Best glue for mending a broken tile?

Use something like Araldite slow setting epoxy, NOT the fast-setting stuff. Apply a very thin coating, scrape some off if there's too much. Apply slightly stretched sellotape (get a piece and stretch it before you stick it on), insulating tape or any stretchy gluey tape so that the pieces are pulled together when assembled - not so much tension that the thing folds, but you do want some. Then don't touch it for at least 8 hours, preferably longer, and it won't reach near maximum strength for a day.

With something like a tile (hopefully fairly flat!) you may also be able to arrange some "clamping" by placing it on a slightly smaller piece of plywood (say) and putting suitable rubber bands around the whole thing. You can prevent any extruded epoxy from gluing the tile to the board by putting a layer of cling-film, baking parchment, or aluminium foil between the board and the tile.

I've used superglue for this and it's been OK, but prepare carefully.

Bill

Epoxy was what I used, Superglue seems to need got non powdery surfaces in my experience. Brian

The lady on 'The Repair Shop' has repaired porcelain pieces; what does she use?

Contrary to what others have said, I would use rapid setting Araldite. I have used it to repair a badly smashed porcelain doll made by my late wife, with great success. Super-glue sets too rapidly. You need to do a dry run, i.e. without using glue, to find the best sequence for sticking the bits together, as sometimes fitting two pieces together prevents the third from going in, whereas if you joined 1 and

On 25/06/2021 07:42, Chris Hogg wrote:> You need> to do a dry run, i.e. without using glue, to find the best sequence> for sticking the bits together, as sometimes fitting two pieces> together prevents the third from going in, whereas if you joined 1 and> 3 first, then 2 would go in easily. Absolutely agree; taking care not to jiggle glazed edges together which can chip tiny bits off.

The reason I'd use slow-setting Araldite is because there's a good deal more time to work before it sets (especially in hot weather when setting time is faster!), and because there's more time for the glue to be squeezed out of the joint by the pull of the stretched tape (or rubber bands, or...), resulting in a very thin bond which is less visible. The last thing you want is thick gloopy stuff which gives a wide bond.

Epoxy loaded with TiO2 is the thing for mending ceramics or if you can wait for it to come around the bespoke white epoxy from Aldi/Lidl.

You might want epoxy loaded with some other pigment if the tile is some other strong colour. Ordinary epoxy will show as a black crack forever.

The white loaded stuff you need a magnifying glass to spot the repair if you don't already know where it is.

Practice a couple of times on a scrap broken tile to get your technique right. You want the thinnest layer you can get to wet out both sides. Most people tend to use excess glue which then squeezes out of the joint and has to be scraped off afterwards. Be sure to support and clamp it since epoxy goes through a very liquid phase just before it cures.

It is a job much more easily done with the traditional slow stuff rather than fast setting 5 minute epoxy.

OK, thank you everyone, it seems that epoxy resin is the way to go. Thank you also for all the other tidbits of advice.

I have some recollection of needing to *wet* the parts before applying the super glue.

Tim Lamb explained on 25/06/2021 :

Superglue sets up instantly with access to moisture. Wet it once the parts are put together.

You may be better off using a two part superglue such as;

Richard

Have you considered mounting the tile on to a backing , say a piece of thin ply, less likely to come apart after gluing and the tile could also be `cemented` to the wood.

But the OP's tile is only in three pieces. I sort of agree with your argument for the "badly smashed", but do you make up a fresh mix for

I have seen repairs done on a plate that was meant for hanging on the wall done by "laying up" fabric reinforcement on the back with a water-based glue, which made it quite robust but would have been removable by soaking. I *think* the pieces might have been glued together first with something like Durofix (which was thin, but not as strong as modern glues).