Sorry Another Stoning Thread!

[argentine_princess]

I picked up my brand new ballroom dress on Saturday - its amazing!!! It looks so different on the floor and moves brilliantly. Anyone who says competitive dress doesn't make a difference to placings is lying - we made 3rd in the intermediate competition beating couples we've never beaten before!
Anyway back to the topic! As is the way a few stones have come off my dress already - I want to keep up with restoning it so it never has too many missing at any one time. However I'm completely new to stoning and know virtually nothing. I guess I have two main questions:
1. What is the best glue to use and where can I get it from in the UK
2. Do you add the glue to the stone or to the dress?

Sorry these are such simple questions but I want to keep my dress looking fabulous.

[fluffy]

I've been converted to Gemtac recently, it's hard to find in many places, but easy to get on ebay.

Stoning is a very personal matter, I prefer putting dots on the dress, but some people prefer putting glue on the stone.

[PasoDancer]

I lay down for a catnap this afternoon and woke up with mysterious hives. I thought I had anthrax or pox or something. No, I'd just fallen asleep on a pack of tiny red swarovskis I was setting into earrings.

Time for me to lay off stones. Ingesting them, inhaling them, now trying to embed them in my flesh... I need help.

[Joe]

The first step is admitting that.

[Merrylegs]

Ha Ha! Thanks, Joe. I needed a laugh.

Cheers!

The first step is admitting that.

[fascination]

I picked up my brand new ballroom dress on Saturday - its amazing!!! It looks so different on the floor and moves brilliantly. Anyone who says competitive dress doesn't make a difference to placings is lying - we made 3rd in the intermediate competition beating couples we've never beaten before!
Anyway back to the topic! As is the way a few stones have come off my dress already - I want to keep up with restoning it so it never has too many missing at any one time. However I'm completely new to stoning and know virtually nothing. I guess I have two main questions:
1. What is the best glue to use and where can I get it from in the UK
2. Do you add the glue to the stone or to the dress?

Sorry these are such simple questions but I want to keep my dress looking fabulous.I like to put it (glue) on the dress...so I know where I am aiming then I put the ston on with tweezers though I hear that the bottom of a birthday candle is a good route to take....if I we-re stoning an entire dress I might worry about the glue but to spot re-stone, i don't much worry, any of them at the fabric store suffice...the ones that are put back on aren't usually the problem...:rolleyes:

[fascination]

The first step is admitting that.
yea but then who is the higher power that she needs to surrender to on this one?;)

[Peaches]

You mean to tell me that there's no Stoned God in the dance world?

[fascination]

well I don't really want to speculate upon how many of them are stoned, but I could name several gods...must go ponder this alone....in depth

[Peaches]

Well, it would seem appropriate to me to have the got of stoning be appropriately stoned. ;-)

[PasoDancer]

Thall shalt stone no other gods before me?

[skwiggy]

I like Gemtac, but just make sure that you get a fabric glue that says it "dries clear". You don't want the white glue showing after it dries. If the whole stone falls off, then fabric glue is what you want. If the little ****l backing is left on the dress, then you may need industrial glue such as E6000. Fabric glue won't glue a rhinestone to ****l, after all...

Probably the whole stone will fall off unless they used industrial glue to glue the stones on in the first place. In that case, the stone backing will be glued more strongly to the fabric than to the stone itself.

[fascination]

Thall shalt stone no other gods before me?no problem paso...you can go first as long as I can have him later;)

[PasoDancer]

I knew it :razz: Everyone wants to throw rocks at me!

[fascination]

no darling...I want the dance god that you stone after you are done with him..."thou shalt stone no gods before me...you aren't the god...you're just in line before me".."i'm okay you're okay"

[Keelzorz]

Probably the whole stone will fall off unless they used industrial glue to glue the stones on in the first place. In that case, the stone backing will be glued more strongly to the fabric than to the stone itself.

I've found some hot-fix stones will pop off their backings, leaving the silver foil circle behind. Usually that stuff's pretty well fixed to the dress, so getting rid of it is a paaaaain.

[contracheck]

I've been converted to Gemtac recently, it's hard to find in many places, but easy to get on ebay.

Stoning is a very personal matter, I prefer putting dots on the dress, but some people prefer putting glue on the stone.

