How to cut, repair, glue, sew, rubber clothes and more ??????
Here are some hints,
instructions for You who wants to make your own outfits.
At the moment it's
under preparing and hopefully it will never be finished. If you have some
ideas about this, maybe a
question, send
it to me and I´ll try to include the useful parts into this page.
At the bottom of this page you also have other rubber tailor's comments.
e-mail
back
What You need to glue rubber sheeting's.:
To start with I can say that You have to have time and patience.
You will also need a sharp pair of sissors, some kind of marking pen, plastic
tape or equal, talc powder, a clean table or surface,
paper sheets, a solvent to clean the rubber sheeting's with before gluing
and a latex solution. The one to repair bicycles tyres
can work. Also office rubber glue to glue paper is an alternative to test.
You also need some kind of brush to apply the
solution with. Try with cotton "Topz" for ear cleaning. When the
work is completed You can shine it up with silicone spray.
On the web You can find manufacturers of rubber sheeting's from whom
You can buy.
How to glue:
Thin rubber sheeting's are difficult to handle.
I suggest that You start with a thickness of approx. 0,35 mm
(0,35 x 25.4 makes
inches). First You got to decide the outline of Your rubber pieces.
Curves is difficult to get fine so lets start with a strait "seam".
If You try to cut the rubber sheeting. You will find that it is easier
to do if the scissors are clean and there is talc powder on
the rubber sheeting's .
You can also apply tape on the rubber s. and You get the rubber s. stabilized
and more easy to cut..
Cut the two parts to fit each other. You can try the result with tape with
has adhesive on both sides. ( If You like You can try
to sew. Put the rubber parts in a sewing
machine with a needle for leader and a thread which does not take
up water. Try to
sew. Success ?? If successful , remove the tape. Now You can
strengthen the seam with a glued rubber band. I´ll come
back to this later.)
Now its time to prepare the gluing.
If You apply the solution on the rubber s. it will curl and get hard
to handle. If You let the
solvent go away the initial shape gets back.
You cal also have a mess. The problem is when the rubber s. curls and get
stuck
and has its own will. To overcome this problem put tape
on the side not to be applied with latex solution. When the tape is
applied clean the join together surfaces with solvent. Let
dry. Then apply the solution with the "brush" and
let dry.
Now join together. Slowly and and with care. Right from the beginning.
The surfaces are directly stuck to each other and
cant be divorced. Phu......
With care remove the tape and put on some talc powder. To get a real
withstanding seam let it rest for some hours before
stressing it.
Now You try. Good luck !
Repair:
Even if You handle Your rubber clothes and masks with care sooner or later
You will have a rip. The rip often starts from a
notch in the edging. So be sure to have a notch free edge. However
if the rip is there You can fix the garment. Just use the
technic mentioned above. Put the reinforcing tape on the side not to be
glued. Make a repair piece with the same technic.
Put on tape to make it stabile while putting on solution. After attaching
it, cut the edging notch free. Remove the tape and
put on some talc powder.
Zippers:
Zippers are not elastic in any direction. Zippers are usually made ot of
a textile material. Be sure to choose a Z. that will not shrink
if wet of water. The textile can't directly be glued to the rubber sheeting.
To prepare the zip for gluing, wet it with the rubber
solution several times and let dry between. Continue until You have the
textile rubber covered. Now You can glue it to the rubber
sheeting. When gluing the zip let it be in one piece and be sure to get
the two attached parts in there right positions.
Warning !!!
If You have a suit without breathing openings, a totally closed one,
closed by a zipper,
be aware of that the zipper mechanism can break while closed and it can
be
impossible to get out to breath !..........umpfffg.....help....he.............
Sewing:
The thing is to get the sheets to run smothly under the fot. This can be
made with either t thin paper between the fot and the
sheetingts or some kind or lubrication for example talc powder. The choise
of thred is important. You must not use a thred that
will shrink in water, so use a syntetic material.
Openings,
To be continued.............
Above You have some of an amateurs experience in gluing rubber s.
More to come ................. but I
need a feed back from
You to improve the page. So please give
me Your comments.
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Below
are some helpful hints from Donna and a link to her site.
Hi there Gum Seek, great site.... thought you might like a few tips that I have developed by trial and error... 8-)
1. a very well lighted good sized work bench at least 1x3 meters that you
can walk right around and is at waist height while standing.
(saves back ache during long sessions)
2. bench is covered with a full sheet of glass or laminex sheeting (glue
will peel off easily).
3. several umbrella style clothes hangers... those ones you hang underwear
off over a bath tub or a clothes line in doors so you can
hang up strips of latex or other parts while waiting for the glue to dry.
4. a good quality silicon spray to use on latex before sewing to allow
easier feeding under the sewing foot. (wipe off with methylated spirits
before cover gluing)
5. a good hair dryer... (forced curing of glue while holding together tricky
bits)
6. a good selection of children's plastic/ vinyl beach/ play balls in a
good range of sizes (helps when doing bra cups, hats and any curved
seams.
7. I use a liquid latex glue made by Bostik Australia that doesn't require
solvents and is water soluble before curing... so I have alot of
cheap children's paint brushes for gluing... when a brush gets too clogged
I get another one...
8. Put your glue that is ready to use in a airtight container that holds
only 200 ml or less because you only waste that much when you tip it
over (and you will) or forget to put the lid on... 8-)
9. Use a white board marker (dry erase marker) for marking as it washes
off with either methylated spirits or in water.
10. either double back on a sewn seam by 3 stitches or spot ends with glue
(or it unravels)
11. Air-conditioning... yep... had one bad month where the glue dried so
fast it wasn't keyed into the latex properly and another where it
was so humid I couldn't get it to stick to anything as the latex absorbed
the humid air...
no doubt you know most of this but something here may help... btw...those
pesky air bubbles come out really fast if you use a hypodermic
needle to suck them out.... 8-)
its not much yet but some of my work can be seen at.
www.zipworld.com.au/~dnaylor
Regards donna 8-)
Thanks to Donna
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