Gorilla flex stuff for covering 27mm hoses

[Toolpig]

I bought some of the Gorilla sleeve stuff to keep my 27mm hose from snagging on things and it works great.  However, the frayed ends look like hell.  I tried duct tape and heat shrink tubing.  The duct tape looks awful and I accidentally melted part of my hose using heat shrink tubing -- plus the heat shrink tubing is too stiff, anyway.   

Then I tried this stuff -- "Stretch & Seal" self-fusing silicone tape.  Works great and stays soft and flexible.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Nashua-T...-Fusing-Silicone-Tape-Black-1208952/100206050

 

[ear3]

Yeah, I wish they provided a note on the product page that mentions that you'll have to deal with the fraying.  Thanks for the tip on the tape -- mine's currently got the duct tape treatment.

 

[Cheese]

If you're using heat shrink, the secret is to use the 3:1 ratio type heat shrink. With the 2:1 you have to apply too much heat to the hose and if you're not careful the hose will actually start to get real soft and it starts to deform. Using the 3:1 you don't need to apply as much heat to actually produce more shrinkage. The picture below is 3:1.

View attachment 1

 

[rst]

You can minimize the fraying by cutting with a straight razor blade held in vise grips and heated with a propane torch.  I also used the self fusing silicone tape for my ends.  I like that stuff so much I bought a 10 pack on Amazon.

 

[anthonyz]

Yeah, I wish they provided a note on the product page that mentions that you'll have to deal with the fraying.  Thanks for the tip on the tape -- mine's currently got the duct tape treatment.

I used heat shrink with no issues just don't be too aggressive with the heat gun. I hot cut my flex covering so fraying is not an issue. You can heat up a putty knife and heat cut the Gorilla flex. Not sure if a heat gun would be enough to do this but a propane torch on a metal putty knife would definitely work.

 

[Toolpig]

I used 3:1. It's just too stiff. It also has glue in it so you can't easily remove after its on the hose.

If you're using heat shrink, the secret is to use the 3:1 ratio type heat shrink. With the 2:1 you have to apply too much heat to the hose and if you're not careful the hose will actually start to get real soft and it starts to deform. Using the 3:1 you don't need to apply as much heat to actually produce more shrinkage. The picture below is 3:1.

View attachment 1

 

[P2P]

I used 3:1. It's just too stiff. It also has glue in it so you can't easily remove after its on the hose.

Not all 3:1 heat shrink has adhesive.  I order and use hundreds of feet of 3:1 heat shrink a year for my real job.  I order the non-adhesive variety and it isn't that stiff at all.  I also buy Tech-Flex flexible sleeve material by the gross for cable harnesses.  Some bundles are as thick, and maybe thicker than the 27mm hoses and I have no issues.  One of these days I need to sleeve the hose for my Midi.

 

[Cheese]

I used 3:1. It's just too stiff. It also has glue in it so you can't easily remove after its on the hose.

The 3:1 heat shrink I used doesn't have adhesive inside. I wanted a heat shrink that didn't have adhesive just in case I needed to swap out a cord as they are known to go toes-up. The adhesive variant would be a mess.