Repair Lighthouse figurine

[gary]

The lighthouse broke off my "Alcatraz Island Lighthouse Figurine From Scaasis". How can I glue it back on?

[WW]

With glue???? ww

[The Daring Dufas]

Check out the glue recommend site:

TDD

[gary]

Thanks, TDD,

What material is my figurine made from? In this photo, the break is at the base of the lighthouse:

[willshak]

gary wrote the following on 2/18/2012 1:23 AM (ET):

Resin. You can use Krazy glue or plastic cement, just as scale modelers use.

[Robert Macy]

*IF* you're serious about a high quality repair, check with the Smithsonian about recommendations.

I got something like 5 different methods, with each escalating in cost depending on the 'quality/invisibility' you wanted.

Yes, each involved glue/adhesives, but there is a MYRIAD of glue choics out there, and these restoration people KNOW their stuff.

As I recall, most of the glues weren't even avilable on the general market.

[The Daring Dufas]

I noticed there was an Email address on the site, you might try an Email asking them what material the item is made of and what may be their recommendation for a repair.

TDD

[gary]

On their website, their "About Us" page says "...These lighthouses are sculpted from resin..."

What kind of glue should I use for resin?

[Richard Trathewey]

Thanks, TDD,

What material is my figurine made from? In this photo, the break is at the base of the lighthouse:

I noticed there was an Email address on the site, you might try an Email asking them what material the item is made of and what may be their recommendation for a repair.

TDD

On their website, their "About Us" page says "...These lighthouses are sculpted from resin..." What kind of glue should I use for resin?

[dadiOH]

CA (cyanoacrylate AKA "Crazy Glue") will do nicely.

[Lane]

I use ordinary water-soluble white glue ("school" glue) for repairs to resin figures. It's slow to set, which is a pain sometimes, but it also gives you plenty of time to position your repair properly. It never yellows after drying. And if you do make a mistake, you can undo your repair with a little warm-water soaking.

[Steve B]

Damn, do you ALWAYS have to do things the easy way? ;-)

Steve

[Steve B]

IIRC, is that decorative stuff mostly (poly)phenolic resin?

Steve

[gary]

The "official" response from

Glue the pieces together with school glue, and tape each piece into place while it dries. Continue this process until the statue is rebuilt. Allow it to dry overnight, so that the glue sets completely.

Remove the tape from the statue. Pull the pieces of tape off carefully, so you don't break the glue loose. If the areas of repair are smoothly bonded, lightly sandpaper the cracks, and touch up the paint. Mix any colors, and test the colors on a scrap piece of white paper before painting on the statue.

Check the statue for cracks, gouges or places that need filling. Tear small pieces of tissue paper about 1/2 inch wide, crumble them up and squish them into the cracks. Squirt some glue into the tissue paper and continue smoothing until the surface is smooth.

Let the tissue and glue dry in the cracks. When it dries, it may shrink into the crack. If it does, fill it with more tissue paper and glue. Keep repeating this procedure until you fill all cracks, gouges and lines. This process may take several days to complete, especially if the statue was broken into a lot of pieces.

Sand any rough edges left from your repair. Be careful when you sand, so as not to pull the tissue and glue out of the cracks. Refill any cracks that you accidentally mess up.

Fill in the repaired areas with acrylic paint. Test the paint on a scrap piece of paper before you paint on the sculpture. Paint the damaged areas, and allow them to dry.

Read more: How to Repair a Polyresin Statue With Glue | eHow.com

[Lane]

As I said.

I assumed you had a clean break to work with. If you do, you don't need any of the above instructions that come after removing the tape. If the figure is so badly broken that you do need to sand, paint, stuff, etc., I wouldn't even bother ... not likely it's never going to look the same. Suit yourself, though.