Aquaseal SR Shoe Repair Adhesive

I used this on an older pair of shoes that were in perfect condition except that the soles had started to crack. It worked great to add a new layer to the sole and extend the life of the shoes. It was fairly easy to spread and work into the cracks and grooves and did a good job of self leveling. I used it on the whole sole of both shoes so most of the original tread was filled in and is now flat. Because of this it is very slick when walking on snow/slush and I have noticed that when my shoes are wet my foot slides off of the gas and brake pedal very easily when driving which is a little scary especially when braking. Just something to be aware of if you cover the whole bottom of your shoes like I did. This is NOT a problem with the product, it is my fault for creating a flat surface on the bottom of my shoes. It has excellent traction on dry surfaces. Overall I think this is a great product and I would use it again.

I must preface this by saying that I'm not a shoe repair professional, but I have done extensive repair and reconstruction on every pair of boots I've owned in the last 20 years. Most of my focus in this text will be the gross reattachment of outsoles. I will be using the example of my own boots, which specifically are of a cemented construction with a fiberboard insole, but no proper midsole. Construction types vary, so some interpretation may be required. In this text, "insole" is a permanent part of the shoe. Removable padded or contoured parts are referred to as "inserts". Regarding outsole reattachment, I have used various products available through retail (contact cements, E6000, etc), as well as some urethane sealants I've mixed and thinned for the task. Contact cements work great on boots with proper midsoles, but trying to glue stiff cup soles back on a cemented construction just seems easier with something that can fill the tucks in the leather. Neither Shoe Goo or E6000 were as tenacious or stiff as this product. Time will tell if Aquaseal SR endures, but I'm impressed so far. I find it hard to believe that an observant user can experience immediate failures with this product without questioning how or why the problem may have occurred; surely nobody expects effortless miracles. I feel that simplified instructions such as "clean and dry all surfaces" doesn't explain the actual scope of how clean or dry things need to be. Following is my outline for the process as I performed for a pair of boots that have been worn every day for about six years. Let this be both a guide for action and attention. █ Prepare: Remove any shoe inserts. Inserts retain moisture and prevent the shoes from being cleaned & dried in a timely fashion. Remove the laces if they're going to get in the way. █ Scarify: The goal here is to remove debris and old adhesive residue. If the old adhesive is brittle enough to fail, gluing to it will result in another failure. Don't just wipe it with a bit of sandpaper and call it done. I used a sanding drum on a die grinder to grind the old cement off the uppers and insole, and to grind the outsole down to virgin rubber. █ Clean: The goal here is to remove the debris from scarification and to ensure that the materials to be bonded are free of absorbed contaminants. I began with a solvent wipe using lacquer thinner, and finished by thoroughly scrubbing with water and a degreasing detergent (Formula 409, Simple Green, Krud Kutter). These steps are important if the uppers have been oiled or if they've been worn extensively. Permeable materials (fabric, leather, fiberboard, molded foam outsoles) will have absorbed sweat and will be saturated with these residues. Swabbing with alcohol or water alone will be insufficient to remove this residue; it should be washed thoroughly. You can always re-oil the leather after the repair is complete. █ Dry: This is the slowest part of the process. The surfaces to be bonded must be dry. With most adhesives of this type, absorbed moisture will reduce the reliability or strength of the bond. If you cleaned the shoe properly, it will be wet. Furthermore, most soft outsoles on shoes are made from a molded urethane foam. These types of soles will have been exposed while being washed, but they will often bear deeper absorbed moisture if they've been worn regularly (from sweat, environmental exposure). Resist trying to force-dry the shoes/boots with heat. At elevated temperatures, leather will shrink worse, and some contact adhesives used elsewhere on the shoe may reactivate (become fluid). I just threw my freshly washed boots on the roof of my car on a sunny day (~120F for 6h), and then they sat on a shelf for a few days. My boots were relatively quick to dry, since the outsoles are solid and they have no padding which might retain moisture. Drying out a thick foam outsole takes longer. █ Apply: Mask off any areas on the upper that you want to keep clean. Apply the adhesive to one surface and spread with a brush. Press the two surfaces together and pull them back apart. Observe where the adhesive has been transferred and use a brush and extra adhesive to make sure it gets everywhere it needs to be. █ Clamp: String, rubber bands, or stretchable tape such as electrical tape or tile tape works excellent for this, especially on well-worn (i.e. curved) boots or designs with molded rands. Importantly, this allows for pressure to be applied to the welt/rand area at the edge of the sole (see photo). It may be helpful to stuff the shoe with something (foam, rags, socks). This helps the upper retain its shape while under the clamping force. Filling the shoe also helps transfer pressure to the central area of the sole. Leave the assembly to dry for longer than the package recommends. This is especially important if you have applied the adhesive in thick sections, since these take longer to dry. This is also important if you have stiff soles that needed a lot of clamping pressure to take shape; these cases need the adhesive to be relatively strong before unclamping. I waited for 48h. █ Cleanup: I simply used lacquer thinner for general cleanup and to clean the application brush. I did not test it, but xylene or toluene likely work as well. These only work while the adhesive is uncured. You shouldn't have to clean your hands because you wore disposable gloves ... right? █ Finish work: Peel off the tape. Tape residues can usually be removed with mineral spirits or naphtha. You'll probably want to take this time to re-oil or refinish leather uppers. Consider taking this time to address recurring sole detachment problems that occur as a consequence of usage patterns (kicking/prying with toe or heel welt, kneeling causing delamination on instep, or use on hot surfaces). Even cheap glued-on soles can be reinforced by sewing, clinch nailing, or riveting. Exactly how this is done depends on the construction of the shoe; you'll have to figure that out. Sewing through the sole is easier than it sounds, but heavy thread (TEX135/FF/0.4mm to TEX410/#6/0.7mm) is often difficult to find retail. Most sporting goods stores sell braided nylon casting line; depending on material and construction, a 25-90lb line may be in the same ballpark size. These can be waxed, oiled, or simply used dry and then impregnated in-situ for strength and weatherproofness. Stitching through the welt on the outside of the shoe can be done with either a needle and pliers, a hook awl, or a eyelet/tubular awl. For Blake stitching through the insole, use a hook awl and perform lock-stitches with the free (shuttle) thread on the outside. I find that it's easiest if you periodically dip the awl in some linseed oil to act as both a lubricant and thread preservative. If your shoes have hard outsoles or fiberboard insoles/midsoles, a small drill can be used for punching the holes; otherwise, a straight awl might be used. Cut a relief groove if necessary to protect the thread from abrasion. █ Adhesive storage: There are lots of complaints that the product dries in the tube or clogs. I have not yet had a tube of this product which I didn't use completely in one job, but I have had the same problem on many other products. The reason varies, but the problem is always the cap. Sometimes the cap fits poorly and does not even mechanically seal. Sometimes the cap shrinks and cracks on exposure to the adhesive (Permatex RTV silicones). Usually it's simply the fact that plastic is vapor-permeable, allowing either solvent egress or moisture/oxygen ingress. There's a reason why these products are shipped in foil tubes instead of plastic tubes. Even a perfectly-fitting plastic cap is a slow death for such products. A plastic bottle with a cardboard seal, a plastic bag, polyethylene wrap are all hopelessly permeable and will offer no protection. Wrapping the entire thing in foil may possibly help, and putting it in the fridge or freezer slows the process (though not all things should be frozen). A simple solution is to make disposable tube seals (see photo). Apply aluminum foil tape to a sheet of thin rubber, felt, or craft foam; punch or cut into circles that fit tightly into the cap. Place the seal in the cap so that the foil will be pressed against the tube mouth when the cap is tightened. It's this metal-metal seal that makes the foil effective. The rubber or felt makes the seal compliant enough to make full contact on the irregular tube mouth. The seal usually gets mangled during removal, so make extras. You can always wrap the tube in foil and throw it in the freezer just for good measure. An industrious person can always make a metal cap for products they use regularly (see example in photo). These Aquaseal SR tubes have 7/16"-20 straight threads, though don't count on impact-extruded tubes to have perfect thread geometry, and don't expect the tube mouth to be square to the threads. It's worth mention as an extension of the low-permeability seal concept, but I don't expect anyone to actually consider doing this. That said, if you can't bother cleaning the threads, don't expect inanimate reality to protect you from your own mistake. █ Conclusion As the photos show, the boots are now reassembled, sewn and oiled. I did not have any trouble with excess squeeze-out. I regret not having taken pictures of the disassembled and scarified soles/uppers. In my case, the soles were completely detached except for the heels (which are nailed). I said "gross reattachment", didn't I? If I can make it work on that scale, surely it'll work to glue sneaker rands.

