Best glue for repairing ceramics?

crowe-t · Post by **crowe-t** » Mon Jan 14, 2013 7:45 pm

This isn't model related but I figure someone here will know.

Does anyone know what's the best glue for repairing ceramics?

I'm thinking 5 minute epoxy should be good.

Any ideas?

irishtrek · Post by **irishtrek** » Mon Jan 14, 2013 8:44 pm

If not epoxy I'm thinking some kind of super glue.

Major Focker · Post by **Major Focker** » Mon Jan 14, 2013 9:40 pm

i have a similar question.
the fingers of one of my cold cast figures got broken. cold cast i think is ceramic, but i'm not sure.
the female figure is 1/5 scale and holding a gun. i still have the index finger and the gun, but the other fingers were either lost in transit or the ebay seller sent them already broken off.
would something like Aves stick to this? i basically need something that will stick and can be sculpted and painted.
i know there are resin recasts of this figure so i'm also wondering whether i would be better off getting a recast and chopping of at the wrist to replace the entire hand. painting an entire figure is beyond my skill, but i figure painting a hand should be easy enough.
thoughts?

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Mon Jan 14, 2013 10:06 pm

What exactly is broken?

I've had very good success in repairing ceramic figurines (mom collects bird ones) with gel super glue, the regular viscosity is too thin and wicks into the ceramic, gel stays on the surface long enough to bond the parts. If the break is clean (and most are in ceramics) then most of the time you won't see a seam once the parts are back together.

IIRC cold cast is resin plus a filler, porcelain, marble, etc.

Aves should stick to it, my advice would be to get a small amount of Aves and try your hand (pun intended) at sculpting, you get to learn a new skill and get the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

Ken

Major Focker · Post by **Major Focker** » Mon Jan 14, 2013 10:45 pm

thanks for the encouragement.
sorry, travelling at the moment so can't take pics.
but if you imagine holding a gun, the 3 fingers below the index finger are gone/lost, from and including the knuckles.
i guess my hesitation stems from the fingers being dainty.

it's from this figure by Yamato

http://www.justmanga.com/jmcover/noirkirikastatu.jpg
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10034836a/20/1

crowe-t · Post by **crowe-t** » Mon Jan 14, 2013 10:52 pm

Ken,

A small piece broke off an old butter dish. It was my wife's grandmothers.

The area is about 1/2 inch and it broke into about 6 pieces.

I'll look into the gel super glue.

Do you think epoxy will be good for this?

Mike.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:33 am

Epoxy will give you a longer working time but once in place it'll need to be held in place for X length of time.

I prefer the Gorilla rubber toughened CA. Gives you a nice working time and you can always hit it with accelerator once in place.

Major Focker · Post by **Major Focker** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:54 am

apologies, didn't intend to hijack the thread.

anyway, for ceramic plates, gel CA works and easy to apply, quick to dry. but ultimately, epoxy will be more durable if the item will be handled frequently. also, a number of epoxies can be sanded down for a seamelss finish, or fill gaps if there are missing pieces. there are also clear and colorless epoxies which make the repairs less visible. the thing is, epoxy is harder to use on small pieces as it is thicker. so with small pieces it is trickier to get the surfaces to mate really closely. and of course, there's the longer waiting time to dry before re-attaching the next piece. you could try to do it in one go, but you risk dislodging other pieces. what i do is to assemble and bond all the little pieces first, let that dry/harden, then attach to the main body.

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:01 pm

crowe-t wrote: A small piece broke off an old butter dish. It was my wife's grandmothers.
The area is about 1/2 inch and it broke into about 6 pieces.
I'll look into the gel super glue.
Do you think epoxy will be good for this?

As Kylwell and Focker mentioned epoxy works well except for the fact that it needs to be clamped in place while it sets, you can hand hold it with a quick set epoxy but you'll still have to hold the parts in perfect alignment till the epoxy sets enough to hold them.

I've found that when dealing with broken ceramics one or two chips isn't bad, more than that and you can get into alignment problems fairly easily, if you're just a hair off on one seam or maybe have too much glue then that affects the fit of subsequent parts and maybe the fit of everything into the main body.

In this case I'd try using gel or the rubber toughened CA.

Ken

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:07 pm

Major Focker wrote:thanks for the encouragement.
sorry, travelling at the moment so can't take pics.
but if you imagine holding a gun, the 3 fingers below the index finger are gone/lost, from and including the knuckles.
i guess my hesitation stems from the fingers being dainty.

Hmmm, looking at the pictures I'm thinking making the fingers out of plastic rod is the way to go.

I wouldn't try bending the rod at the knuckles, instead cut and miter each section and then glue the rod together with plastic cement, then carve and sand the fingers as required to match the remaining one. Might have to use a little putty or similar at the joint from the existing hand to the new fingers but I think that might be easier than trying to sculpt something that thin from epoxy putty.

Ken