Feedback on shoe goo

[David]

Shoe Goo has been praised a few times for extreme fixing of footwear.
I don't know if I have a different product with a similar name but what I
have seems to be just like Bostik - smells the same and is a thin clear
contact adhesive.
O.K. for sticking soles back on and other similar jobs, but I gained the
impression that it could be used to repair worn heels and other more major
problems which might need the sole building up.
Cheers
Dave R

[michael adams]

It will dry in layers of say up to 2 or 3 or 4 mm. Maybe thicker (Having never actually measured it. ) When its still tacky but firmly glued to the substrate you just add another layer and build it up that way.
In some situations you may need to use cardboard "shuttering". Basically stick a low cardboard fence around the outside of the heel you want to repair, And then fill in the void on the worn oustide edge of heel.
For initial adhesion I've sometimes used acetone to etch the surface at other times a strong ammonia solution to degrease.
michael adams
...

[newshound]

I don't think I would expect it to make a good "wearing surface", but it is brilliant for fixing boots if the leather comes away from the sole somewhere round the edge. I've done this around the instep on one pair, around the toe on another. I usually clamp lightly after applying liberally so as to spread the area of contact towards the centre of the sole.

[michael adams]

It's certainly no less durable than the material it replaces. Certainly not on heels.
The only real problem if you attempt repairs on soles isn't durability; but that constant flexing of the sole can lead to it peeling off. Basically it isn't flexible enough to accomodate this. Either that or it will crack.
michael adams
...

[newshound]

I think it is pretty flexible, probably more so than leather or rigid sole material. The problem is adhesion leading to peeling, and that's also a property of the other material.

[michael adams]

I wouldn't know. I have any leather shoes repaired in the conventional way, stitched around the welt. I've only ever tried to repair thin polyurethane soles with shoo goo which are moulded as a unit and impossible to repair; except for a limited number of sizes usually in top of the range models. The flexibility is around the ball of the foot when walking. The shoo goo has to stretch more than the subsole which is why it can also crack.
michael adams
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[Andrew Mawson]

It's pretty damn good at repairing the corrugated rubber gaiters round the tracking levers on my 3 ton JCB :) One was torn to bits when I got it, repaired with shoe goo type stuff, and still going strong over a year later - more than impressed. I repaired a tear in a welly boot a couple of years ago and that repair outlasted the boots wearing out elsewhere and they were used daily for mucking out the pigs.
Andrew