The following is my personal way of stoning. I cut hanger wire about 5 inches long, then I place a small amount of GemTac on a plastic piece. I dip the wire into the glue then spot it on the place of the fabric. I can make about 30 spots on the fabric in 2 minutes. Then, I pick the stones one by one with an L-shaped twizer and place on the top of the glue spots. It will take another 2-3 min. After this process is done, I place a hard plastic piece about 5x10 inches on top of the stones and press it down with a 25 lbs dumbell and leave it for about 10 mins. In this way I can stone a large area within 30 mins. After this is done, I let the glue cure for 24 - 48 hrs, following the direction. If I mess up, I clean the spot with wet paper towel. I used E6000 before but it always left ugly results. It is stringy (I have to cut the strings with a pair of surgical sisscor after dried), it leaves visible residues on the fabric, it is difficult to handle, and it can't be removed if I mess up.

[PasoDancer]

I'm kinda slow on the uptake today, my bad :facedesk:

[chocolatchica]

I like to put it (glue) on the dress...so I know where I am aiming then I put the ston on with tweezers though I hear that the bottom of a birthday candle is a good route to take....if I we-re stoning an entire dress I might worry about the glue but to spot re-stone, i don't much worry, any of them at the fabric store suffice...the ones that are put back on aren't usually the problem...:rolleyes:

Never tried the candle because I always thought the wac from the caldle would rub off just enough to make the stones look a little smokey. You know? Like cover up the shine with wax. Does that happen?

[contracheck]

We all know that rhinestones are expensive. I wonder if rhinestones are recycleable. I have several dance cosutmes with many stones on them. I do not use these costumes anymore. If I can reuse those stones, I may be able to recoup thousands of dollars. I'll try various procedures but if anyone has good ideas please post. Everybody will benefit. Don't you agree?

[and123]

Heck yes. I "harvest" rhinestones all the time. It's a laborious task, but as you mentioned it can save you a ton of money versus buying new rhinestones. On occasion I've bought a cheap old fugly costume just for the rhinestones. Sometimes they'll come off very easily; sometimes they'll come off after a good soaking; and sometimes you need to literally chisel the suckers off. It all depends on what kind of glue was used and how the costume was treated or washed over the years. Sometimes the foil backing stays behind, which is not good unless they are AB stones, which can still be used as "transmission" stones minus the foil.

[contracheck]

Heck yes. I "harvest" rhinestones all the time. It's a laborious task, but as you mentioned it can save you a ton of money versus buying new rhinestones. On occasion I've bought a cheap old fugly costume just for the rhinestones. Sometimes they'll come off very easily; sometimes they'll come off after a good soaking; and sometimes you need to literally chisel the suckers off. It all depends on what kind of glue was used and how the costume was treated or washed over the years. Sometimes the foil backing stays behind, which is not good unless they are AB stones, which can still be used as "transmission" stones minus the foil.
This is good. If we recycle oil because of the high price, we can certainly recylce rhinestones. This is also a good business opportunity. Don't they sell used golf balls? Please send all of your tired and ragged mass of your stoned dresses for recycling.

[fascination]

yep...I have bags of stones....most are put back on the dresses they have come off of...others are made into jewelry or hairpieces....and look, they don't take up much space and ya never know when the next dress you buy is going to have similar stones or when you or someone you know is going to want to stone something for a showcase or whatever

[fascination]

btw...yes, I soak the costumes and that is usually enough

[contracheck]

btw...yes, I soak the costumes and that is usually enough

Even those stones glued with E6000?

[fascination]

no...those have to be pulled off with teezers and I only bother if I have positively no use for the dress anymore b/c it will most definately tear...lots of times those are usless imo...b/c even if you do get them off you will sacrifuce the foil and end up with a dull ugly crystal...not worth it IMO...which explain why most gowns aren't stoned with it...in most cases, you soak that gown in warm water and the whole dang dress will de-stone it self if you don't lay it down immediately and not touch it until the glue re-drys...

[contracheck]

no...those have to be pulled off with teezers and I only bother if I have positively no use for the dress anymore b/c it will most definately tear...lots of times those are usless imo...b/c even if you do get them off you will sacrifuce the foil and end up with a dull ugly crystal...not worth it IMO...which explain why most gowns aren't stoned with it...
Another good reason for not to use E6000 glue. Unfortunately, some of my old dance clothes were stoned with E6000. I am experienting how to destone these old clothes.

