Rhinestone Guy, Inc.
(888) 594-7999 or ( 714) 480-1000 Fax: (714) 480-1005
Techniques for Mounting Rhinestones
Glue:
We strongly suggest GemTac Glue by Beacon. If you have success with other glues, we are not trying to talk you into a new product. In our hands, this glue has been very good.
Practice on scrape fabric until you can consistently judge the size of glue spots required for the following:
Place glue spots onto fabric in whatever pattern you want. The glue spots MUST be of a size that when the rhinestone you are using is pushed into glue, glue will just come around the rhinestone edge. You want to glue the rhinestone glass edge to the fabric, NOT JUST THE BACK or the rhinestone. (the bond of the mirror backing to the glass of the rhinestone is not sufficient to hold the stone to the fabric. Eventually, if abused, you will have nice, bright shiny metallic spot of backing with missing glass...the rhinestone separated from its backing!
It stands to reason...you will use smaller spots of glue with smaller stones, larger with larger. (DUH!) Practice with each size stone you use. A 5ss stone will use an incredibly small spot of glue, a 34SS will use a large spot of glue.
Do not apply any more spots of glue than you can set stones into within 60 seconds. If it is a dry day, do fewer at one time...you do not want the glue to skim dry on the surface BEFORE the stone is set into it.
When gluing large jewels, use glue so that glue comes up over all edges of the stone. Otherwise, the stone will fall off. (The bigger/heavier the stone, the better the edges must be glued)
Glue is white when it comes out of the tube, and is water soluble. It becomes clear when it dries, and is no longer water soluble. This (these) glue(s) will bond to glass, metal, etc.
Use an APPLICATOR STICK to make your life much easier...Apply the glue spots to the fabric, lightly touch the top side of the stone with the waxy end of the applicator stick (the stone will stick to the applicator stick, but you do not want it 'cemented' to the stone. Push the stone into the glue with the applicator stick, lightly twist the stick as you pull back. The rhinestone will stay in the glue and you can move on to the next stone very quickly. Don't even think about tweezers! Glue gets on the tips and the stones stick to the tweezers.
Allow rhinestone glue to begin to clear before moving to another part of the fabric (if you have to move the fabric) and handle gently, being careful not to loosen stones that are drying.
Usually, 24 hours is a good drying time before wearing garment. Wait one week to hand wash. We do not suggest machine washing. Wash in cold to warm water.
DO NOT DRY CLEAN GARMENTS WITH GLUED STONES. The glue will discolor (yellow) and eventually become brittle. You will loose your stones.
If you loose a stone, reapply glue to same spot and replace stone as above.
With practice, you will set at least 10 gross stones per hour with this technique.
IF you drip glue on fabric, use damp, clean cloth to remove. Wipe and repeat a few times. Should leave no trace. OR....change stone pattern and go to town. DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE GLUE FROM SATIN WITH A DAMP CLOTH...YOU WILL WATER SPOT THE SATIN!
The best way to avoid spots, etc., when glue is ... be careful.
WARNING: Although GemTac is a wonderful glue for all around use, do NOT use GemTac to attach rhinestones where the temperatures of the item you are gluing to will experience low temperatures...such as Motorcycles and Automobiles in northern climates. The glue becomes brittle when it is really cold. Its elasticity returns when it is warmer.
Heat-Set (Heat Fix, etc) Mounting:
Heat Fix glues have improved dramatically in the past few years. Different Brands of rhinestones use different glues, but, in general, the adhesives are very good when used correctly. BUT, the bonding is to the backing only, therefore, the problem of stone loss is real. Therefore, we strongly advise hand washing any items with heat set stones. IF, like me, you throw everything into the washing machine, the worst that will happen is that an occasional stone will rip free of its backing. This can be repaired by applying another stone over the shiny spot where a stone was lost...no big deal. To minimize this loss, use 6SS, 10SS, and 12SS stones when heat setting if you are going to machine wash. The larger the stone, the more apt it is to abrasion. Larger stones, say 16SS, 20SS, 30SS, and 34SS really need to be hand washed, period.
