Mending ceramics

[tabbypurr]

NO to superglue. It sets way too fast to get it properly assembled. The result is terrible. Epoxy works.

NT

[Harry Bloomfield]

That is what I do, they don't keep once opened. I tend to save up a few items which need the attention of superglue and do them all together.

Note a mist of water sprayed on superglue, speeds up the setting. It sets near instantly on fingers, due to the skin moisture.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Pamela wrote on 14/03/2019 :

The pound shops now offer the basic Loctite too. I have never tried it, the seven for a pound work just fine.

[Harry Bloomfield]

It does, that is why you need to fully assemble first, then apply the superglue along the crack/ join. The glue is so thin, it will be drawn into the cracks.

[Brian Gaff]

I'd have thought that there should be lots of info online about this. We see all the time on TV where ancient relics are built again using some form of glue and the repairs are almost undetectable I am told. However if its just an old vase, it seems a lot of trouble to go to to fix it when any old Charity shop has countless vases or so it seems. As has been said, superglue is not going to work reliably, since the material you are gluing is so powdery. Some form of epoxy might well work, especially if you can build up a lot of it on the inside to support the joint, while cleaning the outside. Brian

[Harry Bloomfield]

Brian Gaff explained on 15/03/2019 :

Epoxy glue takes up space, forcing there to be an obvious gap at the join. Superglue has the advantage that the item can be assembled first, with elastic bands holding it together or tape, then the superglue added. The glue will be drawn into the slight gap in the material and any surplus is easily cleaned off. It makes a near invisible repair.

[Martin Brown]

Use a proper ceramic glue that is white or you will always be able to see the crack. Two part epoxy loaded with white pigment isn't bad either. The right stuff appears in Aldi/Lidl from time to time.

You have to be able to hold them in position while it cures since the glue goes through a more liquid phase before it sets. Thinnest possible coat on the joint that you can get will be strongest.

You can trim off any visible excess with a sharp blade if you wait until the stuff has cured to a tough rubbery state but not reached hard cure.

Cyanoacrylate will potentially mist the surface and runs everywhere.

[Davidm]

I've used superglue for things like this in the past. I always dampen (lick with small bits) one surface, glue on other, fit together quickly, have some bits of masking tape ready to hold in place, wipe joint with damp cloth to clean excess glue before it dries. After it's dried any remaining surface glue can be removed by careful use of a sharp scalpel.

[alan_m]

Not necessarily. The pound shop stuff is so cheap that i can afford tho throw some away after one use. In the past I've purchased larger bottles of well known branded superglue and a couple of years later when wanting to use it again it has been solid in the bottle.

[Nick Odell]

The Poundshop multipack has always been my approach to superglue too though I grudgingly admit that my sister bought some of the posh Loctite stuff when she was staying with me and kept it in the fridge. Two years later it was still going strong though some months after that it gradually began to thicken.

Nick

[Chris Green]

I thought one of the supposed major advantages of superglue is that it cures almost instantly, so why does one need the tape to hold it?

I have to say that I have never found superglue very effective at mending anything, I can't even stick my fingers together with it.

[Davidm]

Depends on the surfaces, sometimes takes 5-10 seconds and it's tricky to hold large obects together for that long if their are multiple cracks. Tape is just a bit of "belts & braces" really.

Have glued my fingers together before now, or even finger to Mrs' lip

- when glueing broken tooth crown back on, before anyone asks!

[Harry Bloomfield]

Chris Green explained :

Speed of cure depends on the moisture content, which is why when you have the glue applied and everything right, you add moisture.

Well I certainly can. It sticks almost instantly due to finger moisture.

[Fredxx]

Despite replied to this post, I agree that superglue is not a long term solution, where the glue seems to degrade and lose its effectiveness. For short term as in gluing skin, yes it is very effective.

I would recommend epoxy as a more permanent repair.

[charles]

That's what iut was developed for: Closing wounds in Vietnam.

[Rob Morley]

I had a similar experience recently with Gorilla brush and nozzle superglue that was only a few months old - lid broke off the bottle revealing nothing left inside. It had been stored upright in a cool dark place. :-( I expected it would be better than the pound shop stuff, which you expect to be of the use it once and chuck it variety.

[Rob Morley]

It was used that way (and still is) but that's not why it was developed.

[Pamela]

My experience is that the actual adhesion of the pound shop superglue is poor. Sometimes it doesn't harden at all. It's also too runny for most applications.

[TimW]

thanks all for replies. I had to use what I could get in town to get the thing back on the window cill before Mrs W comes back from her Mother's. All the epoxies were marked SUPER FAST! 3 Minute Bonding!so they were no good. Bought something called unibond 100% Power glue:

modern worl being what it is there was no indication of what type of glue it actually is but it said ceramics and 30 minutes on it.

A loop of string tied to the right size was all that was needed to press the two bits together. Mend seems good. Glue seems to harden into a stiff clear gunge.

TW

[Max Demian]

Presumably you've got to use the liquid superglue rather than the gel kind.