Seems to work fine, but I wish they made the product in smaller tubes - turns out it solidifies over the course of a year or two if not used often. So I had to throw out an almost full tube after only using it a couple of time. Minus a star for that.

I was skeptical at first, but all I can say is WOW! This actually sealed up my leaking work boots. The toe on my boots developed a small hole that allowed water in. I put the seal on, and on the sole of the boot, and it completely sealed it. Mind you, the seal is taking the same abuse as the rubber on the sole of the boot. It feels like the rubber on the sole of the boot after it dries, and it is just as tough. I am impressed. For maximum adhesion, be sure to follow the instructions and clean the area well.

Probably my most cherished piece of trail/outdoor gear are my La Sportiva hiking boots. We've seen a lot together. We've spent a lot of time together. So it was with no small amount of concern that I noticed the Vibram sole coming detached in several places. I took the boots to a local cobbler. Well, cobbler in name only, as he declared in no uncertain terms that these boots were "impossible" to fix. Impossible? Hardly! The sole itself still had lots of life left in it. It didn't even have any holes, and the treadwear was nowhere near where a replacement sole would be the best course. Impossible. Bah. I spent hours getting these boots broken in just right. No way in hell am I going to buy all new boots for this, not when all that was needed was to re-cement the sole to the shoe. I was all set to buy some Shoe Goo when, in my internet reading, I came across an article in Backpacker magazine where my exact issue was described. The equipment editor's prescription? Freesole. So I bought some. And $7 worth of freesole saved my boots. To be sure, it's important to follow the directions but with a little more care to give yourself the best conditions for a permanent fix. In this case, I let it cure for 48 hours, not overnight. I did NOT skimp on the cement, used a plastic knife to spread it smoothly, and used extra Freesole on the seam to make sure it would hold. Lastly, I weighted the boots rather heavily to make sure there was a good seal, and I used paracord to add pressure to the sole and boot where a weight wouldn't fit. And yes, I'm serious about the 48 hours. Be patient. DO NOT fiddle with it while it's curing. Just put it aside and forget about it for two days. When you revisit it, you'll find a very durable and waterproof seal, even better than the factory cement. This is very good stuff. It's by no means a fast fix (meaning don't count on this to save your bacon on the trail for ad hoc repairs), but it's a long lasting one. I'm very happy with this.

Works as claimed .. very expensive though.

Poor sticking