Stone Planter Repair

[Anne]

I need some advice, I have had a stupid person smash a planter which is a couple hundred years old. I have all the pieces and I'm looking for the best way for it to be repaired. Is this something I can do myself or does it need an expert in the field? Any advice appreciated, I really want to try and save it, its part of a matched set and fits perfectly where it was.

Thanks in Advance

 

[MatthewC]

What's it made of? Limestone, granite, fired clay....? I doubt superglue would work so it sounds a bit specialist to me.

 

[bobby spray]

I have used epoxy resin (Araldite) to successfully repair stone before.

 

[Flyfisher]

I've also used epoxy resin to repair stoneware and pottery. The trick, I've found, is to keep the resin layer very, very thin because otherwise, depending on the number of pieces, everything goes together well until you get to the last piece and all the small thicknesses of resin add up to make the gap for the last piece smaller than the actual piece itself.

 

[lordmulberry]

I have successfully used superglue to repair stoneware. The last piece was the wing on a griffin that was knocked over. The repair was successful and has survived over winter. You have to make sure that you support the pieces correctly. As there are many pieces it probably makes sense to do a few at a time. Allow about 2 hours for superglue to set but see the manufacturer's instruction for a definitive time.

 

[plasticpigeon]

I imagine epoxy such as araldite would be the strongest. Anchorfix seems pretty good but it has some kind of fine aggregate in it that might not allow tight joins in the repair, and it is a 2 part glue so probably a form of epoxy anyway. If the planter is a softer stone, there is a risk of the stone eroding around the repair. A glued together sandstone block in my front wall is showing increased erosion around a glue repair. If the planter is ceramic I'm sure it will be fine.

 

[kreyszig]

it depends how porous the material is, but epoxy will do the trick on pretty much anything.
I repaired a heavy planter with araldite when we moved in and it's held up 2 and a half years.
Be careful to remove as much excess as you can though, as it will yellow.

 

[Feltwell]

Believe it or not, waterproof wood glue - exterior grade PVA - works a treat. It's so thin you don't get the problem that Flyfisher describes. Excess that squeezes out of the joints is easily wiped off with a damp rag, easier to clean up than epoxy.

I had some coping stones knocked off a wall at a previous house, the mortar stayed intact on top of the brickwork. I could have chipped it off and re-bedded the coping stones on fresh mortar - but, firstly the fresh mortar would stand out compared to the rest of the wall, and secondly it was cement mortar and I didn't want to damage the bricks chipping it off. PVA worked a treat, gave an invisible repair and was still solid 8 years later when I sold the house. I've used it a few times since to good effect!

 

[88v8]

Whatever you glue it with, I would henceforth regard it as fragile, and not to be moved at all at all when full of earth.
Also, it will be more susceptible to frost burst.

If it's a pot, as opposed to an enclosure for a pot, whatever you use will need to be totally waterproof.
Not sure about PVA in that instance?

Mind you, presumably 'stupid person' will be paying for the repair so perhaps
https://www.google.co.uk/#q=ceramics%20repair%20specialist%20uk&tbs=lf:1,lf_ui:2&rflfq=1&rlha=0&rllag=52397475,-1191514,114841&tbm=lcl&fll=52.9010938,-7.9915970343749905&fspn=10.043428471373644,7.274896039062657&fz=6&oll=52.559528449999995,-1.8646805&ospn=4.445868142220391,4.075038971925011&oz=6&qop=1&rlfi=hd:;si:5708794169918648133

Ivor

 

[Feltwell]

If it's a pot, as opposed to an enclosure for a pot, whatever you use will need to be totally waterproof.
Not sure about PVA in that instance?

It'll be OK I reckon so long as you use exterior grade, waterproof PVA wood glue.

 

[88v8]

It'll be OK I reckon so long as you use exterior grade, waterproof PVA wood glue.

Mmmm, interesting.
So you rate that on a par with Cascamite, Cascophen, etc?
Certainly a lot easier to use.

Ivor

 

[Feltwell]

Hmm - If I was building something that had lots of immersion, like a boat, I'd still tend towards Cascamite.

But for general outside stuff, it seems to be fine. I've used it on items like birdboxes for years, it's never failed on me yet,

 

[kreyszig]

birdhouses - that's how I learnt not to use "decorators" pva...