sticking down Tolex on a guitar hard case

[MoonBassAlpha]

I'm looking to use spray impact adhesive to stick down tolex on a very tatty case, but worried about getting it applied in small areas for tears without getting it everywhere. Any advice or tips, or should I use the spreadable stuff instead like Evo-Stik or similar?

Edited April 29, 2017 by MoonBassAlpha

[BassBunny]

If we are only talking about small tears, I would use Evo-Stik or any similar contact adhesive. That's all spray adhesive is anyway, contact adhesive in a can.
You can get clear contact adhesive which will probably do a neater job.

[MoonBassAlpha]

Thanks for the advice. I tried a spray contact adhesive. That was fun, it was good in parts, but didn't really hold down the edges on Old stiff tolex. I think old school contact adhesive would probably have been a better, less messy option.
I stuck the ragged edges down with superglue. It looks a right dog's dinner, but it was just an old clapped out case, it's all good experience for the next time.

[converse320]

I've used rubber solution contact adhesive from a bicycle repair kit successfully, with a cocktail stick to apply. £2.49 from Aldi. Apply to both surfaces, let dry then push back down. Or one of the water based Tolex adhesives = but much more expensive.

[Phil Starr]

For the future the most important thing is to clean off all the old glue and the dirt that will have stuck to it. It's quite common for glues to be incompatible and sticking to a porous surface depends upon the glue penetrating that surface, the old glue may have sealed the surface effectively sealing out the old glue. Generally I use a scalpel or stanley blade for cleaning off old glue from small areas like this with a quick sand if I can get in there. I use white PVA unless I know it's a rubber based adhesive on there already ( you can usually tell because this remains stretchy even when old and forms strands when you try to get it off) and let it go off or a while before applying pressure as it won't dry easily under Tolex.

Bicyle repair glue isn't actually glue it's a vulcanising solution. It adds sulphur atoms to the long chain molecules of the rubber which then form cross links. The previous poster must have been lucky in that a rubber/latex glue was used originally. Contact adhesive is usually latex based.

Another trick is to use a hair dryer to warm the Tolex. This makes it much more flexible and easier to stick. When you're done go over the join with black permanent marker to conceal any gaps.