Contact adhesives: Aquilim 315 and EcoStick

This past academic year, my graduate students and I had the opportunity to test some water-based contact adhesives for costume craft applications. 

This was very exciting because the most toxic thing we use frequently in costume craft work is a solvent-based adhesive, which requires a respirator and protective gloves. If we could find water-based contact adhesives that would work well for even some of the applications, that would reduce potential exposure to toxic substances.

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One of my graduate students, Francis Werth, mentioned reading about this effective water-based contact adhesive, Aquilim, so we conducted some tests on using it for rubberizing leather soled shoes. All footwear used by Equity actors must be rubberized for safety, which can either be done in-house or sent out to a cobbler.

it could be user error, but while we were able to achieve a satisfactory bond in the sample in this photo of a small piece of shoe rubber and a small piece of vegetable tan leather, when Francis attempted to rubberize an actual shoe, the bond was not sufficiently durable for the demands of this stage. 

It could’ve had something to do with the style of the shoe we chose or the material it was composed of, or any number of other factors. More research is probably required. We know it’s not an all-purpose effective solution for all stage rubberizing.

But there’s also a success story! 

Foam glue samples by Mackenzie Privett

In this test of the efficacy and strength of several different adhesives on urethane foam, we learned that the water-based EcoStick sample produced a bond strong enough that the foam tore before the glued seam separated. 

I also achieved a successful bond with Aquilim on both reticulated and urethane foam samples. 

What’s your favorite contact adhesive?