From: "Bear Town" <beartown-AT-bear-town.com>
Subject: Re: PUPT: Hot glue limitaions
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 20:18:29 -0500


I don't think there is a specific rule of thumb when it comes to hot glue
vs. contact cement.

I know not all builders agree with this, but the best product I have ever
seen is LePage's foam-to-foam adhesive spray product. It's not available in
a can; you have to apply it using air tools and a compressor but it works
great and can be applied much more quickly than brush-on contact cement.
Like all contact cements, you have to take the appropriate safety
precautions, but the smell of it is not nearly as bad as most contact
cement.

I would assume most other spray foam-to-foam adhesives are similar, but I
haven't worked with them. I find that 3M's popular Super 77 spray is good
for applying fabric to foam, but not very good for foam-to-foam
applications.

Lepage's brush-on contact cement - the medium quality, not the high quality
(which is ironically inferior to the medium) - is very good but it's
Canadian and I'm not sure how readily available Lepage's products are in the
rest of the world. I've found other brands don't work as well, including a
lot of the ones I've picked up in the northeast US, but to be fair I haven't
tried them all. I know Barge is a very popular foam glue among TV puppet
builders, but I personally can't stand the smell of it.

I mainly use hot glue for attaching things like feathers, hair, etc. where
contact cement would be too messy. I'm a little phobic about hot glue (as my
recent posts attest) because I often work under hot lights, which can pose a
problem as Mathieu pointed out. A lot of builders swear by their hot glue
guns though, including Drew Allison (co-author of "The Foam Book").

Incidentally, if you're just getting started building foam puppets I'd
highly recommend the Foam Book if you haven't already read it. The puppetry
board in the Muppet Central Forum at http://forum.muppetcentral.com is also
a treasure trove of foam puppet building info.

- Andrew


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Gnuyen" <gnuyen-AT-gnuyen.org>
To: <puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2004 6:04 PM
Subject: Re: PUPT: Hot glue limitaions


> Also, if anyone knows any rules of thumb about when to use something
> like foam fast 74 or spray adhesive vs using hot glue for building foam
> puppets, or when stitching (reticulated foam) is preferred I think it
> would help out us beginners a lot!  I've always wondered when I should
> be using hot glue vs spray adhesive.
>
> Thanks,
> Gnuyen
>
>
> On Tue, 2004-02-10 at 10:56, Mathieu Rene wrote:
> > Hi all
> >
> > I've read Andrew express cautions againts hot glue.
> > Makes me wonder about its limitations.
> > I have seen and tried puppets that were over twenty years old, and the
hot
> > glue on them seemed as strong as on the puppets I make myself, today.
Mostly
> > used to hold accessories, jewels,  some teeth were entirely made of hot
> > glue.
> >
> > Then again, I met a puppeteer who told me about the horror story of
having
> > one of her puppet decompose during a performance under the hot summer
sun!
> >
> > >From these two example I suspect hot glue has it's uses and strict
> > limitations, as do all materials.
> > Of course I won't go  and glue something  with hot glue that has to
withold
> > fifty pounds!
> > But what would be the average weight limit per square inch, for example?
> >
> > And that heat factor, what would be the room/outside temperature limit
to
> > avoid at all costs?
> >
> > I'm asking cause I really LOVE the uninimitable practical aspects and
ease
> > of use of hot glue.
> > I actually went from HATING it ( burn hasard, younger me so clumsy) to
using
> > it gladly on most projects. I even made a sorcerer's staff out of wire
and
> > hot glue:
> > http://www.magma.ca/~uubald/sceptre.html
> > I'd hate to hear from my customer that it melted during a Live Role
Playing
> > performance!
> >
> > Always trying to probe the life experience from you folks...
> > nothing evil, just the yearning to grow!
> >
> > Mathieu René Créaturiste
> > Marionnettes, masques, etc...
> > Puppets, masks, etc...
> > uubald-AT-magma.ca
> > http://www.magma.ca/~uubald/
> > (514) 725-5821
> >
> >
> >
> >   --- Personal replies to: "Mathieu Rene" <uubald-AT-magma.ca>
> >   --- List replies to:     puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
> >   --- Admin commands to:   majordomo-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
> >   --- Archives at:         http://lists.village.virginia.edu/~spoons
> -- 
> I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them. -- Isaac Asimov
>
>
>
>   --- Personal replies to: Paul Gnuyen <gnuyen-AT-gnuyen.org>
>   --- List replies to:     puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>   --- Admin commands to:   majordomo-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>   --- Archives at:         http://lists.village.virginia.edu/~spoons
>



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