labricoleuse | Tutorial: Rubberizing shoes and boots for the stage, Barge method (pictorial) (Reply)

Rubberizing the soles of boots and shoes for stage productions is one of those recurring tasks that fall to the crafts department. A theatre company can save literally hundreds of dollars by rubberizing in-house rather than sending shoes out to cobblers for this service, provided there's a craftsperson on staff who can do it properly.

In this photographic tutorial, I will describe one process for rubberizing using the industrial solvent-based contact adhesive, Barge. Barge has been widely used in the shoemaking industry for years, but is a known carcinogen, so extreme safety precautions are required in its use. Theatrical safety experts have recently been urging the use of an adhesive known as Synthetic Latex 1812 as a less-toxic substitute for applications in which one would otherwise use Barge. I have just obtained some 1812 and will be conducting some future experiments on its usefulness in rubberizing--look for a forthcoming post soon!

For now though, 1812 is far from a universally-used substance in this application, and many shops do still use Barge for rubberizing. Thus, I'll write up the Barge process here first!

These are the boots that need rubberizing.
If you look closely, you can see where the old rubber is pulling away from the sole.
This process can be used on brand-new soles as well.

Check out how cruddy the rubber is on these.
You can see why an actor couldn't do a show in them safely in this state.

I used a screwdriver to "chisel" off all the old cruddy rubber.
If you know the adhesive used, sometimes you can use a solvent to loosen the bond.

Here are some samples of what shoe rubber looks like.
Some common brand names are Cat's Paw and Vibram.
The nubbly stuff is used for extremely active actors, like someone swordfighting.
There's a soft type of shoe rubber (not pictured) called dance rubber as well,
which comes in white and can be dyed with Rit.

First you need to trace a pattern of the soles.

You need a separate piece for each section of shoe you will rubberize.
Don't assume left and right are mirror images of one another!
I was able to salvage the rubber on one heel, so i only have these 3 pieces.

You can write on shoe rubber with ballpoints or pencils;
I like to use a metallic or pastel gel pen.
Leave a 1/4" allowance all around the edges, and be sure to
keep track of left and right pieces!

Here's an array of the tools and equipment you need.
Note the rubber gloves and respirator:
wear protective equipment at all times when working with Barge!
In the top left corner is a rougher, used to scuff up the soles
and the rubber pieces for a better bond.
Next to that is a shoe anvil. You'll need that soon!
Coat both the rubber pieces and the shoe soles with Barge,
then set them aside for 15-20 minutes to dry.

Once both sides have dried, place the shoe/boot on the anvil,
position the rubber piece, and then hammer the crap out of it,
paying particular attention to the perimeter edge!