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contact cement vs. rubber cement


dnr

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Hi All!

 

Da Book calls for the use of rubber cement in certain repairs. One of my kids was at a store and I asked her to get me some. She returned with DAP Weldwood Contact Cement. I am thinking this is not a good cement to use as it states "permanent bonds."

 

Am I correct or is it OK to use such as when sealing a barrel to the nib section in order to get a good seal on a Touch-Down?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

dnr

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Hi All!

 

Da Book calls for the use of rubber cement in certain repairs. One of my kids was at a store and I asked her to get me some. She returned with DAP Weldwood Contact Cement. I am thinking this is not a good cement to use as it states "permanent bonds."

 

Am I correct or is it OK to use such as when sealing a barrel to the nib section in order to get a good seal on a Touch-Down?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

dnr

 

DO NOT use either contact cement or rubber cement on any pen repairs.... the chemicals they contain can cause severe damage to some pens...

In this case Da Book is completely wrong....

When you want to seal a section to a barrel use section sealant like Ron Zorn sells.

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Hi All!

 

Da Book calls for the use of rubber cement in certain repairs. One of my kids was at a store and I asked her to get me some. She returned with DAP Weldwood Contact Cement. I am thinking this is not a good cement to use as it states "permanent bonds."

 

Am I correct or is it OK to use such as when sealing a barrel to the nib section in order to get a good seal on a Touch-Down?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

dnr

Da Book is wrong. Don't use rubber cement or contact cement for pen repairs.

 

Todd

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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As a note of semantics, I think 'Rubber Cement' and 'Contact Cement' are the same thing. Contact cement is rubber dissolved in a highly pernicious solvent. And rubber is much less likely to dissolve in the solvent than most of your pen is.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

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As a note of semantics, I think 'Rubber Cement' and 'Contact Cement' are the same thing. Contact cement is rubber dissolved in a highly pernicious solvent. And rubber is much less likely to dissolve in the solvent than most of your pen is.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

Not here.

 

Liquid Rubber cement is a mild adhesive used to lay down paper on paper so that it can be removed at a later time. Easily cleaned by rolling it in balls of ones skin.

 

Contact Cement is a nasty adhesive that creeps out of laboratories for the purpose of holding things together till the end of time. This stuff is best handled with rubber gloves.

 

 

YMMV

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As a note of semantics, I think 'Rubber Cement' and 'Contact Cement' are the same thing. Contact cement is rubber dissolved in a highly pernicious solvent. And rubber is much less likely to dissolve in the solvent than most of your pen is.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

Not here.

 

Liquid Rubber cement is a mild adhesive used to lay down paper on paper so that it can be removed at a later time. Easily cleaned by rolling it in balls of ones skin.

 

Contact Cement is a nasty adhesive that creeps out of laboratories for the purpose of holding things together till the end of time. This stuff is best handled with rubber gloves.

 

Makes sense based on the bottle's chemical analysis.

Thanks!

dnr

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As a note of semantics, I think 'Rubber Cement' and 'Contact Cement' are the same thing. Contact cement is rubber dissolved in a highly pernicious solvent. And rubber is much less likely to dissolve in the solvent than most of your pen is.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

Not here.

 

Liquid Rubber cement is a mild adhesive used to lay down paper on paper so that it can be removed at a later time. Easily cleaned by rolling it in balls of ones skin.

 

Contact Cement is a nasty adhesive that creeps out of laboratories for the purpose of holding things together till the end of time. This stuff is best handled with rubber gloves.

 

Contact cement is great if you never want to take it apart again. Also as Old Griz mentioned both rubber cement and contact cement contain solvents that will etch, melt or permanently damage most plastics.

The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.

- Mark Twain in a Letter to George Bainton, 10/15/1888

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I keep being told, pen, use shellac.

 

I understand that there is available a shellac / rosin mixture that is both sticky and less hardening that is being offered now.

YMMV

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As a note of semantics, I think 'Rubber Cement' and 'Contact Cement' are the same thing....

Not here.

Liquid Rubber cement is a mild adhesive used to lay down paper on paper so that it can be removed at a later time. ...Contact Cement is a nasty adhesive that creeps out of laboratories for the purpose of holding things together till the end of time. ...

Yikes. Another case of US & UK English using the same words with different meanings. Must remember this one.

