# What kind of glue holds together carved minerals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-glue-holds-together-carved-minerals/664675 "2013-07-27T16:15:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-glue-holds-together-carved-minerals/664675/1 "2013-07-27T16:15:30Z")
When Mrs Piper and I were on our honeymoon, we bought a little figurine of two little blue birds on a base; don’t know what mineral it is, but it’s blue with white veins; carved and polished. Turns out it was made of three parts: the two birds, and the base. Whatever glue was holding it together has faded over the years (but not the glue between me and Mrs Piper!), and it’s come apart. I’d like to fix it, but wondered what glue I should use: white glue? an epoxy? what works on a carved mineral? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-glue-holds-together-carved-minerals/664675/2 "2013-07-27T16:24:52Z")
I’d use “Goop.” It’s clear, and extremely tough. One-part, unlike epoxy, so no messy mixing. It’s become my go-to adhesive. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-glue-holds-together-carved-minerals/664675/3 "2013-07-28T05:41:17Z")
> **[This to That (Glue Advice)](http://www.thistothat.com)** > > How to glue this to that I would guess glass to glass. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-glue-holds-together-carved-minerals/664675/4 "2013-07-28T06:05:07Z")
White glue is for things like wood, paper and cardboard. It doesn’t work well on non-porous surfaces. One question is whether you need a gap-filling cement. Do the pieces fit together closely with little space between them, or is it impossible to fit them together without there being some space between them? If it’s the former, you don’t need a gap-filling cement, and you would be better off using a thin glue like a simple superglue (cyanoacrylate). If you do need a gap-filling cement, you should use something thicker. One problem with **beowulff** ’s recommendation of Goop is that the company makes a lot of different glues. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-glue-holds-together-carved-minerals/664675/5 "2013-07-28T15:28:19Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > One problem with **beowulff** ’s recommendation of Goop is that the company makes a lot of different glues. As far as I can tell, they’re all exactly the same. Seems to me like they market the same glue to a bunch of different niches. Anyway, the basic “household” Goop will work perfectly for this. Epoxy is what the commercial guys use, but it’s just not required for a small repair like this. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-glue-holds-together-carved-minerals/664675/6 "2013-07-28T15:49:15Z")
There used to be something called ‘lapidary’ glue used for these kinds of things when I was a little rock hunter back in the 20th century. This link might help: [http://www.dadsrockshop.com/adhesives.html](http://www.dadsrockshop.com/adhesives.html) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-glue-holds-together-carved-minerals/664675/7 "2013-07-28T16:00:40Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > There used to be something called ‘lapidary’ glue used for these kinds of things when I was a little rock hunter back in the 20th century. > This link might help: [Dadsrockshop.com](http://www.dadsrockshop.com/adhesives.html) There are more stone glues available now, but sometimes hard to find in a small tube. A craft store might have something like that. However, I think Goop or silicone is a good choice for this, gap filling and forgiving. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-glue-holds-together-carved-minerals/664675/8 "2013-07-28T16:31:43Z")
I’ve had disappointing results from Goop. The one I find most useful is Weldit. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-glue-holds-together-carved-minerals/664675/9 "2013-07-29T02:14:26Z")
Swarovski crystals use some kind of super glue to attach some parts in their hand cooler collection. That’s what we use to glue back parts that fell off.