glue I described would not dissolve or stain the skin
or require spot removal and rerun procedures which are costly
in labor, utilities, chemicals and machine operating costs
— especially in high volume leather cleaning operations.
Health hazards
Third, solvent-soluble glues by their
nature contain solvents which may be hazardous to the health of
the operator doing the gluing. If inhaled, ingested and, in
some cases, possibly absorbed through the skin, these
solvent-soluble glues and adhesives may be injurious to the
health of the person doing the regluing. This can result in
workers’ compensation claims and problems with OSHA and
other governmental regulatory agencies.
A fire danger
Fourth, some solvent-soluble glues and
adhesives contain solvents that may be highly flammable as well
as toxic. These solvent-soluble glues pose a fire hazard to
both the operator and the cleaning plant. Their use will result
in higher fire insurance rates and present an ever present
danger of fire, explosion and possible loss of plant,
equipment, income and even life itself.
A build-up problem
Fifth, solvent-soluble glues, by their
nature, dissolve when immersed in solvent like drycleaning
fluid and become part of the non-volatile residue in the
drycleaning system. A build-up of dissolved glue can be even
worse. Think of the effect of this dissolved blue as it builds
up on the paper of cartridge filters or filter powders. It
clogs them, causing pressure and shorter life. Think of the
effect of all this dissolved glue as it redeposits on the
surface of suedes, naked leather and on the cloth portions of
leather and on fur items. Again, costly and undesirable!
Repairs advantage
Sixth, patches are glued to the underside
of suede and leather to mend rips, tears, cuts and also to glue
tops on buttons. These patches on the underside of suedes will
fall off when cleaned if they were glued with a solvent-soluble
glue. Sometimes manufacturers will patch skins they use in this
way. The patch will fall off when the garment is cleaned. If
reglued with solvent-soluble glue, it will fall off and perhaps
be lost every time the garment is cleaned. In many cases, it
will be loose somewhere inside a sewn-in lining and will have
to be located. Then the lining will have to be cut open, the
patch reglued and the lining resewn. Wouldn't a permanent glue
be great to use so the patch would never again come loose in
cleaning?
The bottom line
The bottom line then when using
solvent-soluble glues is poorer quality work, glue bleed, fire
danger, health hazard, PLUS higher costs for finishing, higher
costs for more frequent filter cartridge changes and for more
frequent distillation of the cleaning fluid.
Now that you have the facts, it
shouldn’t be difficult to decide which glue to use. It
boils down to a choice between a safer, simpler, less costly
permanent glue or the more hazardous, more troublesome, more
costly solvent-soluble glue.
The choice is clear. The stakes are high.
You choose. You have to live with the consequences of your
choice. Your local supply distributor or product manufacturer
can provide you with technical data sheets and material safety
data sheets on the glue or adhesive they sell. These will
provide the information on proper use of the products and its
hazardous ingredients and dangers.
Frank Lucenta is president of Royaltone
Co., Inc., a firm that manufacturers the products he developed
to make it possible for any cleaner to safely AND profitably
dryclean, wetclean and finish any suede, leather, fur and
trimmed cloth garment. He also wrote related instruction books
that document the process, entitled “Handling Leather and
Suede” and “Cleaning and Finishing Leather and
Suede.” He also teaches small groups of plant owners and
managers how to identify, accept, spot, dryclean and wetclean,
press and recolor suedes, leathers, and furs using his
Royaltone procedures and products. The next Royaltone Leather
training sessions are scheduled for Sept. 12-13 and Dec.
5-6 at the Royaltone Suedemate Leather Cleaning Center in
Tulsa, OK. For more information on training sessions or on
spotting charts in either English or Korean, call (800)
331-5506, (918) 622-6677, fax (918) 665-6017, or e-mail frank@royaltone.com
Infofmation is also availbale
on the Royaltone web site, www.royaltone.com.