NO GLUE IS DRY CLEANABLE! Some heat Fix glues will withstand one dry cleaning procedure (Swarovski is better than others), BUT not another procedure.. It depends upon the chemicals used in the dry cleaning...therefore, we suggest avoiding heat setting stones to non-washable fabrics. (PS...Silk IS washable!)
IF you are using single stones, one at a time, to develop patterns of stones, AND if you want to heat fix them to the fabric, an iron is a poor method of affixing them. We suggest you consider the 'Bejeweler' (TM) unit, a wand, very much like a soldering iron, with different tips for sizes. Makes the process fairly easy. (You will find the Bejeweler* under 'Tools' in this catalog. IF you have a heat press, you can place the stones and lower the platen, then move on. Either way is successful in affixing these stones.
Heat Fix stones are available in most transparent colors, crystal, and crystal AB. They are not available in most color AB varieties. So plan accordingly. Most of the new 'Effect' colors from Swarovski are available in Heat Fix (HF).
KEEP IN MIND, temperatures required to set these stones vary by brand of rhinestone. Czech stones mount successfully at between 305 and 310 degrees, Swarovski stones require about 340 - 350 degrees. Do NOT overheat the stones, and do not allow stone to remain heated too long before mounting. Test your methods before proceeding. When the glue melts on the back of the stone, it is ready to use. Do not apply and leave heat on too long, as glue will spread out into fabric too far, leaving too little glue under the stone, AND the glue will discolor the fabric. So, practice before you use them. You will catch on to the technique very quickly!
Some clients use these stones by placing them in a skillet, right side down, and heating them on a stove...very bad idea! The glue will have cooled to a less than ideal temp before you can get it onto the fabric. The glue on the rhinestones is heat sensitive to the point that if over heated, will denature and not work...burns up.
We do like heat transfers a lot, but only in 6SS and 10SS stone sizes (since most of our clients will end up throwing tees into the washing machine.
DO NOT USE HOT MELT GLUES WITH RHINESTONES...WILL NOT STICK WELL TO STONE BACK, and this stuff is nasty to use! Glue sticks, etc. are NOT good at holding stones, and leave strings of glue every where, AND, given enough time, you will get your fingers and hands burned...not very pleasant, overall.
Rhinestone Guy produces most of their transfers in 6ss or 10SS rhinestones because this is the only size stone we have found to hold up reasonably well in the washing machine on Tees, etc.
Tiffany Mounts:
These guys are great for strong setting of stones to fabric, leather, etc. Four prongs come from back of fabric and wrap over stone edge. Easiest to apply with tool, but you can bend each prong over by hand (We have much better things to do with our time). Bedazzler, West Set, or Commercial setters are best for this type of application. Even the inexpensive 'hand setter' works well. We glue our stones (very lightly, NOT coming out around stone) in place before mounting with tiffany or rims. This insures pattern will stay perfect. If you have no pattern, go to it with a Bedazzler or Brisk Setter...very easy, fun, and sort of fast.
Rim Sets: Great look for some garments. Used in Country/Western and Rodeo clothing. Has metal rim that surrounds rhinestone with prongs bending over on back of fabric...very good mounting. Can be used one at a time by gluing stone in place (lightly, as descibed in 'Tiffany'), placing rim over stone and lightly stretching fabric as you push rim over stone (avoids fabric puckering). Bend prongs over back of stone with spoon, tweezer backend, etc. OR, if doing lots of these guys, buy a setter.
Sewing: Many clients prefer sewing jewels and rhinestones on costumes...very permanent. Lochrosens, Coronas, and Margaritas have a center hole, use with seed bead by coming from back of fabric, through hole, through bead, around bead, and back through center hole. Then, move to next. You will have to use a BEADING needle to do this, as regular needles are too big to go through seed bead. We prefer silk or monofilament thread. If you use thread, wipe it a few times with a 'Bounty' fabric softener sheet prior to sewing...will help prevent thread from tangling into a real mess!
Rhinestones 9mm and up are available from Swarovski with two holes for sewing. Choose Sew-on Jewels for this purpose.
We hope these notes are helpful to you...happy stoning, Phil Brandt, Rhinestone Guy, Inc.
Rhinestone Guy, Inc.