I have a few questions that I was wondering if anyone out there could help me with..... I have tried googling the answers.... and have come up with some ideas, but I know you all have better information:)
OK.... I need to age some copper.... I'm reading I can soak it in ammonia and salt.... but I'm not that patient..... any other ideas?
Then I have a customer that wants a birdhouse for a terrarium and we are having a hard time finding a glue that holds up to the humidity..... Any one have any solutions there or know of any glues that might hold up?
I'd appreciate any ideas you have to offer:)
12 comments:
E-6000 is a glue developed by the telephone company to join stranded wire underwater. Trust me I knopw these things my father worked for the phone company before it was At&t. Find it at wal-mart in the craft section, target in housewares, Micheals in the adhesive section. FYI about $4.00USD per tube. There is an acid you use to etch and turn copper green or rub it with milk then moss.
E-6000 is the best glue but smelly!!!
A silcone adhesive or silicone caulk will hold up to humidity.
Marine Epoxy. You can glue stuff together underwater and it will harden. You can get a this stuff at any local hardware place for about $5. It comes in two tubes and you mix it together. It's used to plug holes in boats.
2 part epoxy glue will hold but...anything made of wood won't hold up very long under such humid conditions.
You can definately age the copper in bleach to a black colour(it doesnt take too long) but you must make sure it is solid copper and not just copper plate as if it is plate it will just remove the copper from the surface.
If you want a less severe effect you can heat it in a candle flame. It will cause all sorts of lovely colours to appear in the copper.
Hope this helps
Natalie
Katie, I have never tried it, but I know that heating copper changes the color. Do you have a scrap that you could try it on? I seem to remember a cigarette lighter or some such being involved.
As for the glue, I would try E-6000. That seems to hold just about anything together.
And what did I get for word varivication? undab? Is that a comment on the glue?LOL
I don't know about aging the copper- but have you tried that E6000 for the terrarium? I use it sometimes for jewelry making and it sticks really well. It is smelly-so make sure you have ventilation if you try it :)
There are (or I should say, there were as I haven't looked recently) patina solutions for aging metals like copper, bronze and brass. Look in the paint aisle of your local hobby shop.
Yellow Carpenters Glue is supposed to be more moisture resistant, last ditch effort would be to try water-proof fabric glue (like OK to Wash It). It way do some test glue trials using scraps of wood.
Or you could eliminate the need for glue altogether by making the birdhouse out of polymer clay. Use a glazed ceramic tile as a work surface, roll out your clay and cut out your pieces just as if you were making a gingerbread house. Carefully peel off the excess clay and bake the pieces on the tile. Use liquid polymer clay to assemble and bake again.
Best Wishes with both projects!
Once it has dried, wood glue (the yellow kind) is fairly impervious to moisture. You can clean it up with water when it is still wet but it is a resin based glue. White glue, like Tacky will break down with excess moisture.
The only way I know how to age copper is to leave it exposed to the "weather". I once had some solution that was supposed to age it but it didn't work that well. I assume you are looking for that pretty teal green patina? My "faux" aged copper looks better that the real thing that I've tried to age. Let us know if you find anything that really works!
I can help you Katie... to age the copper with ammonia and salt, it only takes an a short while. Rather than soaking them, make sure that it is the gas from the ammonia that they are exposed to. Set the copper on an up turned plastic container (yogurt cup, etc), that is sitting inside another larger container (ice cream bucket, etc) with a lid. Mist the copper with water and sprinkle with salt. Then pour ammonia into the bottom of the bucket so that the bottom is covered but does not come up to the upside down yogurt cup with the copper piece resting on top. Then put the lid on the bucket and wait. The gases from the ammonia will turn the copper green and anywhere, where the salt is sitting will turn blue. Hope that all makes sense to you.
As far as a glue to use that will stand up to humidity, use Weldbond. It is a white glue that sticks anything to anything plus is waterproof when cured. Works beautifully for inside and outside applications.
have you tried gorilla glue? It held the post on my real-life cabinet - in the summers too.
Racking my brains trying to remember what aged copper... i know there's a product that'll do it but I was sure there was something else. Will think on it.
I wanted to THANK everyone that left me a comment! I do use the E6000 glue to attach my doorknobs and faucets as I have found that this is the best glue for attaching metal to wood, I just didn't know how well it was going to hold up to the humidity...I may just have to try a few and will post when I know something. Same thing with the copper suggestions... I have lots of copper birdhouses to play with so we will see what happens with them.... I will post when I get something finished:) Thanks again for eveyone's help!!!
Katie
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