[Joe]

To me, a few bucks for new stones is more than worth the time and effort required to pluck old ones off.

[contracheck]

To me, a few bucks for new stones is more than worth the time and effort required to pluck old ones off.
It may be worth if you follow this simple procedure:

1. Buy a pint or two of rubbing alcohol (Acetone may be better but it's difficult to buy acetone in pint quantity from supermarkets due to its extreme inflammability) (Never carry rubbling alcohol to airports, unless you want to be arrested)

2. Cut the stoned fabric in small pieces and soak them in the rubbling alcohol

3. Boil a potfull of water in a large pot, remove the pot away from the stove or any open flame, then place the container that contains the cut fabric in the hot water pot, which now serves as a hot waterbath (in this way we raise the temeprature of the rubbing alcohol in which the the stoned fabric is soaked, without exposing the inflammable alcohol to flame)

4. Leave the whole thing overnite or till it cools off

You will see the stones falling off the fabric like acorns from trees in fall season. Collect the stones on a clean towel and rub them with the towel. In this way, the stones are also cleaned to their original luster. Many grosses of stones can be recycled by this simple procedure.

[DancingJools]

Contracheck has an interesting sense of humor.
I am assuming that the above is a tongue-in-cheek "recipe", especially since two days ago he had no idea that you could "recycle" stones.
And before Ccheck gets on my case, please remember that playing with alcohol and heat is dangerous.
I'm with Joe, by the way. If you value your time by your potential earnings, a lot of the do-it-yourself advice should also be compared to how much time you will be spending vs. how much money you expect to save. The exception is when the activity itself is a pleasure. For example, when I sew regular clothes, I do it because it's a pleasure, even though, hour for hour and dollar for dollar, it's a lot cheaper to buy very good quality ready to wear (the exception is dance costumes, for many reasons).
Anyway, having tried "recycling" stones, a couple of years ago, just for the heck of it:
- Yes, you can remove stones glued with E6000. You just peel them off, one by one. You don't need tweezers. Your own strong nails are the best tool.
- With both E6000 and GemTac, some stones will lose their foil. More so in the case of E6000. Czech stones will lose a lot more foil, compared to Swarovskis.
- Peeling off the stones will not tear the fabric.
- Soaking the dress in warm water will help the stones come off better. It will also make a mess of your working area, even if you wring as much water off the dress as you can.
- You will end up with a pile of stones that have some residue of glue on them. This will make reusing them a major PITA. As you pick up each stone to place it on the new fabric, it will pick up a few other stones with it, and/or will refuse to leave the container. Picking up stones with the usual tool (a toothpick or similar, with wax or similar on its tip) generates only enough contact pressure on the stone to lift it from the container if it is clean. It does not generate enough grab to release the stone from the container if the stone is a little bit "glued" to the container.
- You can spend time cleaning off each stone, and believe me I did, just for the heck of it. I could never get all the glue off, and the entire process was , in my experience, a total waste of time.
- Stones will retain some glue and/or cleaning residue on their surface as well, dulling their brilliance.
But, if you insist, go ahead and try, and let us know.

[fluffy]

Re: stone recycling: I have re-used a pack which were glued to mesh, about 85-90% were reusable. Unless they come off cleanly and easily, I'm with Joe, it's not worth it unless you get some perverse pleasure in it! I recently restoned an area of a dress having pulled off some nasty stones first, getting those little blighters off was not fun!

[Joe]

Acteone does work, but I'd rather not have to have much in the way of dealings with carcinogenic chemicals.

[contracheck]

Acteone does work, but I'd rather not have to have much in the way of dealings with carcinogenic chemicals.

Good, I thought that acetone would work well but I didn't want to play with it in home. Just like booze (ethanol), however, acetone is not carcinogenic; I have not seen such claim in literature. Only danger with acetone is its extreme flammability.

