“What is the best way to fix or repair something?” This is a common question that often leads to some surprising recommendations. Even after years of hearing these recommendations, I still find myself shaking my head in disbelief.
Unfortunately, many of the recommendations are not only incorrect, but are actually dangerous and can ruin the item being repaired, or worse.
In this blog post, I will share three common recommendations which can ruin items:
1) Epoxy cement.
2) Hot glue.
3) Super glue.
Epoxy cement is a popular recommendation for repairing ceramics and glass. Once it cures (sets), it is very hard and durable — similar to most glues and cements used to repair ceramics and glass. Sounds great. What’s not to like? There are two major problems with epoxy cement:
1) The curing process for epoxy cement produces heat as a byproduct. If the item being repaired has any stress cracks (which many items do), the heat from the curing epoxy cement can cause these cracks to expand and form additional cracks in the item. In some cases, this results in damage which is far worse than if you had done nothing at all! In other cases, it may even break the item
Epoxy cement is a common item found in many home workshops. When used correctly, epoxy cement can be a very effective adhesive and sealant. When used incorrectly, it can do permanent and irreversible damage to the items it’s supposed to be repairing.
Epoxy cement cures by a chemical reaction between two parts: the resin and the hardener. The two parts are mixed together, which starts the chemical reaction that causes curing. It is an exothermic reaction: it generates heat as well as curing.
The heat can cause damage to some materials that the epoxy cement is meant to bond or seal, such as plastics or foam rubber. The heat can also cause some materials to distort due to expansion or contraction caused by the heat of the curing process.
Recently I was repairing a torn gas tank cover of my motorcycle. I was using a 2-part epoxy to fix the tear. The tear was at the edge of the cover, so I had to use a lot of epoxy to make sure the repair would be strong enough. The epoxy came in two tubes, one contained the resin and the other contained the hardener. Naturally, you have to mix both parts in equal amounts in order to cure properly.
The package instructed me to cut off the end of both tubes and squeeze out equal amounts of resin and hardener onto a plastic sheet. I did just that and mixed them with a toothpick until they were completely blended together. Then I used some more epoxy to attach some fabric over the tear on the tank cover. I carefully spread the epoxy with my finger and smoothed out any bumps or excess material before setting it aside for 24 hours for it to dry and cure properly.
After 24 hours, I began cutting away any excess fabric around the edges of the tear, but when I applied pressure on it with an exacto knife, it didn’t cut through very well at all! It felt like it was sliding along a piece of rubber. After taking a closer look at it, I noticed
Duct tape is irreversible if you get it on things. Epoxy cement is the same way. It relies on noxious chemicals that are strong, but very sticky and not at all easy to remove. The epoxy will ruin some plastics, paint, and other materials in short order. You can’t scrape it off and you can’t just wipe it away.
Unless you have the right solvent, you are out of luck. Finding the right solvent for your particular problem can take time and maybe a lot of trial and error. And even then, the right solvent may still damage whatever it touches.
The best bet is to keep epoxy cement far away from anything that you want to look nice or work well later on. Use it where looks don’t matter and function is all that counts.
The epoxy cement used to fix the crack in the ceramic bowl may have had a different chemical compound than that of the bowl itself. This can lead to an unstable repair, especially with heavy use.
In our example, we found that the bowl was repaired with a two-part epoxy. The directions recommended using an alcohol solution on the surface prior to using the epoxy. Our recommendation is to always follow the directions. If you cannot find them, do not use the product!
A boat that is repaired with epoxy cement, a substance that is very strong, will not break apart. Epoxy is the best material for repairing boats.
However, if you use a poor quality glue to repair your boat, you will regret it. Your boat will break apart and sink.
You should therefore be careful when choosing a glue for repairing your boat. That way, you can avoid disaster caused by an inferior glue.
When I was a kid, I used to take apart just about everything I could get my hands on. The idea of taking things apart (and putting them back together again) fascinated me.
So now that I’m all grown up, I still love to take things apart. But the problem is, when you’re all grown up, you have a lot of stuff that you can’t afford to break.