So... ive found what i think is the most cost and performance effective way to apply brake soles. A one and done. My first set peeled off in spots and i had to keep fixing them so i decided to do some research to see how i could get them to adhere properly. Your adhesive will only be as good as your prep work allows it to be.
what youll need...
-shoes
-soles
-shoe goo
-loctite brand super glue
-alcohol
-weights to press them while theyre curing
-super low grit sand paper (60 and under)
-paper towels
-cardboard or newspaper so you dont ruin your floors lol
first, scuff the surface of the brake soles you plan on sticking to the bottom of your shoes with the sand paper. This will creat little groves and promote better adhesion. Do the same to the bottom of your shoes.
next, rub both surfaces down with alcohol to remove any grease or waxy substances. New shoes have mold releases just like wheels. Its an oily substance that will create problems.
Then, place your shoe on the sole and draw an outline. This will show you where to put the glue.
Put a very liberal amount of shoe goo on inside the lines you drew on the brake soles. Leave about a half inch gap from the lines. In that half inch gap apply a good amount of the loctite super glue. Also apply the superglue around the same perimeter along the bottom of the shoes. Its not necessary, but you can also put shoe goo on the bottom of the shoes as well. Generally with glueing, you want to cover both surfaces that are going to be joined. This guarantees proper coverage. Id also recommend paying extra atention to the toe area on your rear foot. That area is gunna be subject to the most abuse, so a little extra superglue in that area would be ideal.
You're probably wondering why shoe goo, and why specifically the loctite brand. The shoe goo is way cheeper and you can just slather it on there. This keeps it cost effective as i can get 3-4 sets of soles done with a $5 tube of the stuff. Also its much more flexible than super glue. So in the areas that bend on your shoes, you wont get cracking and seperation from the rock hard super glue. Now as for why loctite specifically. According to an experiment done by the youtuber ProjectFarm, loctite superglue adheres the best to rubber and plastic compaired to other brands. Its also pretty cheap too. I used to use gorilla super glue and the loctite is noticeably better.
Almost done... now we just wanna make sure we get good clamping force. When you initially press the shoe onto the sole, line it up nicely, and apply your body weight for a good 45 seconds to 1 min. Then stack some weights on top. The more the merrier!
The superglue will cure a lot quicker than the shoe goo. Id let them sit under the weights for 24 hrs. After that, trim them up and theyre good to go!!! I like to use a set of dykes. Razor blades work too but i find the cutters easier. Before or after you cut them out, if you see any spots where the glue didnt squeeze out all the way, run a bead along that almost like youre welding a gap. This will prevent them from starting to lift. Once they start, they dont stop!!!
Really hope this helps! If you have any comments or questions please ask! And if you can add any information to improve this process please go right ahead!
Happy Skating!!!
