Food Safe, Heat Proof, Waterproof Ceramic Glue

Stop putting alcohol in the tea pot.

Just kidding Peggy. Quite frankly, plain old super glue will do the trick. Once it's dry, it's safe.

My personal rule, is to chew on super glue, don't drink it.

@Kramarat thanks for the laugh, I needed that this morning. Yeah, I've decided superglue is the way to go, specifically loktite 414, and I'll stop spiking my morning tea. (poot, busted) thanks to all of you for your input

I predict that if you use a CA adhesive, as you say, the teapot spout will eventually fall off into a cup of tea, or just fall off onto the stove in the not too distant future.

I would not recommend any repair using adhesives such as acrylics or epoxies for this application.

Sorry, but some things are just not meant to be. Treat yourself to a new teapot.

Hi Lyn Can you explain why? (I would love to treat myself to a new teapot, unfortunately don't know where I could possibly find one like this outside of NYC or S Francisco, it's huge... )

Excellent presentation Lyn. GA

thanks Lyn It's gonna be just for show then...

I had a filling come out a while back.. one of those kinds they cure with the UV gun... perhaps your answer is why it came loose?

chris

No!

You have obviously never used epoxy glue (properly!)

Do you have any clue about thermal expansion and moisture vapor transmission rates of polymers? I think not.

And, for the record, I somehow managed to fumble my way through 22 years as a materials (polymer) engineer of a major aerospace firm.

Your posts only confirm your ignorance of the subject.

having used vbarious epoxy glues for well over 50 years to repair many things, including a teapot, several car radiators, plenty of other ceramic things as well, boat repairs, car repairs.

I will be using it to make some special microswitch sensors in the next few days.....In fact I have simply forgotten exactly just how many things I have repaired with it.....

I have yet to see a bond come apart, unless fire was involved.....because I know how to prepare the surfaces correctly!! That is the basic "trick" in getting a good longlasting bond.

I still say that you are doing something wrong if your results don't stand the test of time.............

GA Andy, I was reading this and wondering why nobody had suggested using a two part epoxy.

I've had excellent results with it for all manner of ceramics, glass and other materials.

No problem with heat or moisture at all.

You're a pal, thanks.

"Moisture doesn't cause any problem with ceramic"

Are you sure about that...Most of all my experiences dealing with "Ceramic's" and ceramic failures, have been associated with fractures induced by moisture.

Would the thermal expansion argument also be true then for any of the glazes as well!

Super glue is not epoxy.

Epoxy can glue up to around 250°F and is not water soluble like super glue.

Epoxy is the right stuff to use.

Clean glue areas first with Meths/denatured alcohol.

Re-read the post.

I know the difference between epoxy adhesives and cyanoacrylate adhesives. Super Glue is a trade name.

Epoxy still absorbs moisture and expands with heat, and depending on the formulation used may be toxic. At least more so than acrylic adhesives.

Hi Peggy,

Welcome to CR4 you came to the right place for help. You have to forgive kramarat he is just kidding. I think, but… from the looks of his icon, he just superglue his eyes together.

Check this out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate

Scroll down to Uses see paragraph 9.

And, kramarat if you were to chew on superglue you would not be able to eye or speech no evil.

I was joking around......a little.

Superglue works great on ceramic. As far as I know, once dry, it's non-toxic unless actually ignited, which is unlikely in this application.

As far as chewing the dried product...........that was true. Whenever I use it, I always end up with some on my fingers. The best way to get it off, that I've found, is to bite/chew it off. Just don't do it in public.

exactly. way to come through.

GA

antique restorers

teapot repair forum

Another good suggestion from a newcomer.

Just downright logical. Ga, again.

Welcome to the forum.

I used JB weld epoxy on a copper teapot my father has on the kitchen wood cookstove all the time and it has worked for years

I'd still try the super glue.

http://www.supergluecorp.com/super-glue/future-glue/future-glue-pen-slim-card

They have made fantastic strides in polymer chemistry lately, and the fix might work.

Peggy seems like an intelligent person (well, she did come here, didn't she?) and I'm sure she'll make an informed decision.

There are also primers/initiators that can be used to "kick it over", too.

But, it's still a tough environment. Lots of thermal cycles and moisture.

Maybe Peggy will let us know how she does it.

McMaster-Carr

http://www.mcmaster.com/#ceramic-cement/=bx5ckb

Peggy,

There are organisations out there that do restorations of antique ceramics.

Perhaps one of these could help you.

Regards

Bill

May not be heat safe, but would be waterproof and should be food safe.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3M-ESPE-NA/dental-professionals/products/category/cement/

Just thought I'd give you your first official GA to welcome you into the fold! Looks like you are kind of fond of that there teapot of yours!

why thank you Mr Truman Brain! Looks like I've landed into a land of mad geniuses... I'm enjoying the discussion immensely! And yes, I have a teapot collection, and this is my turquoise one, and current favorite. But it's gonna live on the shelf and look pretty except for rare special occasions, as it seems that according to you all nothing is really gonna work. Believe me, I do believe all of you know what you're talking about, (even if your eyes are glued together). :-) P

BAHAHAHAHSHAahahahahaAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Go Peggy Go!

_{oops sry [patronizing] guys}

This is a rather old thread, but who knows, someone may still look at this.

There are a lot of adhesives and fillers available, but most are on the commercial / industrial side of the marketplace.

There are few places available that deal in appropriate ones, and far fewer that might be prepared to provide very small quantities.

But, as mentioned, dentists DO use "foodsafe" and reasonably heat-safe compounds in small quantities every day.

I wonder what your friendly dentist would say to a request to do a small repair? If he was not too worried about setting a precedent, he might be amused at the idea.

Good luck!

MidAtlantian

There are food-safe ceramic glues out there! I'd definitely go with one of those. There's a list here:

www.gluehow.com/recommendation/ceramic/to/ceramic

I looked into this at some length, which is not to say that my conclusions are definitive. I came up with solutions that I use to repair kitchen implements from time to time. I won't use most epoxy's because I am cautious that, which a completely cured epoxy would be chemically inert, and so safe enough, one cannot be sure that all of the components were involved in the reaction and unreacted epoxy is almost certainly nasty.

Superglue is safe enough. It is sometimes used in emergency surgery, and so, assuming its production was not contaminated, should be safe enough. But superglue is not very durable in such applications, and is likely to fail with use, probably within a year.

Dental cements are probably exactly what would do the job, but unless you are friends with a dentist, they are not easy to obtain in small quantities. Also, the mixing protocols ae sometimes quite precise, and rely on equipment that a dentist uses routinely. Having said that, if one took a teapot to a local dentist, he or she might be amused and oblige you.

One often overlooked glue is silicon. It is not generally considered to be a powerful adhesive. but for a teapot it shoujld be more than strong enough, as there would be a substantial surface to bond. It is waterproof, heatproof and safe after it is cured. I would leave it to cure for at least 24 hours.