Filling in and sealing cracks on stone sides

[alx gilmore]

Can anyone give me any tips on dealing with wide cracks on the sides of stones? I don't want to lacquer them yet but would like to stableize the cracks deep inside and to seal the openings of the cracks without painting or covering the whole surface surrounding the cracks. The widest one or two are about 0.06mm wide.

Thanks,
Alex

 

[kcb5150]

Ca glue?

 

[Bayamontate]

I've had great success filling them with crazy glue than applying urushi or cashew lacquer afterward. The thing is to fill the cracks slowly with several applications until you get to the top of the crack, this can take many appiications but you eliminate any shock or expansion issues with the stone. Once you level off the crack you can seal the stone.

 

[David]

I've used this super thin CA for similar applications before. It's really thin and seeps into cracks very well. I had a Tomo that was similar to the stone you posted with cracks on all four sides. I taped (blue painters tape) all the sides but one to keep the glue from coming out, then taped the remaining side on each side of the gap so that only the crack was showing and started dripping in the CA a little at a time until it stopped taking it in. It held very well.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001B...es+ca+glue&dpPl=1&dpID=414zhggBj1L&ref=plSrch

 

[alx gilmore]

I only did the crack that was showing and started dripping in the CA a little at a time until it stopped taking it in. It held very well.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001B...es+ca+glue&dpPl=1&dpID=414zhggBj1L&ref=plSrch

Thanks a lot fellows, I just ordered this and will follow your directions to the T.

Alex

 

[Bayamontate]

Again, patience is key, feel the crack with as many applications as possible.

 

[eKretz]

Yes indeed, the water-thin CA is the way to go. I use it all the time in the same fashion as the rest of the guys. I prefer to clamp the stone fairly snugly after application with woodworking clamps though. I usually apply the CA along the crack(s) using a syringe with a fine needle. Then I clamp and unclamp the stone several times to help the capillary action carry the glue deep into the crack(s) before clamping again and leaving it set for a few days. Works very well indeed.

 

[kcb5150]

If you have a coti where some of the manganese in the inclusion lines have voids from missing manganese, it works brilliantly in that capacity. Fill till it stops drinking in waves, let it cure, lap.

 

[RusenBG]

Big cracs like this , you can fill with a mix Plastificant de Paris / gipsum / and cement The recipe is 9 parts Gips and 1 part cement. Mix with water and a small fork to avoid smal bals of dry material . When you mix it and has the consistency of cream or even softer , fill the cracs with a small piece of wood or syringe . Be quick - it hardens very fast . as is still soft , 30 minutes latter , clean the sides with a whet cloth and leave it stiffen . You can use a small nylon bag and fill it with the ready mixed gips , and cut a very small hole in the corner . like this you can squeese with it into the cracs .
Afetr you can seal it with an egg or laquewr . You can also use a kit for bathroom tales / Fugin / . It binds and fill the cracs .
If you doubt that can be salvaged , send it to me i make wonders with those broken old stones ha ha ha ha =
Good luck .

 

[PhatMan]

Alex,

Please have a peek here :

http://www.coticule.be/faq-reader/items/how-can-i-repair-a-coticule.html

Have fun

Best regards

Russ

 

[hatzicho]

Alex,

CA glue is a good solution. But for different width of cracks you need different viscosity of the CA glue. Ultra thin glue helps for hairline cracks but doesn't fill up larger cracks.
I have made very good experience with different viscosity CA glue of the following company:
http://starbond.com/dox/main.asp?x_mode=PROD&Seg=

I normally use the ultra thin EM-02 for hairline cracks. Also I fill up larger cracks first with the 02 to reach the inner hairline cracks and then continue with the EM40 which is thick enough to fill up larger cracks. For very wide cracks there are also lower viscosity qualities available, but normally you are good with the two numbers mentioned. Before the glue gets hard I use a fine sandpaper to rub the sides with the cracks in order to push small stone particles into the CA-glue filled crack. It's a bit tricky to get the rigth moment but if everything goes well you may not even see the crack through a loup any more after you have lapped this section.

 

[eKretz]

One caution - adding any kind of stone powder to wet CA glue will kick/harden it almost instantly. I've tried it several times with not much success. Best to use a quick setting epoxy or something like that rather than CA if you plan to mix in stone powder - or try Peters suggestion.

 

[Srdjan]

+1 to the epoxy suggestion. Maybe fill in deeper/smaller cracks with thin CA first, but then move to epoxy. Can you imagine the vapor of the CA when you start pouring larger amounts in those bigger cracks?! Ouch, that would bite hard, unless you're outside and it's windy enough...