Practice HOT GLUE2 Carpet Sealing for KOOL GLIDE (tm)

Practice HOT GLUE2 ^tm* Carpet Seam Sealing for KOOL GLIDE ^tm 

The following outlines a series of pictures of making a mock-up for practice trials for seam sealing with the Hot Glue2^tm seam sealing method using a Surebonder^* PRO8000A  glue gun with customized stand:

1.     Portable rigid base ¼" plywood (or a slab rubber sport flooring) with a strip of silicon coated tape centred lengthwise - photo 1.  Staple net-fitted carpet to simulate a seam - photo 2.

2.     Positioning the Hot Glue^tm tip in the carpet seam for a "cold dry trial run" - photos 3, 4-8.

3.     Side view of gun at rest with the applicator tip in contact with base - photo 4.

4.     Slightly lift the gun and tip upward about 1/8" from base, while holding seam edge down onto the base - photo 5. (in this position the stand remains in contact without downward pressure as to just graze the carpet pile)

5.      Pulling the gun towards you to move Hot Glue2^tm applicator tip through the seam while holding the gun slightly upward (position noted in step 4) with the 4^th & pinkie fingers, using the index & middle finger to activate trigger; while holding seam downward with other hand - photo 6.  Progress by moving backwards in 6-9" intervals as fore-mentioned - photos 6 - 8. (repeat as necessary to become comfortable with the gun and to freely move without binding in the seam)

6.     Begin practice run by initially squeezing trigger to visibly apply hot melt adhesive in the seam - photo 9, 10-16.

7.     Commence sealing the carpet seam in a sequential manner: a) press seam down to anchor end into the hot melt adhesive - photo 10; b) with the gun at rest, hand roll the seam with flat silicon roller - photo 11; c) apply seam weight before starting the next interval - photo 12; d) begin next interval by slowly squeeze trigger, then press adjoining edges into the hot melt adhesive (pause occasionally as to allow excessive adhesive to flow downward from the edges of the material as you draw the applicator through the seam) - photos 13; with the gun at rest, roller the seam - photo 14;  reposition seam weight length-ways on the seam and start next interval - photo 15.  (repeat sequence to finish the seam)

8.     Generally speaking the installer has total control on the process and can see how well he applies the hot melt adhesive and progresses with care in operation of the gun.  However, should an excessive amount of hot glue be applied; with a little precision, insert a clean metal blade into the seam immediately while it the hot glue is molten - photo 16.  The molten glue will set unto the cold blade, removing excess adhesive as the blade is withdrawn from the seam - photo 17. Once the seam has sufficiently cooled, you can lift the seam off the silicon tape to inspect the underside of the practice seam, to see how consistently and uniformly the adhesive is banded onto the backing of the material on both sides of the seam and to see how well the adjoining edges are sealed - photo 18. (with practice until you become proficient, and the average coverage rate for the hot melt adhesive is approximately one 10" gun stick per 3' of seam)

9.     With the attained skill,  you can try employing the Hot Glue^tm  technique on a seam over the Kool Glide ^tm  seaming tape - photo 19; and afterwards, you see that the seaming tape has been bonded to the carpet at the seam, with the seam properly sealed to prevent hinging - photo 20.

*Note Surebonder is a registered trademark of FPC Corporation.  Follow the glue gun manufacturer's operating instructions and for best results use only the manufacturer's recommended 7/16" glue sticks. Hot Glue2 is registered trademark of Omnimart Distributions Inc.