Coating clothes/gloves with Sika

[Corey]

I posted this in the Gear that lasts thread, thought I'd add some pictures and give it's own thread so it can be found by someone searching later.

Just put some Sikaflex 252 (mix with Aceton to get a nice surface), Aquasure (Mcnet), Bison Rubber Repair on your pants and your problems will be over. Just put some tape on your pants first so you can mark a nice spot within you put the protection stuff..

I coated some areas on a couple pairs of mitts and a jacket with Sika Flex 252 yesterday. Some random notes for anyone else thinking of doing this:

1. Thinning with Acetone worked well. It takes a bit of work to mix the two well. I used a cheap butter knife bent at a 45-degree angle in a metal pan. A shearing action, like trying to spread peanut butter thinly, worked best to mix the two. You want it to end up being a little thinner than mayonnaise. My first attempt had it like peanut butter; it looked like crap as I tried to spread it. I'd be worried about it running/sagging if it were much thinner. If it were something you could lay flat, you could make it pretty thin so it would self-level a bit. With mitts/gloves, you need mayo-like consistency. You're going to be mixing for a while and adding a bit more Sika if it's thin or a bit more Acetone if it's thick.

2. The best thing you could do to prepare for this would be to ice a cake with someone that knows what they're doing. I've never iced a cake before, but think I'd be better at it now after doing this! The smoother you get it while it's wet, the better it's going to look when dry. All the little bumps and dips really stand out when dry. I'll spend more time smoothing next time.

3. Taping worked well, it gives a crisp line that looks more like you meant to do this and not some kind of horrible goth painting accident. Make sure the tape sticks well, but can be removed without major stress or heavily distorting the garment. You're going to take the tape off while it's still wet, plan for that.

4. This stuff does stink, but not nearly as bad as Shoe Goo. A standard bathroom fan kept the smells out of the rest of the house with no issue.

5. I put down newspaper over the entire bathroom counter and floor. That wasn't enough as some of the black-tinted acetone spilled from the pan while mixing and basically went right through the newspaper! It wiped off with no trace. Acetone is pretty aggressive to some plastics - I imagine it could stain or eat through many counter-top materials! I consider myself lucky. It would be WAY better to plan ahead and do this outside in the summer...

6. Next time, I'll grind the little teeth off the butter knife so I had a curved but smooth surface to spread with. Unless you like the mini-corduroy look that a butter knife gives! Using only the back/flat side of the knife made it tough to spread well on concave surfaces.

7. You're going to get some of this black sticky icing of death on your gloves, be careful what you touch while maneuvering the clothes. I've got a couple of black fingerprints outside the taped area on my jacket.

8. It dries pretty fast when spread thin. The first mitt was pretty tacky & stiff by the time I finished the 4th one. Get it smooth the first time! All pieces seem to be fully cured about 12 hours later. The final result is still surprisingly flexible.

9. I've now got custom clothing reinforced exactly where my body parts contact the snow. That's pretty cool! Just look at where your stuff is worn, then tape a bit outside that area and do the above.

Pictures:

Supplies: Sikaflex 252, Acetone, steel pan, gloves, custom-bent butter knife.

Bent knife. Grind the teeth off if you do this.

[Corey]

The hip patch on the jacket. Note the black spots on the pocket where I had gunk on my gloves and touched it.

Glove shot 1. I wish I had it a bit thinner so it was easier to spread.

Glove shot 2. The matte spots are where I had Shoe Goo on the mitts before. The Sika cured differently over those spots.

Edited January 8, 2013 by corey_dyck

[jp1]

FYI, I did the same with a 'Tool Dip' that you use to cover handles of tools, etc. It looked great when applied to mitts and worn jacket areas. Problem is, I'm a waterproofing and the Silicone based waterproofing that I applied previous to the Tool Dip appears to be hindering the Tool Dip's adhesion (already rolling up on the edges :( after 2 days use).

[michael.a]

Some advice:

Same deal when painting, but work in coats. Instead of smearing a thick blob over whatever you've got, put one coat down, let it dry for an hour or two and then proceed with the next one. The stuff is tacky for up to 12 hours, but wait until 24 hours till they touch anything.

Use a large smooth surface to smear the stuff on. I used an old credit card.

USE LATEX GLOVES

Have your work surface totally prepared, wear work clothes and work very very carefully. Once the stuff touches anything not entirely smooth, that's it, it's black forever.

The problem with thinning Sikaflex with acetone is a major one: durability. Whatever magical chemical hocus pocus happens, Sikaflex that's been thinned with acetone seems to rub, or actually "chip", away much faster.

You'll notice that your gloves tend to wear (with sikaflex) the most around the tip of the thumb, the absolute end of the glove around the tips of your fingers and around the bottom of the palm (sometimes going down to the wrists), so add more coats there. Make sure you have gloves that have the most "free space" around the lower palm, so no straps, cords or strings and give that area a good coat.

[michael.a]

Oh yea, a friend started using a polyurethane coating due to its "transparent" look, but it turned out it looks like he... erm.. had way too much white gooey stuff all over his upper pants area.

[Corey]

First warning for those using this stuff on gloves: I wiped snow off my white topsheet - it left a black streak across the board! It did rub off with a bare hand, but be warned that it will transfer. Maybe it won't if not thinned with Acetone?

Some areas on the gloves were a little too thin so they cracked and peeled, plus the hip patch on the jacket has a few spots where it wore through over the past 3 days of riding. It WAS already thin there due to a bungie cord sewn into the jacket. I'll try applying another layer at full strength as benttech suggests before the next ride.