(Topic ID: 160222)

Strategy on repair of heavily lifted BG art.

By Langless28

7 years ago



Topic Stats

  • 5 posts
  • 3 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 7 years ago by ForceFlow
  • Topic is favorited by 1 Pinsider

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#1 7 years ago

I wanted to brush my idea through this wonderful wealth of knowledge. This is the BG for my recently acquired HS. As you can see the lower 1/3 of the art has lifted completely but its mostly in tact. I have read of the triple thick and cellophane trick but that does not scream "good" results to me. Here is my idea, and the 1 part I am unsure about is the best adhesive to use.

1. flood glass/art in some sort of optically clear adhesive- triple thick, cyanoacrylate*, other*
2. Place non stick sheet on top of art- I am actually using a Teflon sheet.
3. Place flat backing board on top of that-1/2 MDF
4. Place whole assembly into to "space saver" vacuum bag and add excess adhesive rags along perimeter.
5. Suck air out of bag.
6. Enjoy beer and relish at the results- TBD.

My theory is you will get nice even pressure with a vacuum bag, it SHOULD suck all air bubbles out of it as well. A typical shop vac can actually achieve a pretty deep vacuum.

The issues I foresee:
It would be best to remove the lift off lip as well as the rest of the edge material, i am afraid this is the only thing hold that art in place ATM. Also, the best way to get the adhesive onto the glass without disturbing the artwork. Lastly the best glue to use. I am thinking the triple thick but am not sure on its viscosity, also getting into a pourable state will be annoying since it comes in spray can version only. Cyano might work but might cause off gassing white burns all over the place.* Also cyano is moisture curing glue so it probably will not cure in a vacuum environment.

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#2 7 years ago

I used to do fiberglass bagging repairs at work. Everything below is couched in "shoulds", "might work", and "maybes". There are no "definites" being offered. Also, everything I offer might be cost prohibitive and BG Resto might be your best bet.

1) Go to a veterinary supply and buy a large syringe and a large and long needle ( read as large---something you would use on a horse) to pour your low viscosity adhesive into. This should allow you to flow the adhesive into the hard to reach areas.

2) Triple Thick seems to have thin viscosity; It runs easily if you spray too heavy on verticle surface. But it also dries very fast; Perhaps too fast to allow for bagging time. To get the contents from a spray can, turn the can over and push spray button to empty out all of the propellent. Once all the propellent has been bled, punch hole in can and pour TT into syringe. As I said, I think it will dry too fast to leave any working time and you will wind up with trapped air bubbles.

3) Maybe you could use automotive polyurethane clear with a slower set time than Triple Thick. But poly might off-gas like Cyano.

4) The single-part poly you get for floors at Home Depot might work. It has slow set time. Off-gas? Don't know.

5) Fiberglass resin might work. It is a little thick but you can adjust set time by mixing less catalyst. Don't know about off-gassing.

6) Perhaps a spray can of "just" clear with a slower set time than TT would work. All TT is is just more solids added to the mix.

7) I don't know what this stuff costs but a two-part epoxy might be the way to go. No off-gasing.

http://www.masterbond.com/products/two-component-epoxy-adhesives

Cyano will probably have enough air exposure just from application time that curing after vacuum is applied would not be an issue.

9) Lay down your Teflon sheet, then your 1/2" MDF. On top of that lay down a Terry cloth hand towel between the MDF and the vacuum bag access hole. This will prevent your vacuum source from "locking on" to the MDF. Allows for a more even and consistent vacuum.

I'm trying to not spend your money here, but if you really want some vacuum, get an air conditioning vac pump from Harbor Freight. It will give a good steady 30 inches of vacuum for as long as you want. You have to have access to an air compressor to use this unit, though.

http://www.harborfreight.com/air-vacuum-pump-with-r134a-and-r12-connectors-96677.html

10) Tape off the clear glass areas with plastic tape to avoid have to scrape run-off or squeeze-out from what is supposed to be clear glass.

11) No idea on how to deal with the lip and edge material.

2 weeks later
#3 7 years ago

Tried this test this weekend. I did not have anything close to the "printed sections" that I am trying to put back on so I substituted with a piece of Doritos bag and a Piece of plate glass. Used polycrylic and this failed miserably. Good thing it wasn't on the real thing. My observations:

1. Shop vac couldn't get all air bubbles out or the setup somehow blocked the air passageways. I did use absorbent material around edges and towels to prevent the port from getting locked on.
2. Poly did not dry in sealed airless bag. I gave up after 30 hours.

I will continue researching what the best way to fix this.

#4 7 years ago

1) I don't think a shot van is going to get you the kind of vacuum you need. Speaking from experience with the tools I used at work, the vacuum tool I hooked up to a pressurized air line made a small hissing/sucking sound. That is all, but it sure made the vacuum when I hooked up to the vacuum bag.

2) I don't know how you sealed your vacuum bag off, but at work, it was real easy to have a very small vacuum leak in my bag setup and until I got that leak sealed my vacuum bag would not pull tight. As soon as I got it sealed good it would pull down tight; So tight that I could not move the air chuck. Are you sure you got your vacuum bag sealed tight?

#5 7 years ago

Keep in mind--the lifted paint is very, very fragile. It's just paint, after all. Touch it in the wrong way, and it breaks up into smaller pieces.

Since I pick up a lot of project games, backglasses tend to need a lot of attention.

After trial & error and other folks around here suggesting things: use superglue.

Basically, put down superglue, press the paint to the glass, and smooth out any bubbles. Hold it down until it dries. You may need some weights to help hold it down.

Als, when you're positioning the pieces, it helps to have the backglass lit from the front. You can go the expensive route and use a light table, or just put the glass up on some wood and put strips of lights under it.

Then, after you are all done, seal the backglass with several layers of triple thick.

Note: triple thick is not a glue, so using triple thick alone will not give good results with large lifted areas of paint. The plastic wrap method also doesn't work very well, since it's very difficult to position the loose pieces before the triple thick dries.

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