UKC

Is there anywhere in UK skins re gluing service? Thank you

In reply to adrspach:

Sorry - I don't know of anywhere but it's not hard to do yourself. The BD iron-on glue sheets are surprisingly user-friendly.

If the existing glue is not too bad you can redistribute it by ironing it directly.

In reply to adrspach:

I've never even bothered taking the old stuff off. Just put some new tube glue over the top. The trick is to keep the glue warm.

In reply to adrspach:

Difficulty is that there is now so much of glue in little blobs which does not stick that it prevents the good glue to stick.

In reply to adrspach:

I've heard that ironing over brown paper or siliconised paper will remove the old glue.

In reply to DaveHK:


Tried that once years ago, it took forever. Heating with an iron, scraping as much off as you can and then glue sheets worked best.

In reply to Dave:
Second that.

In reply to adrspach:

If you are considering re-gluing them it might be worth your while having a go at rescuing them first of all. It won't cost you any more than a role of silicone based greaseproof paper. As I understand it the glue absorbs moisture which gradually decreases it's stickability (if there is such a word). Laying a wide strip of silicone based greaseproof paper over the glue and then ironing heats the glue and seems to "steam" the moisture out as well as softening and redistributing the glue. Fill in obvious gaps with glue before starting. I tend to lift the skin off the surface I am working on, drying the surface, and re-iron until there is no more moisture coming through. As you iron the paper becomes slightly transparent and this gives a good sense of the uniformity of the glue (difficult to describe but obvious once you do it) and you may need to experiment with temperature of the iron. I should say that I do this with a ski waxing iron but I understand that you should be fine with a domestic iron. Let the skin completely cool down before slowly and carefully peeling off the greaseproof paper. Glue may have run very slightly over the edges so be carefully when peeling to remove this excess. A wide strip of paper will protect your iron from getting glue on it. If you don't use silicone based greaseproof paper it can be difficult to remove.

The only problem I have had is that the glue tends to be too sticky first time out!

In reply to adrspach:
It's a crap job, don't believe anyone saying otherwise, unless you're pretty handy and experienced.
The worst was removing the old glue; I had to, the old glue had become really sticky and was coming off on everything, skis, gloves etc.
This took multiple times ironing over brown packing paper and scrapping. The regluing wasn't too bad, but I used the transfer sheet stuff.

I was quoted quite a high price to have it done by a ski shop, due to the man-hours, and probably the faff factor.
In retrospect, and next time, I'll sell them off cheaply to someone prepared to do it themselves, and buy new!

In reply to damowilk:

Try "ski drop" in north wales. I think they do it.

In reply to adrspach:

Hair dryer and wall paper scraper is much more effective than brown paper.

Make sure the skin is secured firmly to something. Plan for where you are going to put the old glue. Don't overheat things. Have a willing assistant. Remove cats from the proximity of operations.

In reply to MG:

Remove cats and small children with ridiculous long hair from the proximity of operations.

who stocks the glue sheets in the UK (at price only slightly inflated rather than eye watering so) ?

In reply to adrspach:

it would be very useful if somewhere in the UK did this. I have mentioned it to Jon Coster (Piste office) and it may be worth seeing if you can persuade him. I am in Argentiere at present and a shop here did a good job on a friends skins a few weeks ago. I think it was 25 euros so not really worth doing yourself.

In reply to damowilk:

next time use and old cotton linen. sucks so much more glue in it, that generally two goes is enough to pretty much remove all glue...

In reply to adrspach:

The other option is to take a look at gecko skins which don't have glue, maybe worth the investment if anyone has experience of them and how durable and sticky?

In reply to philipjardine:

If you are only being charged 25 euros, then that should give some indication of how straightforward it actually is to do the job yourself. The tip from HeMa to use cotton linen works. I used old curtain linings when I last replaced the glue, and it worked really well.

In reply to tcashmore:

Word on the street is, that Gecko's don't work...

Colltex CT40 skins are a good bet, as long as you never place them "glue to glue"... molecular bonds mean that they will never come off.

In reply to adrspach:

For 25E that is about what I was expecting. However now I am trying to find who is doing it within UK as to send it abroad could be more costly than re gluing itself.

In reply to philipjardine:

Buy an iron for under £10. Iron the glue directly, no paper or cotton faff. Scrape off the old glue. Clean your iron. Put the new glue on. Easy.

For Scotland you need glue.

In reply to adrspach:

its really easy to do yourself, get some old cotton t-shirts or bed sheets ,cut into strips, lay on skins, iron over, then peel off, put in bin ...simples, then just re spread with new glue, fool proof & no mess. done it myself after someome on this forum gave me this advice. really is that simple.

In reply to adrspach:

Thank you guys for suggestions. Knowing how badly I messed up last time I will have a go with suggested shop in N. Wales. £30 is reasonable comparing with possible divorce. As a extra another reason to travel to N. Wales.