 

I've only heard the 'Liquid Rubber' adhesive you talk about referred to in the UK by its brand name of 'Copydex', even when the brand wasn't Copydex. (A bit like all vacuum cleaners being called "Hoover's".)

Contact Cement can only be sold to those over 16 years old these days in the UK, we had a while when teenagers were buying the stuff to get high by sniffing the solvent. Now that hard drugs are more available, the solvent abuse demand has tended to tail off.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

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I understand that there is available a shellac / rosin mixture that is both sticky and less hardening that is being offered now.

 

No shellac at all in my Sheaffer formula thread sealant. It looks like it might have shellac, and the color is similar, because the rosin is a high grade light rosin.

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ndr,

 

Try Ron's sealant mentioned above. Since I got Ron's, the similar product from Tryphon never sees the light of day.

 

John

so many pens, so little time.......

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  • 1 month later...
ndr,

 

Try Ron's sealant mentioned above. Since I got Ron's, the similar product from Tryphon never sees the light of day.

 

John

 

 

Hello,

Where can someone purchase Ron's sealant? Also, to your knowledge does it work for resealing Montblanc 149's?

 

Thanks,

Derik

Derik A. Johnson

Graphic Designer/

Writing Instrument Collector

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ndr,

 

Try Ron's sealant mentioned above. Since I got Ron's, the similar product from Tryphon never sees the light of day.

 

John

 

 

Hello,

Where can someone purchase Ron's sealant? Also, to your knowledge does it work for resealing Montblanc 149's?

 

Thanks,

Derik

 

From Ron... where else... just click on the link in his signature

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ndr,

 

Try Ron's sealant mentioned above. Since I got Ron's, the similar product from Tryphon never sees the light of day.

 

John

 

 

Hello,

Where can someone purchase Ron's sealant? Also, to your knowledge does it work for resealing Montblanc 149's?

 

Thanks,

Derik

 

I use it for everything... even Parker "51" hoods. It is so versatile, I have used it to mend a clarinet pad, and to fix a broken earbud.

 

~George

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I have Rons' thread/section sealant and it's the best thing out there.

Rons' is based on the original Sheaffer's formulation and contains no cements, glues or the "Bad & the Ugly" stuff that all should steer well clear of!

So go to Rons' Website as others have suggested, get his Sheaffer's Thread Sealant and you'll be a very happy-camper, you won’t be sorry you did, I guarantee it!

 

Never use rubber cement in any repairs as well as never use DAP Weldwood Contact Cement.

They are most definitely the "Bad & the Ugly" stuff that I'd mentioned above that all should steer well clear of!!!

“I view my fountain pens & inks as an artist might view their brushes and paints.

They flow across paper as a brush to canvas, transforming my thoughts into words and my words into art.

There is nothing else like it; the art of writing and the painting of words!”

~Inka~ [scott]; 5 October, 2009

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I use it for everything... even Parker "51" hoods. It is so versatile, I have used it to mend a clarinet pad, and to fix a broken earbud.

Don't use it for shells (hoods) on the "51", "21", "41", 61, or any similar pen. For these, use shellac. Ron's sealant is non-hardening, and you don't want these joints to be potentially movable. They need to be solid, and that means shellac. Shellac softens at a sufficiently low temperature that you aren't risking damage to the plastics on these pens if you need to disassemble the pen at a later date.

sig.jpg.2d63a57b2eed52a0310c0428310c3731.jpg

 

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I use it for everything... even Parker "51" hoods. It is so versatile, I have used it to mend a clarinet pad, and to fix a broken earbud.

Don't use it for shells (hoods) on the "51", "21", "41", 61, or any similar pen. For these, use shellac. Ron's sealant is non-hardening, and you don't want these joints to be potentially movable. They need to be solid, and that means shellac. Shellac softens at a sufficiently low temperature that you aren't risking damage to the plastics on these pens if you need to disassemble the pen at a later date.

 

While I would never use it on other people's pens, I use it on all of mine. The sealant thickens enough to keep it from turning during normal use, but if you give it a good twist you can get it off.

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I prefer to use shellac for "51" hoods because it locks the hood in place better than thread sealant. Of course, shellac will soften with heat and, therefore, creates no problem with future dissassembly.

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I have Ron's sealant, but I will note that in the past I've used rubber cement to seal barrels to the sections in Snorkels and Touchdowns. I've picked up pens I did this to six, seven years ago and I can detect no harm at all.

 

Good luck,

Don

Edited by dcjacobson
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