Need suggestions for repairing ceramic birdbath pedestal

[Northe]

A group of javalina (I live in Arizona) knocked over my ceramic
birdbath. The pedestal is hollow and made from what looks like the same
red clay used for flowerpots (glazed on the outside). All the broken
pieces are on one side, so the pedestal still stands up.

I have all the pieces, and they fit together tightly. What I'm looking
for is an appropriate weatherproof structural adhesive to put the
pedestal back together.

Since the pieces fit so well together, I don't believe that an epoxy
putty would work.

What do the experts here recommend?

(Having learned my lesson, I will put a pipe in the ground to keep the
birdbath from being knocked over again.)

Thanks for any suggestions.

Northe
Green Valley, AZ

 

[Eric in North TX]

A group of javalina (I live in Arizona) knocked over my ceramic
birdbath. The pedestal is hollow and made from what looks like the same
red clay used for flowerpots (glazed on the outside). All the broken
pieces are on one side, so the pedestal still stands up.

I have all the pieces, and they fit together tightly. What I'm looking
for is an appropriate weatherproof structural adhesive to put the
pedestal back together.

Since the pieces fit so well together, I don't believe that an epoxy
putty would work.

What do the experts here recommend?

(Having learned my lesson, I will put a pipe in the ground to keep the
birdbath from being knocked over again.)

Thanks for any suggestions.

Northe
Green Valley, AZ

I've had good luck with JB weld and ceramics, aside from leaving a
telltale gray outline. Epoxy, of some sort, is your likely best choice.

 

[hr(bob) hofmann]

So use a regular epoxy (non-putty).

--

dadiOH
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How about crazy glue?

 

[Joe]

snip<

Since the pieces fit so well together, I don't believe that an epoxy

So use a regular epoxy (non-putty).

snip<

Best choice.
Use a water-clear slow cure two part epoxy. Once cured, some JB WEld
for back up/reinforcement wouldn't hurt. Some china restoration shops
use cyanoacrylates (Whoopee Glue) which can be found now in a lot of
useful different formulations. Pricey but fast, one could get the
assembly together piece by piece in minutes. Again, an epoxy
reinforcement would add needed strength.

Joe

 

[Joe]

A group of javalina (I live in Arizona) knocked over my ceramic
birdbath.

snip<

Have you bought your hunting license yet? <G>

Joe

 

[The Daring Dufas]

A group of javalina (I live in Arizona) knocked over my ceramic
birdbath. The pedestal is hollow and made from what looks like the same
red clay used for flowerpots (glazed on the outside). All the broken
pieces are on one side, so the pedestal still stands up.

I have all the pieces, and they fit together tightly. What I'm looking
for is an appropriate weatherproof structural adhesive to put the
pedestal back together.

Since the pieces fit so well together, I don't believe that an epoxy
putty would work.

What do the experts here recommend?

(Having learned my lesson, I will put a pipe in the ground to keep the
birdbath from being knocked over again.)

Thanks for any suggestions.

Northe
Green Valley, AZ

http://www.thistothat.com/

TDD

 

[Oren]

http://www.thistothat.com/

TDD

That link showed up here, before...a good reminder from you.

 

[Northe]

Thanks to Eric, Joe, aem, etc.

I'm going to try liquid nails to put the pieces together. One of the
salespeople at the local hardware store said that she'd had good results
with fixing several red clay pots using the stuff. I may back up the
inside with epoxy.

Northe

 

[dpb]

Thanks to Eric, Joe, aem, etc.

I'm going to try liquid nails to put the pieces together. One of the
salespeople at the local hardware store said that she'd had good results
with fixing several red clay pots using the stuff. I may back up the
inside with epoxy.

Bummer of a choice unless you don't give a rats' patootie about
appearance...just use a good epoxy

--

 

[DerbyDad03]

Thanks to Eric, Joe, aem, etc.

I'm going to try liquid nails to put the pieces together. One of the
salespeople at the local hardware store said that she'd had good results
with fixing several red clay pots using the stuff. I may back up the
inside with epoxy.

Northe

I'm guessing that's because the sales person has never tried a real 2
part epoxy like West Systems or a similar product.

Head over to your local Marine Supply shop and check out their epoxy
aisle.

 

[blueman]

Bummer of a choice unless you don't give a rats' patootie about
appearance...just use a good epoxy

Yup - Liquid nails is an awful choice and will likely leave you with
all types of messy smudges and since it is so thick, it is likely to
give a poor bonding if the join between the ceramic parts is truly
hairline.

A high quality, slow cure two part epoxy (like West System's) without
any filler is the perfect solution. If necessary you can strengthen the
joint by filetting with various epoxy+filler combinations +/- fiberglass
tape but my guess is that if the pieces truly fit that tight together
then just epoxy alone will be more than sufficient.

Liquid nails is for bonding subfloors, panelling, sheathing etc...

 

[Smurof Yid]

I'd suggest you go with Cyoancrylate. Anything thick like putty , liquid nails, etc, will take some space and those peices simply won't fit the way they are dry-fitting for you now. I'd go one peice at a time, Use Good Cyoanacrylate, not crazy glue not Dollar tree. Go on Amazon and order a good one. you can even hold the peices in place and touch the crack on the inside, and the pourous clay or ceramic will draw the stuff in, a few seconds to cure, and you're on th the next peice. Don't rush it, and it should look near perfect.