John Fryatt wrote:
Hi,

I have a pair of shoes, one of which has the upper coming detached from
the sole unit. They are quite serviceable and also comfortable so I'd
like to save them if possible.
I've tried various glues (EvoStik, No More Nails, Hot glue, Some other
HD glue from a DIY superstore, etc....) but nothing seems to last.

The thing is, if they can't be glued, well fair enough I'll chuck them.
It seems to me, though, that the were glued together when they were
made, so why can't they be re-glued? Any thoughts?
Have I just not tried the right glue yet, or is there more to it than that?

An American site recommends a glue called 'Barges' for shoes, but I
don't know if it's available in the UK. I've not seen it anyway.

These shoes are a leather upper glued to a rubber compound sole unit.
The inside of the sole unit (as seen when it's coming off) is a kind of
'egg-box' structure. No sewing appears to have been used in their
construction.

Thanks in advance. John

I've had quite a bit of success with ordinary super glue in the past
(which you can pick up for 10p a tube now). If the upper and sole are
leather it's fantastic as super glue bonds particularly well to leather
if the sole is rubber it's not so good but the job is done in 2 minutes
and generally lasts for a few months.

What I found though was that once the rubber sole had started failing it
just kept pulling away now matter how well it was glued and eventually
there was nothing left to glue to (I kept a good pair of boots going for
nearly 2 years!). The rubber just seems to go powdery as it breaks down
making it unsuitable for glueing.

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