Koolglide on Karaloc

[highup]

Any special advice on seaming a Karalock back?
I'm going out of town with an installer to try to fix a seam he made. He used the Koolglide and the seam shows. It was his first experience using the iron for a seam. Lighting is bad on this seam late in the day he said.
I don't have plans to take the seam apart. I am thinking about putting pressure toward the seam using a couple of stretchers so it doesn't gap when it's reheated.
Without seeing the seam, my plan is to use my own version of the SeamerDown and reheat the entire length of the seam in order to flatten it. I've been told it looks buckled. Possibly he moved the iron the full length of itself rather than paying attention to the arrows.

I talked to the installer tonight and he said they used a yellow Karastan pad. He said it's a really firm pad, so that's a plus.

With Karalock back over pad on a wood floor, is the low setting the correct setting for the Koolglide? He said the carpet has a pattern.
I do know he used the heavier tape. That's all the store carries.

 

[DarisMulkin]

On top of pad I'd use the low setting. Over a seam board the medium setting. Haven't had a reason to use the high setting, but maybe on a cold floor like directly on concrete. Or using it to start hardwood with the utility tape. You don't know if he used the premium tape or the cheaper one do you? The premium tape is a little more expensive but well worth it.
Oh and my famous saying that they used for some time is it sticks like the bark on a tree. And that was used on a Karaloc back.

Daris

 

[highup]

I used the low setting.
The tape is probably 5 years old, and it's the heavier stuff. The shop owner bought 2 Koolglide irons and a half dozen cases of tape............ all the heavier version.
I don't know if they have improved/modified the tape design since then.

We used two stretchers placed side by side to relieve tension and create a small buckle 9 inches away from the seam to allow for a tiny amount of "maneuvering" as I reheated the seam in sections. After each section cooled, we moved the two stretchers to the next position. The seam did have a couple areas where the seam wasn't tight. Now it is.
We used the Koolglide, followed up with my own version of the SDN. I've never used a real SDN, but even so, I like my version better.
The seam in this Karastan woven carpet was slightly bucked, probably from the installers use of a seam weight. The lighting angle amplified the visibility of the seam.......... it wasn't really all that bad.
My own version of the SDN, plus the reheating of the seam flattened it out really nice. The homeowner even said the effort made a very noticeable improvement. Problem is that even tho the seam looks great................. he knows that it's there. He was reluctant to give this really nice looking seam his stamp of approval, ...........because his wife (the boss) wasn't home a the time.