G’day One of the things that used to be used for adhering two
pieces of glass together was ‘water glass’ - which is sodium meta
silicate It used to be in frequent use by country people
particularly, for preserving eggs, but nobody does that any more.
It was sold (very cheaply) as a clear colourless liquid of the
consistency of treacle, or syrup. A thin coat of this was spread
on the the glass, and the two pieces ‘wrung’ together to exclude
bubbles, clamped by spring clips and left for a day or so. The
result was a first class colourless join and one would break the
glass before the join broke. Cheers – John Burgess;
@John_Burgess2 of Mapua Nelson NZ
hello
Waterglass as John Burgess describes, was also use for making
concrete floors watertight especially in milk factories, and for so
called dodekop paint. This was old farmers paint made from waterglas
and iron oxide. A lot used in Norway and Sweden have been painted
with this stuff. Now a days it is still used as binding material for
sand cores in big casting pieces. It can also be used as a heat
resistance glue in a stove to make it air tight with a glasfiber
cable. Even the gun gum to repair your car exhaust has this waterglass
as a binding material.
Martin Niemeijer
I have been looking for a heat resistant glue to repair a hand thrown
casserole lid which lost its knob. Waterglass is the first thing I’ve
heard of which appears to have any heat resistance. Information on
where to get it, or any other suggestions as to what to use, would be
welcome.
Janet Kofoed
Hello all -
We use waterglass to glue the last little bit of lapidary rough
to a wooden block so that we can slab it.
We purchased ours by special order from a family druggist (not a
chain). I would suppose that the chemical suppliers carry it.
Cheers -
Debby in rainy Michigan
Janet, the thing you want to ask for for water glass is sodium
silicate. Lapidarists often use it to temporarily bond rock to wooden
blocks for slabbing. In our area it is carried by the larger
pharmacies. I suspect a hardware store might also carry it.
Hope this helps.
Rose Alene McArthur
@O_B_McArthurs
PS It might be a good idea to experiment with how much weight the
bond will stand before putting it on your precious piece. I have
unhappy memories of the time my husband mended our cast iron bed with
"liquid solder" and it failed in the middle of the night!