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Hey guys,

Thought this would be of interest if you are planning to re-glue your skins.

Happy New Year.

http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/reglue_climbing_skins.php

I reglued my skins a month ago. Here is what I did that worked really well:

1) Get yourself a heat gun and a putty knife if you can. The whole paper bag and iron thing is painstakingly slow and nearly useless.

2) Heat up a section of the upside-down skin with the heat gun and watch for the glue to turn liquidy. Use the putty knife and scrape lengthwise down the skin, removing the old glue in globby sections. Wipe the globby putty knife on a paper bag and repeat until your skins are glueless.

3) Apply masking or other tape down the glueluess strip in the middle of your now deglued skins.

4) Use the BD glue brush and apply a small glob of glue *across* the skin. Transverse (perpendicular) to the long axis of the skin. Then, use the putty knife and run the glob as thinly as possible lengthwise down the skin. What you just did was ensure the glue spreads evenly. I actually found that gluing half of the skin - on one side of the masking tape - allowed me to work most consistently, then I came back and finished the other half. The problem is that the glue can dry fast in warm/dry environments and it becomes more viscous and difficult to spread as it does so. The trick is to apply small, even amounts quickly once you've brushed the glue onto the skin. The thinner the better.

5) Do as the manual says - wait 30 minutes between coats and apply 3 coats. Leave to dry overnight. Do holbyco's final iron touch-up method the next day to really get the skins even.

** Work in a well ventilated area. The toluene solvent is chemically similar to benzene (but not quite as hardcore) and will fuck you up in a not very good brainkilling cancer causing way if you get too friendly with it. I would not advocate letting the skin dry overnight in your living room for example.