Country Flag patches, hot gluing onto Ortlieb panniers, anyone tried it?
 

Hi, In my old backpacking days I used to collect embroidered flag patches from the countries and regions I visited which then I sewed onto my backpack... It was a nice thing to do and I'd like to start doing it again by decorating my panniers. The problem is that they are ortlieb classics which are all plastic. I don't want to sew anything there for ovbious reasons and I'm wondering if the iron-on glue that most patches come with will work on them.

I'd like to know if anyone has any experience doing anything similar before I attempt it.

Thanks.

why not just hang them from the guyline of your tent,assume'ing you have a tent and a guy line.

mmh, no. I'd like to decorate the panniers because they're visible all the time. It will also help me to tell them apart.

Two words:
CONTACT CEMENT

It works beautifully providing you follow directions. Cement both patch and space on Ortlieb first. Let dry and place the patch in the right spot the first time. No second chances. I use the same technique for flag patches on my Gortex clothing.

Great idea. Do you think tube patch cement will do? Thanks.

Why not email Ortleib? They may well recommend a method or glue...

I would email Otlieb, and do a test on a small section that isn't too critical. If I was winging it I would use Barge cement, it is a waterproof contact cement that I first came across as a method of glueing carpeting to waders, which are vinyl. A better option may be to glue loop velcro in a matching colour (some of it is PSA, though I doubt it would be as good as Barge. Then you can mount the ones you want on the bags, and take them off when not needed. You can also get Milsup velcro flags, blood types, allergies, etc... which can be useful if you get in an accident.

You can get Barge at many hardwares, MEC, climbing stores, fishing stores, places that sell shoe supplies.

Thank you all for your feedback.. I just tried contact cement from my tube repair kit and it just won't hold onto the ortlieb bag.

emailing ortlieb is the next step...

Try shoe glue
 

I had the same need and I used something advertised as waterproof shoe glue. It claims to bond pretty much every kind of material, both natural and synthetic. It's given me a good result gluing on a couple of flag patches. After the glue has set, the bond seems strong and flexible which is what I need since the pannier material is constantly being deformed.

I'm not sure what the technical name for this kind of glue would be in English. The glue comes out of the tube very sticky and goopy and yellowish. It has a strong solvent smell. You are supposed to apply to both surfaces and then hold under firm pressure.

This board will not allow me to post links, pictures, or Cyrillic characters. The product came from Russia and in English its name would be Moment Marathon (brand) waterproof glue. You can find it on Google if you search for the name. The tube is yellow and brown with a red cap, and it has a picture of a shoe on the front.

I hope this helps somebody.

Good idea on the shoe repair adhesive. There is also the 3M Marine 9000. All come in white or clear. I just got a set of Ortlieb paniers. The classics. I may glue Velcro loop on for a try. Anyway here is one from Gear Aid for shoe repair. I reglued the soles on my winter MTb boots and they’ve held up for 3 year. Keep it on the garage freezer.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...eafabe1ff.jpeg

I use badge magic. It was recommended to me by someone I don't remember anymore but it works pretty well
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a522df9f39.png

Wow, resurrected from 2009….

Lol, seeing this thread again brought back some memories!

For the Flag patches what I ended up using is PVC glue and they held up fine for years but made the pannier a bit stiff. Perhaps the shoe glue idea is better. Can't wait to get to my sixties so my kids go to college and I can go back to bike touring! Or perhaps touring with them who knows.

Thanks for the replies and suggestions.

in today's world?
skip the flag patches.
somebody along the line is gonna get pissed.
and you probably won't like them when they're angry.

Sadly true. But today my panniers are used on my kids' hauler and they're great conversation starters. Not sure if I'd travel again with them though, probably would start a brand new collection.