Which is the best glue for victorian cast iron

Question

Hi I have an original Victorian cast iron bedroom fire surround, which was sent to me in the post. Un unfortunately it was damage in transit, both of the legs have cracked off where the legs join the top part of the fireplace. It's just a beautiful fireplace it would be a shame to throw it away. Can someone recommends the best and strongest glue for this type of repair. I'm not worried how much it cost just as long as it does the best possible job. The fireplace is about 110/120 years old, I almost cried when I opened it this morning, It was sent to me by a friend and wasn't insured :-((((((((((((

Many thanks in advance Jan

Merryterry · Accepted Answer

If you are not going to put it near a heat source I suggest Araldite as being the best. You could also get it repaired by going to a welding specialist. They would probably have to grind down the surface of the weld and you may have to disguise that area.

Stephen Howard · Answer

JB Weld might do it, it's a sort of super-duper resin glue - and it's suitably resistant to heat ( repaired a cracked flue above my Rayburn with it...still holding strong years later ), though much depends on how much load the joint is expected to take. The best possible job would be a professional repair.

Regards,

Mathew Newton · Answer

Similar thing happened to me - spent an entire weekend (literally) with a power drill and wire-brush attachments removing the paint from a cast iron fireplace and buffed it back to its original condition. As the fireplace was leant up against my wall outside with me supping tea admiring it a sudden freak gust of wind came from nowhere and blew the bloody thing over! Oh how I laughed...

Of course it whacked down on a sticking-out bit and put some pretty severe cracks in it. The legs didn't snap off but it was close.

Absolutely fretting I looked round for what might work and gave 'Chemical Metal' a go:

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stuff - does exactly what it says on the ..err.. tube. Easy to work with, sticky as anything, and as hard as nails once cured. The fireplace in my case was purely for decorative purposes and so I also 'glued' some battens along the backside of the legs for extra strength. Did the job perfect.

Incidentally, if it's of any interest, following the repair I buffed the entire lot with a Zebo-equivalent

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made some 'isinglas with graphite' for me with no black pigment added - I wanted a greyish finish) and it came up rather nice.

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The Natural Philosopher · Answer

yes, chemical metal, possibly in conjunction with glass fibre cloth an/or some perforated sheet will hold stuff like that together. A visit to Halfords will net you what you need.

Jan · Answer

The picture of the fireplace

Mathew Newton · Answer

Presumably before shipping...? ;-)If there are any chunks missing you'll find Chemical Metal will alsoserve to fill those in - put some sheeting behind the gap, fill itproud, and grind/sand down to a flush finish. It's dark metal incolour hence will be nicely disguised even with only a modest covering/finish.Mathew

tiscali · Answer

Gust of wind? - bet the cat did it!

Which is the best glue for victorian cast iron

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