Adhesives

Jewelry Discussion
1

Can I get your vote on the best adhesive/ epoxy for stone inlay
work that is strong and takes a polish? I’ve had some stone
falling out nightmares lately with 5 min. epoxy and I’m looking
for a better one. thanks!

Wendy Newman

2 
 Can I get your vote on the best adhesive/ epoxy for stone inlay
 work that is strong and takes a polish?  I've had some stone
 falling out nightmares lately with 5 min. epoxy and I'm looking
 for a better one. thanks!

I’m not too fussy about the brand, I that epoxy that takes
longer to dry will set harder. I could be wrong and I’m sure
there are finer distinctions. But regardless of which glue I use
I’ll cut an undercut into the metal and a notch in the stone if
posible or at least roughen it so there is a mechanical lock. I
don’t trust epoxy to cling to a polished surface for as long as
I’d like to imagine the item will survive.

Dick Caverly

3 
 Can I get your vote on the best adhesive/ epoxy for stone
inlay    work that is strong and takes a polish?  I've had
some stone    falling out nightmares lately with 5 min. epoxy
and I'm looking    for a better one. thanks!

I’ve had good luck with Opticon. The same stuff used to treat
stones.

Dave

// – E-N-D O-F P-O-S-T-I-N-G --//

4

Can I get your vote on the best adhesive/ epoxy for stone inlay
work that is strong and takes a polish?

Hi Wendy

Another alternative is slow setting cyanoacralate glue. I use
the yellow lable “Slo-Zap” from Pacer, but only for woodworking.
But a colleague told me it worked for him redoing a crushed
coral inlay he destroyed in soldering a ring, and that it takes
a polish well. You could get it from woodworking suppliers as
Woodcraft (website), maybe another brand.

hope this is of use for you, Markus

// – E-N-D O-F P-O-S-T-I-N-G --//

5

Can I get your vote on the best adhesive/ epoxy for stone inlay
work that is strong and takes a polish? I’ve had some stone
falling out nightmares lately with 5 min. epoxy and I’m looking
for a better one. thanks!

There are several types of resin based "soft enamels"that are on
the market.These are usually a colorant and a hardener.They can
be mixed either clear(colorless),or with a color.They will hold
your inlay very well and can usually be repollished.You may also
be able to match the color of your inlay.

        Scott Hepner

// – E-N-D O-F P-O-S-T-I-N-G --//

6

Thought I’d repost this from Thom Lane, an adhesive that sounds very
interesting:

HXTAL is an ultra refined form of epoxy. It is crystal clear,
will last 500 years without yellowing and is damn near impossible
to get apart except by heating to carbonization. It is made by
Conservation Materials in Sparks Nevada, 702 331-0582. They will
send you complete intructions and documentation. It sets in a
couple of hours under a heat lamp, in a couple of days otherwise
and mixed material can be kept in your freezer for months and
remail liquid. It’s a couple of hundred dollars a pound but they
make a small sample kit for around 60$ that might last a lifetime.
I use it to fill fractures under vacuum, I use the same vacuum
used on investments for casting, to get the liquid into the seams.
I use it to make doublets, etc.

Hope you find this useful, Thom

PS. If you are looking for cabochons or are interested in lapidary or
semi precious gemstone mining please visit my website at:

http://www.shore.net/~lanelap/
7

Hi There, I am a returning listserve member and I am slowly
getting back into the jewelry trade.

I have to ask: What is a “Sparkie”? What does it do?

Also: I recently started working with non precious metals. My
projects require gluing, so I am in constant search of
adhesives. Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there guide
available for the different adhesives and what they work best on?

Thank you,
Marlene
DeMers Designs

8

Welcome back, Marlene. I always seem to gravitate to the two
part clear drying epoxy (5 min type) for all types of
adhesive needs. It is frustrating, sometimes, to stop and
mix up but it always does what I need it to do. I also keep
a small broken piece of mirror in my bench to mix it on and
when it is full of dried blobs, I can simply scrap it clean.
Curtis

9

You should be aware that the 5 minute types of epoxy have a
serious shortcoming: They are not water resistant over time.
Ordinary persperation in wearing jewelery will degrade these fast
set epoxies in only a couple years. You should use the slower
setting types. With them, a heat lamp setup will still
accelerate setting to a fairly short time if you need. My own
favorite is the Hughes associates epoxy 330.

Peter Rowe

10 
  You should use the slower setting types.  With them, a heat
lamp setup will still accelerate setting to a fairly short time
if you need.  My own favorite is the Hughes associates epoxy
330.

Group,
I was going to mention epoxy 330 as my favorite, too. As a
lapidary, I have used it many times for inlay and other projects.
It is totally clear and takes a polish easily (make sure it is
well cured before polishing). The one drawback: If you boo-boo,
it’s very difficult to undo the bond. I had to put a lapis inlay
ring in an attack bath in the ultrasonic for nearly an hour once
to remove the stone (The goldsmith I was doing the job for had to
resize the ring - bad communication on my part!).

Mark Williams,
Stone Broke Custom Lapidary

11 
       I also keep a small broken piece of mirror in my bench
to mix it on and when it is full of dried blobs, I can simply
scrap it clean. Curtis

Personally I find that a polyethylene sheet works best for
mixing epoxy on. I normally save the top to a soft spread
container or the lid from a deli container for this purpose,
keeps one or two a year out of the trash and are free. After the
epoxy has hardened, I flex the sheet, and the unused epoxy pops
right off.

Wayne

12

Hi, As a follow-up to the posting on epoxy it is worth noting
that shelf life is critical to epoxy and we always keep it in the
refrigerator. Our supplier will select the freshest material if
we ask and they also keep it refrigerated. I once glued over 2000
items and had the glue fail . We called the glue manufacturer and
from the batch code we discoverfed the glue was two years old !
What a nightmare that was, esp during our busiest season.

13

a smalll square of wax paper is disosable to get rid of the mess
entirely. for mix a popsicle stick works fine. you can get the
sticks in craft section of most discount stores or freezer
section of your grocer

14

Here is a problem I hope someone will be able to help me with. Does
anyone know of a strong epoxy that will secure polyester to brass? It
seems that whatever I try (and I have tried dozens of different
adhesives) when I file the common edge on the parts the polyester
will sometimes separate from the brass base. I even rough up the
surfaces to be bonded and heat cure the adhesive. Super glue does not
work. I won’t list the adhesives I tried. I even have 3M doing some
tests with their adhesive tapes and sprays. All help is appreciated.

Best Regards,

Todd Hawkinson
TR the Teacher

15

Have you tried E6000? Let it set 24 hrs without disturbance. I’ve
used it for 7 years now. Audie Beller of Audie’s Images.

16

Hi Todd, You might want to look at Loctite’s web page,
www.loctite.com, as they have many adhesives and alot of data on each
one and their various applications. Their two part acrylic adhesives
seem like they might be well suited for your use. Look up Product
319 and 330, and other related adhesives and you may find something
that will work for you. Good luck!

Best regards,
John

17

Have you tried caulking? Get one with a glue-type applicator that
dries clear. I’ve used this for the more unusual applications, and it
often works. Terry