[contracheck]

Re: stone recycling: I have re-used a pack which were glued to mesh, about 85-90% were reusable. Unless they come off cleanly and easily, I'm with Joe, it's not worth it unless you get some perverse pleasure in it! I recently restoned an area of a dress having pulled off some nasty stones first, getting those little blighters off was not fun!
If you follow my procedure, you can recycle several grosses of expesive rhinestones in no time. In my calcualtion, the cost of one gross of rhinestones amounts to the fee for one lesson from a top coach. Several grosses mean that you get several lessons for free. If you recycle more rhinestones, it can pay for your competition expenses. I can forsee that the recycling may produce world champions.

[contracheck]

Contracheck has an interesting sense of humor.
I am assuming that the above is a tongue-in-cheek "recipe", especially since two days ago he had no idea that you could "recycle" stones.
And before Ccheck gets on my case, please remember that playing with alcohol and heat is dangerous.
I'm with Joe, by the way. If you value your time by your potential earnings, a lot of the do-it-yourself advice should also be compared to how much time you will be spending vs. how much money you expect to save. The exception is when the activity itself is a pleasure. For example, when I sew regular clothes, I do it because it's a pleasure, even though, hour for hour and dollar for dollar, it's a lot cheaper to buy very good quality ready to wear (the exception is dance costumes, for many reasons).
Anyway, having tried "recycling" stones, a couple of years ago, just for the heck of it:
- Yes, you can remove stones glued with E6000. You just peel them off, one by one. You don't need tweezers. Your own strong nails are the best tool.
- With both E6000 and GemTac, some stones will lose their foil. More so in the case of E6000. Czech stones will lose a lot more foil, compared to Swarovskis.
- Peeling off the stones will not tear the fabric.
- Soaking the dress in warm water will help the stones come off better. It will also make a mess of your working area, even if you wring as much water off the dress as you can.
- You will end up with a pile of stones that have some residue of glue on them. This will make reusing them a major PITA. As you pick up each stone to place it on the new fabric, it will pick up a few other stones with it, and/or will refuse to leave the container. Picking up stones with the usual tool (a toothpick or similar, with wax or similar on its tip) generates only enough contact pressure on the stone to lift it from the container if it is clean. It does not generate enough grab to release the stone from the container if the stone is a little bit "glued" to the container.
- You can spend time cleaning off each stone, and believe me I did, just for the heck of it. I could never get all the glue off, and the entire process was , in my experience, a total waste of time.
- Stones will retain some glue and/or cleaning residue on their surface as well, dulling their brilliance.
But, if you insist, go ahead and try, and let us know.
Throughout history, brilliant new ideas always met by fierce opposition (Albert Einstein). As the name implies, Rubbing alcolol has been used in many homes. One can buy it at supermarkets. Unlike booze (ethanol) or methanol, Rubbing alcohol (Isopropyl alcohol) is relatively less flammable. If you can keep vodka at home you can certainly keep Isopropanol at home. It's a handy solvent to have around in house. When I cut meats on a cutting board, I usually swipe the cutting board and knife with rubbling alcohol to kill the pathogenic germs, if any, Salmonella or E. coli (I make it sure that there is no open flame). If you follow my procedure, there is no residue left on the stones.

[waltzgirl]

In my calcualtion, the cost of one gross of rhinestones amounts to the fee for one lesson from a top coach. Several grosses mean that you get several lessons for free. If you recycle more rhinestones, it can pay for your competition expenses. I can forsee that the recycling may produce world champions.

You must mean 10 gross. On the online source I use for rhinestones, one gross of 20ss Swarovskis costs between $8.90 for crystal to $14.65 for AB colors.

[Joe]

Good, I thought that acetone would work well but I didn't want to play with it in home. Just like booze (ethanol), however, acetone is not carcinogenic; I have not seen such claim in literature. Only danger with acetone is its extreme flammability.
I'd also rather not go boom.

[contracheck]

You must mean 10 gross. On the online source I use for rhinestones, one gross of 20ss Swarovskis costs between $8.90 for crystal to $14.65 for AB colors.
I stand corrected. Thank you.

[fascination]

I'd also rather not go boom.
;)

[Twilight_Elena]

Recycling stones... good heavens. We're a cunning bunch.

T_E

[contracheck]

I'd also rather not go boom.

A young man like yourself should avoid being too timid and be a little more daring, toward falmmable materials and toward beautiful ladies as well. Thousands of painters use acetone everyday. You can buy it from paint stores and hardware stores.