[Jewelry making - Article 01310] - Re: [Orchid] Dissolving Superglue Problem

[Deb Weller]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

    From my hobby as an avocational paleontologist - with heavy emphasis
    on the avocational part - there is a solution to your dilemma. 

    Paleontologists use cyanoacrylate in the field to coat fossils to
    stabilize them before jacketing and transport. I once spent several
    days in the museum lab removing cyanoacrylate that had been too
    liberally applied to a fossil turtle shell - thus not only
    stabilizing the actual fossil but about 3 lbs of the surrounding dirt
    and matrix. It should be much easier with your bowl, as the alabaster
    is less porous than the turtle shell was. 

    The procedure goes like this: 

    Start out in a well ventilated room or, ideally, under a fume hood.
    Spread newspaper or something absorbent under the bowl to catch the
    dissolved glue and acetone. Then - the tedious part starts. Using a
    paint brush, an acid brush or maybe a cotton swab (which is what I
    used) and acetone, load the brush with acetone and saturate a small
    area at a time. Let it sit for a minute or so and then use paper
    towels (you'll use a lot if it's a big bowl) to "wick" the residue
    from the crack. Repeat as often as needed. Once you have the pieces
    separated, you can give them a thorough cleaning, so that you can do
    the repairs properly. 

    You can also check with a company called "Uncommon Conglomerates"
    (they generally have a booth with the "fossil guys" in Tucson - I
    think their website is www.uncommonconglomerates.com or try Google
    for "Paleo Bond") to see if they have anything that will un-do
    cyanoacrylate. I know that they make an accellerant (sp?) to shorten
    the bonding time for cyanoacrylate, so they might have a reversing
    agent as well. 

    On a side note - a Russian paleontologist once told me that in
    Russia they used alcohol based glues because they are easier to
    un-do. 

Hope this helps!

Deb Weller
Weller's Jewelry and Beads
Mesa, AZ


____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________