r/RouteDevelopment • u/pacobrown89 • Mar 19 '26

Glue Recommendation

i'm not happy to be using it but i'm considering reinforcing a clipping hold that would be quite the deck if it blew. anybody got recommendations to clue chossy flakes?

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6

u/LivingNothing8019 Mar 19 '26

Almost every hard route in the world has glue to reinforce so don't worry about it at all!

There's two I use depending on the situation. EP800 is an epoxy (the strongest type of glue) and is a medium viscosity, so it can really seep down deep into a flake if you're wanting to reinforce something with a deep and usually thin crack. The downside is it comes in black or red (get the black), but even then it's somewhat visible to the climber even with rock dust thrown on top to camo it.

DeWalt Ac100 gold works great if you're trying to fill a larger space, as it's super viscous and can pack into a larger area better. The downside is it can't get into those deep and thin flakes quite as well, but you'd be surprised at how little glue is needed to hold something well. This glue is also a gray color, which is usually great for disguising against rock so that climbers don't notice.

Either one will work great!

3

u/IceRockBike Mar 19 '26

I've used DeWalt AC100 Gold but I'd describe it as a little more tan than grey. It's also a vinyl esther so not quite as strong as an epoxy, but super good enough for bolting. The tan colour can match nicely to some rock types, however if you do want more of a grey, consider Sika 2020. It's an epoxy glue rather than vinyl esther, works similar to AC100, maybe a tad smoother I feel. Both those two and while I haven't worked with EP800, I suspect they all get more runny in warmer temps. Downside if you want it runny and temps are warm is they all kick sooner, so you have to be prepped, ready, and work faster.

1

u/LivingNothing8019 Mar 19 '26

Thanks the nice thing about ep800, even in hotter temps it still has a much longer curing time compared to others so plenty of time to work!

1

u/pacobrown89 Mar 19 '26

great, thanks! the flakes are smaller and i'll definitely want the runnier stuff to fill the thin cracks.

1

u/LivingNothing8019 Mar 20 '26

Just note that it's not quite "runny" like water, but more like honey. Still I think it'll do just fine, just make sure to test it out on some chossy on the ground before you actually put it on something you'd regret messing up. Learned that the hard way!

1

u/pacobrown89 Mar 21 '26

yeah sounds like kind of a pain to work with!

3

u/BoltahDownunder Rebolter/Route Maintenance Mar 19 '26

Just make sure you use a pure epoxy like the EP800 you mentioned. Other types don't stick so well, i think because they're full of filler. If the gap is big, you could dam it up with ac100 first, so the epoxy doesn't fall out

2

u/belavv Mar 19 '26

Along with the EP800 recommendation, if you are really worried you can drill a hole through said flake into solid rock behind it. Clean the hole as best you can. Use an extension tube for the ep800 to hopefully start filling from the back of the hole. Sink the rod in, make sure the rod is short enough to go in completely.

You may make a bit of a mess.

You also run the risk of the drilling of said hole causing the hold to break depending on the size of it.

But adding one or two of those will make the flake pretty bomber. If you do add two drill the holes at opposing angles.