I've fitted 40mm heatshrink to my Severne Enigma 180-230 boom. I applied contact adhesive before hitting it with a heat gun. I'm pretty happy with the feel of it, but it does have a little movement. Any advice out there on best glue to use?

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Stretchy said..
I've fitted 40mm heatshrink to my Severne Enigma 180-230 boom. I applied contact adhesive before hitting it with a heat gun. I'm pretty happy with the feel of it, but it does have a little movement. Any advice out there on best glue to use?

I used this www.amazon.com/dp/B08V19VSFQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details in 40mm for a Severne 170-220 with no glue and it stays perfectly in place. I wonder if the problem is the glue ... it is a shrink wrap and I see no mention of using glue in the many applications you can read about

Some contact cements are pretty rubbery like Loctite medium spray-can adhesive, while others dry stiffer but are still flexible like Weldwood that is too thick to spray and comes in a can. But like duzzi said, shrink wrap does not require glue.

The better grades of electrical heatshrink come with glue on the inner. Its more of a Hot glue style adhesive.
Ive used the fishing rod style for various applications. Never glued it. Usually shrinks down tight.

Might just be the quality of the grip, definitely seems to be you get what you pay for with heat shrink. I did luck onto some really nice amazon or ebay 50mm stuff a while ago, the material seemed more like the expensive dual walled glued stuff, no idea how you can rely on getting that quality. The cheaper stuff doesn't reduce down as nicely (despite what the sellers claim) & almost frays or breaks apart slightly at cut edges.

I used 3M Super 77 spray adhesive after the first attempt at this started slipping. It's worked well so far - no more slippage.

Recently did my NP X9 with the fishing rod grip. This time I took ages to shrink it down with a heat gun. Worked a treat with no slippage or loose bits even at the ends. I got some larger diameter wrap from Jaycar and cut it into 3cm strips. shrank these over the ends of the fishing rod grip for extra sealing. Not a problem at all. Definitely worth it.

Thanks for the advice and feedback guys. I applied glue as I had read somewhere in earlier discussion that it's advisable. I used high bond brush-on contact adhesive from Sikaflex as I believe it's a good product and I had it in the shed, applied on the existing EVA.
I used 40mm heat shrink from eBay www.ebay.com.au/itm/304184638069?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-154756-20017-0&ssspo=uk9rgrqqsmg&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=Lw7eJRGDSXC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
I think the main problem is the boom arm is quite thick near the clew end , but narrows up in the harness line area. As a result you have to use a larger diameter heat shrink so you can slide it on (yes I removed the adjustment thingos), but then maybe it can't shrink on as tightly as much as a narrower diameter heat shrink would?
anyhow, I think this is great stuff. Hopefully I can improve my methods to get a fully schmick job!

I did try these for two seasons, and cannot say they are any good, other than convenience. They simply don't provide any of the comfort that a soft grip provides. You do hold on to a boom 100% of sailing time, it should not be skimped on.

I'd put money on the Sika bond having dissolved/softened/denatured the existing eva grip on the boom under the shrink wrap, as there is no where for the gasses that are emitted during the curing (offgasing) to escape except into the eva's pores. The 'offgas' is extremely volatile and will melt plastic or foams and definitely causes thin sheet PU foam or EVA to swell up and tripe. Could be wrong but suspect Im not!

Thanks Peter, that sounds likely. I might rip it off and try again with no glue this time!

I installed the full-length stuff without glue. It began to buckle after a couple of months pf steady use just where the hands tend to twist while pumping but another application if heat seems to have solved that problem for now. I installed on a reduced diameter boom directly over the old, worn neoprene grip and the slightly larger resulting size works much more comfortably for my oversized and somewhat arthritic hands. (Even before arthritis my favorite booms were the old oversized WH Gorilla Booms - I don't know what pressed me to go RDG...).