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[ju]

Just a quickie , and before I otherwise make a mistake that I regret . Just about to retape with the ribbed type bellows tape  , I have previously only used the paper type . I see Lester uses PVA WOOD GLUE  . I have some Gorrilla wood glue , which I think  is the same just with a bit of a longer grab time
If about 20 mins . Is this a suitable glue to use ? Many thanks in advance . I wouldn’t want to cock it up after the time spent stripping them 

[Winston Smith]

I would have thought that heavy tape like that would try to spring back to being flat, and that a quick grab time would be more suitable. (But I'm usually wrong in my assumptions!)

[Graham Spencer]

Personally, I wouldn't use Gorilla Glue; quite apart from its high price (though if you already have some I guess that may be irrelevant), it's really not designed for this kind of work, and you have to bear in mind that at some future date either you or some unsuspecting soul will be faced with the task of retaping again, and the glue could well prove impossible to remove. For me, PVA is the way to go - it's cheap, clean, easy to use and is designed to work with materials like paper and card; I generally use ordinary white craft glue or even "Pritt-Stick" style adhesives and have had no problems whatever.

Graham

[ursamyna]

How do firms such as Castagnari and Saltarelle get the pattern on the bellows?
Do they just stick the gold tape on top of the black bellows  (giving a double layer- any problem with this?) , or has each fold got three short pieces of tape, black-gold-black, with butt joints or overlaps?

[Lester]

How do firms such as Castagnari and Saltarelle get the pattern on the bellows?
Do they just stick the gold tape on top of the black bellows  (giving a double layer- any problem with this?) , or has each fold got three short pieces of tape, black-gold-black, with butt joints or overlaps?

That is the answer

[ursamyna]

Thanks for the quick reply.  Must now resist temptation to come up with a silly design.......

[Rog]

I use the cheap PVA craft glue. You can buy tacky PVA but I discovered on a very hot day that if you wait a few minutes after you’ve spread the cheap stuff on the tape, it dries out a bit and becomes quite tacky.

[Peadar]

And the three short pieces method is also used by Chanson on their well known 7 key model. 

[Kimric Smythe]

I crease the tape lengthwise before I apply it to keep it centered and I relax the bellows tape with a hair dryer as I go to get it to take a set. This keeps it from trying to come loose.
 
If this is the urethane gorilla glue it will make a mess of your instrument.

[ju]

The gorilla wood glue is a waterbased PVA . But I didn’t use it anyway , found another PVA I have successfully used .

[Graham Spencer]

I crease the tape lengthwise before I apply it to keep it centered

So do I - hadn't thought of the hairdryer trick, though.

Graham

[blackdot1234]

i have re taped loads of bellows lester has done videos on re taping ie folding glueing tape and positioning on bellows pattern is created with seperate pieces of tape of diffrent colours and but jointed together on the bellows i use the glue from cgm  ifound it very good and easy to use

[Anne Croucher]

I used water resistant gorilla glue to attach the wash leather to the leather strap on my Erica - got some on my tee shirt - it has been through the wash and is still there - I will be using ordinary PVA on the bellows tape.

[Peadar]

Has anyone tried using wallpaper paste?
PVA's are good....but I tend to think of them as wood working glues and very difficult to remove.

[Steve C.]

Aleene's Original Tacky Glue can be good.  I believe it is a PVA craft glue.
I also iron the tape so the crease stays and does not try to open flat (so much).
I have not tried to remove the tape once set, but have tape on a Pokerwork (belly rub area) that has stayed put for >10 years.

[Nick Collis Bird]

Has anyone tried using wallpaper paste?
PVA's are good....but I tend to think of them as wood working glues and very difficult to remove.

Wallpaper paste is cellulose based and is quite acid. Reversible PVA is a much better option for permanency.

[Peadar]

Has anyone tried using wallpaper paste?
PVA's are good....but I tend to think of them as wood working glues and very difficult to remove.

Wallpaper paste is cellulose based and is quite acid. Reversible PVA is a much better option for permanency.

Thanks Nick,
So basically wallpaper paste will eat my melodeon.....especially if the bellows corners are steel rather than brass.
Thats it back to either flour and water or reversible pva -  which isn't easy to source locally. I guess that's what mail order is for.