Len's Dust Cover Glue

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Dave

Dave

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
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Edwardsburg, MI
About 6 years ago I weaned myself off of ATG for dustcover application and switched totally to Frank's Fabric Adhesive. Now Len Lastuck, my friend and owner of Frame Specialties, has come out with a glue specifically for applying dust covers. I got a sample, but I can't tell any difference.

Jim, you advocate this product, but I need to know what advantage it has.

Am I missing something?
 
My guess is that it is basically the same product as Franks or Laminall. PVA glues can be thinned to your desired consitancy.
 
IMHO, Len's glue and Frank's are totally different - and the fabric adhesive is much stickier (ever try to take it off of your plastic roller tray?).

I love Len's glue and so far have only come across one frame back where the glue flatly refused to stick - like there was a kind of wax on the frame back? Had to resort to ATG.

There is a whole thread around here somewhere about Len's glue.
 
Len's Dustcover Glue has a unique combination of attributes that I believe make it the best choice for attaching paper dustcovers to wood and poly frames:

1. It is completely water-soluble, so a future framer can soak it off the back of a frame.

2. Because it is water-soluble, you can apply it, let it dry, and activate it by moistening the dried film of glue. This enables you to control the moisture when using dustcover paper that puckers.

3. It can be heat-activated, so if you need to apply it to a very large frame, or if you need to pleat the corners of the paper to accommodate an over-stuffed frame, or if you want to work in batches, you can let it dry and use a tacking iron to activate the glue.

4. Unlike ATG or the frame glues I've tried, Len's Dustcover Glue sticks to polystyrene frames.

5. The cheapest ATG I would dare to buy costs about $2.50 per 36-yd. roll. At that price, per frame, Len's Dustcover Glue costs about 1/10 of ATG.
 
Inquiring minds want to know....Where does one purchase it? Can it tolerate freezing or does it have to be shipped during warm months only?? What is its self-life? And how are you applying it to the frame....roller, brush, squeeze bottle?
 
Jim Miller said:
5. The cheapest ATG I would dare to buy costs about $2.50 per 36-yd. roll. At that price, per frame, Len's Dustcover Glue costs about 1/10 of ATG.
Click to expand...

This one never ceases to amaze me. 987 ATG is what I use for everything and it costs less than 2 cents per foot. Average frame uses less than 10' of ATG so it costs 20 cents per frame and takes seconds to use. Using glue will save me 18 cents per frame and based on pricing my time is worth 3.3 cents per second. If the glue takes 6 seconds loner to apply than ATG I'm losing money using it.

I can understand people that sell plastic frames need a solution but savings are not a reason to use glue. I quit using glue for backing 30 years ago and will never go back to the dark ages.
 
I just did a test with Len's Dustcover Glue and Frank's Fabric Glue with a poly moulding.

Both performed identically.

I took the moulding and put a smear of each on the back. After allowing the glues
to dry, I reactivated the glue by dampening the glue and applying some brown kraft
paper. Both held well after being allowed to dry. I then re-wet both covers through
the paper and both released completely.

Both glues can also be heat activated.

I can't see a difference in practical use between the two.
 
Using glue will save me 18 cents per frame and based on pricing my time is worth 3.3 cents per second. If the glue takes 6 seconds loner to apply than ATG I'm losing money using it.
Click to expand...

Installed cost is not the main motivator for using glue instead of ATG. You could surely find a cheaper glue if that were an issue. Your labor rate of $118.80 per hour may be a bit higher than most, but that would apply regardless of your method, and the cost difference would be insignificant in any case.

With practice, gluing can be about as fast as ATG, and it works where other adhesives are either inconvenient or ineffective. But the advantage most attractive to me is that it makes a better bond and does not create a mess for the framer who has to take it apart in the future.
 
Dave said:
I just did a test with Len's Dustcover Glue and Frank's Fabric Glue with a poly moulding...I can't see a difference in practical use between the two.
Click to expand...

I didn't realize that Frank's Fabric Glue would remain completely water-soluble, but for what it's worth, some other glues would function similarly, too. We have choices.
 
Jim Miller said:
Framers using plastic mouldings do not rely on dustcover paper to reduce bowing. We prefer to use methods that work.
Click to expand...

In context, Jeff's comment was:
Originally Posted by CAframer
They can use tape in place of backing paper!
Click to expand...
That would also reduce the bowing problem with plastics.

So I think he meant TAPING the package together might help with bowing, as opposed to relying on dustcover paper. This technique has been recommended in other threads about poly mouldings.
:kaffeetrinker_2: Rick
 
I remembered which frame Len's Dustcover Glue would not stick to - it was one of those ragged burl veneer scoops ("Sherwood"?) from Woods of Designer. FYI.
 
I guess that would be a good candidate for "snot tape" a.k.a. ATG.

:vomit:
 
Dave said:
I guess that would be a good candidate for "snot tape" a.k.a. ATG.
Click to expand...
That reminds me of my term for the adhesive they use to paste supplements into magazines or to seal trifold ad mailers: "booger-bond".
;) Rick

(You know what I mean if you've ever seen the way it stretches when you try to peel it off.)
 
Same stuff, Rick... just with more goobers added!

:p
 
This is coming from an old retired framer who is just poking around the G so take it for it's intended value.

Has anyone ever tried this so called "booger bond" for attaching dust covers? In lieu of the fact that anything used on a dust cover has a one time usage, it has to stick consistently ....... period, and should not harden, peel prematurely, or otherwise break its bond over an extended period of time. And, as the time frame for applying dust covers apparently is now measured in savings of seconds per day, it must come in some form which does not require any manual dexterity such as squeezing, brushing, pushing a plunger, or unrolling a strip onto the back of a frame. (I'd hate to be the poor schlup of a framing employee who stopped in the middle of a dust cover to use a Kleenix. .......... He has effectively "blown" all that savings in time before the job was even completed!)

From my own personal experience, this "booger bond" does have some holding power albeit, for how long has not yet been determined. I have accidentally ripped many a page of Decor trying to remove a "booger bonded insert over the years! And, since there are still framers out there who are not satisfied with all the available choices for bonding dust covers to frame backs, maybe it's time for some R&D by some enterprising framer to find out if Rick or Dave may have accidentally stumbled onto the next "big breakthrough" in the framing industry! Hey, look at what happened to that royal screw-up so commonly known as "Post-it notes"!!

(OK, 90% of this post should be in green but I just had to make my mark on this subject for framing posterity.) ;)
 
mik said:
Inquiring minds want to know....Where does one purchase it? Can it tolerate freezing or does it have to be shipped during warm months only?? What is its self-life? And how are you applying it to the frame....roller, brush, squeeze bottle?
Click to expand...

So I just read through this thread and did not see a reply. Another inquiring mind (like me) is interested in the answer to these questions.
 
Call Frame Specialties at 800.777.3165 to find a distributor near you. Freezing wouldn't be a problem if you get truck delivery but it shouldn't be hipped during frigid weather.

I lay down a small bead quickly all around perimeter then smear with my finger. Quick process.

If called away and it dries then I have a Oreck portable cordless iron close by... heats up very quickly. Just run the iron over the cover and it reactivates the adhesive.
 
Thanks for the reply. I'll try it!
 
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