I have been having problems with the lower lip pulling down a liitle.
I tuck the inner lip into lip slot then add some zap-a-gap, then press
outer lip up and as tight as possible and pin, then when dried i take
some apoxie and shape (not a whole lot just to blend and look good)
but after a couple months I see where the lip pulls a little and cracked the apoxie. How can I get that lip to stay in place, if it moves in a month what about ten years. It also shows poor work to a customer. thanks
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The most common reason is that your lip slot is too big. I sand off the kerf of a jigsaw blade and then epoxy it in a file handle to cut my slots. You can even do this with a scalpel, but whatever you do, don't cut it with a large drill bit. Then insert a small piece of potters clay or Critter Claw inside the lower lip. Tuck. I usually run a japan pin up into the lip and the form just as a St. Christopher's medal for this reason. Once the hide is DRY dry, it won't move providing you've used a good hide adhesive.
Greg,
It's either one of the following:
1. Lips and surrounding area not thinned enough.
2. Not using a quality glue, is form prepped to accept the glue (yes you have to sand the lip area too)
3. Lip slot to big, I only use a butter knife, actually a lip slot tool that puts in a very narrow slot. Use generous amounts of glue when tucking the lips.
4. Not coming back every 3-6 hours to check and retuck if required. You'll find that with a narrow slot the skin holds very well...
Good luck..
Try tucking the front lower lip,thenpull it back to desired location.That seems to hold better than just putting in place, because its helping hold it.
You didn't say how the hides were preserved.....DP, commercial tan or in shop tan. That could explain a lot of your problem. Using the appropriate hide paste could be a factor too!
Slot is too big, and like was said, the leather has not been thinned enough. That is the one thing I learned that really took my mounts to the next level, learning how to thin critical areas. Once you master thinning, your ducts won't pull, your lip won't pull and the finish work around the eyes is minimal.
I learned from a guy that still uses one of those lip slot bits in a dremel, all that does is guarantee your lips will pull!