Repairs (2)

​After last month’s tip you’ll be interested (hopefully!) to hear if the repair to my 1500 grit flexible diamond belt worked.  The answer is yes, it did, not that I couldn’t do a better job next time if I need to (read on!).
 
So how did I go about it?
 
I went to my local hardware store and asked the solvents and adhesives expert there what to use.  He suggested a product called “Goof Off” which cleaned up the tape and the belt nicely with a few applications and some firm rubbing.  As directed by the safety instructions, I had plenty of ventilation whilst using it because of the acetone in the product and also used disposable rubber gloves as recommended by the manufacturers.  Please read and follow the safety instructions for any and all chemical products!!

Figure 1 shows the two products I used and I'm happy  with the results.  Maybe there are better ones available?  You tell me?!

Once clean and dry, I used a product called “Fix All Crystal” which is both a sealant and adhesive, depending on how much you apply.  I followed the instructions and then clamped the belt and tape between two pieces of thin plywood, having first wrapped the belt in a piece of paper kitchen towel to avoid things sticking to it.
 
After 24 hours I opened everything up and cleaned off the stuck paper towel.  I left it a further couple of days to harden before using.

Figure 2 shows the clamped belt.  I left this on for 24 hours.  Do not rush this stage!

​The only problem was I didn’t push the fingers up into each other firmly enough, or else it slipped whilst clamping.  But I then used the belt to finish a couple of jobs and it worked fine, so there must be a bit of latitude here.

Figure 3 shows the repair completed and ready to use.  Sadly the belt ends slipped out a bit, but this does not seem to have affected it's performance, so I'll watch for that next time and use a piece of temporary tape (possibly masking tape) on this side of the belt to make sure it doesn't slip

​Sometimes I feel like a guinea pig but the truth is we are all learning, and if you can learn off my efforts, then I’ve saved you some frustrations.
 
Happy polishing!