Marble To Repair????

[Warren E. Johnson]

I have been asked to refinish what I think is a washstand. The stand is walnut with a marble top and probably 100 years old. The marble top is broken and I am wondering if or how the top can be repaired. I have considered clear silicone caulk, epoxy or CA glue. I think there are advantages to each. Silicone caulk would be a little forgiving and have some flex but I am not certain I can get a really tight fit. I think epoxy would be stronger but not very forgiving to a shock. I also think it will be difficult to really close the gap. Thin CA glue would likely result in the tightest fit but I am not certain of its strength.

I am looking to the wisdom of the Creek to see if someone who may have encountered a similar situation. If necessary I can replace the top with walnut but that would change the character of piece.

Warren


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[Jamie Buxton]

I've used epoxy to glue granite. (Nice fluid epoxy like West Systems or System Three.) It'll certainly bond to your marble. But I don't know what you can do about that missing piece in the close-up. Glue won't fix that. You might consider replacing the whole top with new marble. Marble is pretty easy to machine and polish, so it isn't as expensive as slab granite.

[Richard Coers]

Tinted epoxy will be the best option, but not easy to get perfect. I'd look at a professional stone guy to make it easier for you. Your customer can take any complaints of the fix to them, not you. Replacement will have a perfect look.

[Rich Riddle]

New marble will present the only good option. Stone's very old and a "new" piece won't be any younger than an "old" piece of marble for he most part. I am unsure if they still use the same processes to mine or cut stone today as they did when that piece was made, but on the finished side you would see no differences.

[Mel Fulks]

That is not a fine antique ,but it it is not flake board either. Small tables usually stay covered with stuff,if it is a washstand it should have a bowl and pitcher on it .Any of those things would make a repair to the marble less noticeable. I would glue it,fill any remaining void with spackling ,touch up with paint. Take Prozac as needed until the table is safely home.

[johnny means]

If that were mine, I would attach the broken halves to the stand as they are. The break is a great design flaw and is so much more interesting. Think Venus de Milo,with arms she's just another antiquity.

[Rich Riddle]

Ultimately, you need to offer the person who requested the reconditioning the options. Since they want it refinished, we can ascertain remaining original doesn't concern the customer. I recommend a newly cut small piece of stone. Find a stone fabricator in your local area. They will have tons (literally) of granite and marble scraps from which to choose. That small table will only require a scrap. As to other recommendations, remember you will be known by the work you release. Act accordingly.

You cannot utilize paint covered spackle and expect it to last more than a couple of days. Have you ever seen spackle applied to a crack in a wall that hasn't been been taped? The table top will move and crack almost immediately, most likely even prior to delivery. A very poor recommendation. Also, that type of "repair" would not endure moisture well at all.

Learning to "live with" the crack could be an option, but that depends on the ideology of the owner. I believe this proves an option only if the customer requests it. It's an easy and somewhat self-serving option for you, but nonetheless it impacts how others will perceive your ability to repair the work. After all, it's doing nothing.

You might also want to check out the ability of different types of stone to get stained and consider options for the owner. Marble actually stains fairly easily. I refinished a bathroom with marble but would never entertain the idea of using it in an eating area or where one might store things such as foods or liquids that might spill.

[Mel Fulks]

If the customer knew anything about restoring furniture he would not be asking op to do it. A professional states what is best and works only in a range close to those reccomendations. No professional conservator would accept that job if discarding the top was ordered.

[Warren E. Johnson]

Thanks for all of the input.

I told the customer that the break would be "character" for the refinished piece when I picked it up so expectations should not be to high. I think I will epoxy the pieces together. I will also source a new top so the customer can decide if he wants to replace it or keep the character.

Warren

[Kevin Bourque]

A customer asked me if I could repair a large 7'x3' granite table top about 6 months ago . The movers had carried the table by the top and had broken the end section completely off when lifting it leaving a 24" break with several loose pieces. I had never tried anything like this before, but told them I would take a stab at it.

I bought a marble/stone repair kit on E-bay that consisted of epoxy and several colorants. When I first saw the job I didn't think it would be possible for me to do the repair, but now it's nearly impossible to see the repair at all unless you know where it is. The most time consuming part of all was sanding and polishing the repaired area down to match the surrounding area. All told the job took about 3 hours.

[Bernie May]

Maybe you can flip the marble over. If there are no missing pieces on the other side, you could glue and then refinish this side.

[ian maybury]

The major issue with bonding a break like that using epoxy may be the need to get the parts perfectly aligned - and then tightly clamped together. Likely the secret to a largely invisible joint all else being equal.

The two surfaces will be quite granular, and if they don't engage exactly it will force a gap.

The downside of this is that it will reduce the adhesive film in the joint to an absolute minimum. Good for invisibility, but hard on the adhesive film in the event of any differential movement with e.g. temperature changes. It could fail with time. It may also be a bit inclined to yellow - another reason to keep the line very thin, and to use a pigment if filling. Best to wait until it's very well cured before attempting to sand it - epoxy can have a long slow final cure. A blade or a scraper might be good to clean it up afterwards.

Might be worth going for a purpose made marble specific kit as Kevin suggests, it's just possible (but not necessarily the case) that the epoxy (or maybe a two part polyurethane?) is formulated to suit...

ian

PS A quick dig just now on Google suggests there's lots of different adhesives types used for this work, and lots of repair kits out there: e.g http://www.discoveredit.com/diygraniterepairkits.aspx

[Rich Riddle]

Maybe you can flip the marble over. If there are no missing pieces on the other side, you could glue and then refinish this side.

On my older marble top pieces, the bottom side isn't quarried smoothly enough to finish the bottom. It's a great idea if this one has a smooth enough bottom side. The tools to accomplish this will cost only about a couple hundred dollars.

[Joe Hillmann]

I would contact a marble counter top installer/ refinisher. They know what they are doing and have the tools to do it. Although fixing what you have may cost more than getting a new top.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

I would think any stone/marble yard would have a scrap that size. Less than the cost of repair.