Bling Bling Glue?

Framar

WOW Framer
Joined
Jul 24, 2001
Posts
26,420
Loc
Buffalo, New York, USA/Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada
I use the term "bling bling" since it has been officially inducted into the OED. What I mean is bright, shiny stuff like Rhinestones and other glass jewels and flat marbles and even seashells.

I like to adorn frames with these items and even though I have been doing it for years, I have yet to arrive at a satisfactory adhesive. I have tried silicone, hot glue, Household Goop, Duco Cement and many others. Stuff will eventually just fall off of the frame.

Sometimes the leaf on the Rhinestones lets go, meaning the nekkid stone falls off leaving a bright spot. Other times, on leafed frames, the leaf from the frame fails and I end up with a red spot (undercoat).

We're not talking preservation framing here, folks, more like what I call "Fun Framing." I hesitate to offer this "service" to customers due to the glue failure aspect that I have found on my personal projects.

Any suggestions??? I have amassed a huge collection of "bling bling" for just this artistic purpose and I hate to see it just sitting around unappreciated in a drawer!

(PS- there are a couple of examples of what I am describing on my website in the Fun Frames Gallery - "Ganesh" and "Forest Bed.")

Any glue ideas would be appreciated....
 
Try E-6000, it may work. It may have a life expectancy depending on the materials used.
It is a good not too thin type of glue.
I know most craft stores and W****** has it.
Good luck.
 
Just use white glue, or whatever will make things stick for long enough. Then coat the entire thing with gloss gel medium. You can water it down a little, so that it flows without streaks, and add several layers. Nothing will fall off. This will even hold flakes of glitter in place.

I've been doing this for years on my encrusted paper mache boxes and dragons. It works great. I usually give everything one last coat of UV krylon, just to make it easier to keep clean.
 
Have you ever tried "Gorilla Glue"? Back in my auto mechanic days we called it "Monkey Snot". We used it basically to glue plastic body parts on cars together. It becomes a very strong bond. It is sold in many catalogs and the Home Depot here started carrying it.
 
Jerry, is that the glue that expands? When you think you've got a tiny little bit, all of a sudden it becomes a whole lot more than what you needed? If it is the same glue I've described, it bonds great when it dries.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I am always eager to expand my glue repertoire! I have especially hankered after that Gorilla Glue, but I couldn't think of any justifying excuse to buy it!

Hannah - doesn't all that coating stuff dull down the bling bling effect??? Also: You make dragons? What kind of dragons? Show us!!!
 
I like Hanna's idea, esp. the kryon coating for cleanup. I glue glass pieces for mosaics (that live outside) with Weldbond's "More than Great Glue". It is water cleanup, and it is not nearly as offensive to the sinuses as the E6000! I cannot use the E6000 inside, but this Weldbond stuff is almost odorless.

I also have used this on candle surrounds that have glass globs glued directly to the glass candle surround. The glass can get pretty hot with the candles, but I've never had a pc. come off...

Yes, Hanna, plz. share dragon pics!
 
Wow, Gumbogirl! Thanks for the tip about Weldbond! I have been using it for years on wooden projects at home, but it would never have occurred to me that it could do "glass to glass" projects! It really is great stuff then, as advertised!
 
Here's one. He's about two feet tall.
lucien5t.jpg

Here's a bigger picture of him:

Lucien

The gel medium doesn't reduce the glitter at all. (glossy gel, matte does make things dull) Also, it puddles into cracks that would otherwise gather dust.
 
Gorilla Glue does expand a lot. It works best with a touch of water on the surfaces to be glued. Be conscious of how you store the bottle though, since it reacts with moisture, it will form a crust on the top layer inside the bottle. Drill a hole large enough for the spout to fit in and keep the bottle upside-down so the air pocket is at the bottom. Another method is just to squeeze all of the air out of the bottle.
 
Originally posted by Framar:
...Stuff will eventually just fall off of the frame. Sometimes the leaf on the Rhinestones lets go, meaning the nekkid stone falls off leaving a bright spot. Other times, on leafed frames, the leaf from the frame fails and I end up with a red spot (undercoat)...
In the snippet above, note that the glue you're using isn't the problem. By your description, the surface coatings themselves are coming apart/delaminating/disintegrating away from their substrates.

It's important to realize that glue can only stick to what it contacts. That is, your glue has nothing to do with whether the bond of the leaf on the rinestone fails.

Your glue may stick perfectly to the leaf, but if the leaf separates from the stone (frame, et al), then the failure is beyond the province of your glue.

The same thing happens when a picture frame is glued to a wall (Heaven forbid). The glue might perfectly bond to the frame and the wall paint. But when the paint separates from the wall it was applied to, the picture falls. That's no fault of the glue if the paint is still stuck to it.

It seems that better glue isn't the answer to your problem...buy better bling bling that won't disintegrate so easily.
 
Jim - You think I buy my bling-bling??? LOL!!! I just collect it - people give me cast-off and broken jewelry and it goes on to lead a new life in my art.

Ok, now that I have stopped laughing - Jim - you are absolutely correct and I do believe I will make an attempt to seal old leafed frames before I use glue; and also maybe try the "glue/gel medium over-the-top" idea as well.

Hannah - Awwwwwwwwww.....
 
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