TM 10-8400-201-23
17-6. REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE-Continued
4. Stir the adhesive and apply to the cleaned side of the piece, spread rapidly with a minimum of strokes.
Overlap strokes as little as possible. (When a large piece of fabric is being coated, a paint brush may be
used or two or three kit brushes may be taped together.)
5. Dry until the piece can be cut into patches without the adhesive fouling the shears. This may take an
hour, but might be as little as 20 minutes on warm dry days.
6. Cut patches in the required sizes and shapes as needed (generally rectangular). Round off corners. The
patch should cover the damage and extend into the surrounding area of the garment about 3/4 inch (1.91
cm) in all directions.
7. These adhesive coated patches may then be applied in the subsequent patching procedure at any time
during the rest of the day.
NOTE
When making one patch only, proceed as above, except apply the adhesive after
the one patch is cut. Hold the patch down with the point of a small stick, pencil, or
other similar device and apply the adhesive by brushing outwards from the center
of the patch all around.
(4) Prepare Punctured, Torn, or Work Area:
1. If heavily soiled, pre-clean the damaged area If area is wetted with water or other cleaning fluid, dry
thoroughly.
2. Trim off any badly frayed or curled edges.
3. Spread out the garment area to be patched on a flat work surface.
4. Where the hole to be patched is wide or where there is a large porous area to be patched, slip the
polyethylene film from the kit) under the garment layer to be patched. This will help keep the adhesive
from messing up the garment and work surface.
5. Wipe the area to be patched, using a toluene wetted cloth or paper towel. Dry.
6. Using the patch from (c) above as a template, place it in what will be its final position on the torn area and
make a tracing along its border. Use a No. 2 or soft pencil for tracing.
7. Remove the patch and apply one even coat of the adhesive within the tracing and just including the
tracing line. Do not brush directly into open tears and holes. Rapidly brush with a minimum of strokes.
8. Dry until no sign of wetness or tackiness (generally an hour or less)
17-5
