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Techniques for CollectorsQuestions about hot-glue mounting

27th Feb 2014 03:05 UTCLawrie Berthelsen (2)

I am considering mounting some of my collection on plexiglass tiles using hot glue. Before I start, are there any pro's and con's that I should be aware of?

Are any minerals susceptible to damage from temperature shock? I can't imagine that I would dare to mount a fine Azurite crystal, for example.

Also, how can I safely remove a hot-glued crystal if I need to?

Thanks,

Lawrie.

27th Feb 2014 07:53 UTCMichael J Stott

For removing hot glue, use rubbing alcohol. In Australia it is cheaply available from the supermarket ($6 for 375ml bottle in the pharmacy section, Crocodile brand in a bright green bottle). Use a cotton bud to liberally soak the hot glue, wait 30 seconds then gently peel off the hot glue- it is actually quite easy but is not suitable for use on very fragile specimens. There are some YouTube vidoes on how to remove hot glue that are worth watching.

27th Feb 2014 09:05 UTCMichel Ambroise

Hello,

I will advice you to use two separate gun for that.

A big one for big specimen and a very small one for more delicate specimen who don't need a lot of hot glue.

The best is to use two types of glue the hot one, will fix fast the specimen on your plexi, and the cold one because it last for long.

The "cold" glue is the one used for sealing bathroom, sink etc.... take the transparent one and not the soft one when dry.

Good luck

michel

1st Mar 2014 06:03 UTCLawrie Berthelsen (2)

Michael - thanks for the tip, I bought a bottle today, and it did the trick and quickly removed a mounted crystal.

Michel - good advice, thanks. I will use the hot glue for its fast setting properties to display single crystals at their best viewing angle. The cold glue will be ideal for mounting larger pieces that already sit correctly.

Kind regards, Lawrie.

15th Mar 2014 22:53 UTCPeter Haas

The "hot glue" is slightly hygroscopic (in fact, many synthetic polymers bind water by adsorption; polyamides, for example, contain water up to 5-10% of their own weight). Immersing it in water for a prolonged period of time (around one day) softens it and makes it swell very slightly (it also gets cloudy). Afterwards, mounted specimens can be removed rather easily.

16th Mar 2014 02:59 UTCLawrie Berthelsen (2)

Hi Peter, thanks for the info.

I live in a humid tropical climate. Is the hot glue likely to soften from absorption of water in the atmosphere, over time?

Thanks, Lawrie.

16th Mar 2014 10:39 UTCLuca Baralis Expert

If with "cold glue" for sealing bathroom, sink etc... you mean sylicon adhesive/sealant, don't use it!!!!

It is very very hard to remove, contains aggressive solvant, and furthermore, it smell!

About the hot glue, pay atttention when glueing your specimens, as the glue is often incline to make wires...

Luca

16th Mar 2014 22:38 UTCLawrie Berthelsen (2)

Wow, thanks for the warning Luca, I definitely won't be using it in that case.

Cheers, Lawrie.

24th Mar 2014 05:14 UTCBarry Miller

My personal opinion is not to use adhesives at all. If you ever decide to remove the material, it may be impossible to do so completely.

24th Mar 2014 09:52 UTCSpencer Ivan Mather

Personally I would never glue any mineral specimen to anything, they are best left as they are..

Spencer.

24th Mar 2014 10:33 UTCMichel Ambroise

Spencer Ivan Mather écrivait:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Personally I would never glue any mineral specimen

> to anything, they are best left as they are..

>

> Spencer.

If all your specimens stand ...

24th Mar 2014 15:30 UTCEd Clopton 🌟 Expert

To me the blobs of either hot glue or putty widely used for mounting are unattractive and cheapen the appearance of the specimen. Putty does have the advantage of allowing for easy removal and repositioning, which is why I use it for temporary mounting and storage where appearance doesn't matter.

I mount my thumbnail specimens on hand-shaped cork pedestals with white (Elmer's) glue. The goal is to make any mounting material invisible; the specimen should appear to sit by itself, or better yet to float, in its Perky box. The glue takes a few minutes to set, so sometimes the specimen needs to be propped until the glue dries, but it works well except for the rare water-soluble specimens (which I avoid anyway due to climate considerations). White glue dries clear and, if applied carefully, is unobtrusive to invisible. It does not react adversely with most minerals, and when removal is required it dissolves and removes easily from most mineral surfaces with warm water.

24th Mar 2014 17:05 UTCAntoine Barthélemy Expert

I have recently mounted my collection on acrylic bases using "low temperature" hot glue. I found it in elementary school supplies, where it is used so as to avoid that children get burned. With this it is just a matter of seconds before the specimen is stuck in place. Maybe it is also better to avoid temperature shock.

In my opinion, hot glue is way better than putty. You need less of it to fix the specimen, which allows to make cleaner mounting. People say that putty is easy to remove, but this is not true anymore when it gets older. It sometimes becomes granular, and in that case it is a real nightmare to remove all of it from the specimen. To remove the hot glue, I just pull the specimen off its base (depending on the matrix, a thin layer may remain attached to the glue) or I use rubbing alcohol. In any case, you can choose where to put glue (not on surfaces that you want to keep clean or where fragile crystals are present), so that removing it afterwards will not cause trouble.

To avoid wires, I wrap them (while they are forming) around the glue that I have put on the specimen or on the base, until they break. They just merge with the glue and become invisible.

For some specimens you can do really nice things with hot glue, for some others the mounting may not be perfect, but not all specimens are worth a custom base, nor all of them can stand nicely without support ...

24th Mar 2014 18:48 UTCLuca Baralis Expert

Antoine Barthélemy Scritto:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I have recently mounted my collection on acrylic

> bases using "low temperature" hot glue.

Never heard about: it requires a specific gun I suppose...

24th Mar 2014 18:49 UTCLuca Baralis Expert

Antoine Barthélemy Scritto:

-------------------------------------------------------

> In my opinion, hot glue is way better than putty.

I fully agree!

20th Apr 2014 03:38 UTCCarrie Siems

If needed, place an ice cube on the hot glue to aid the specimens release from it. If the specimen is not temperature sensitive, a heat gun can be used to remove remnants utilizing a paper towel to absorb the glue. If you used cool melt glue, a hair blow dryer may work... I would assume since it doesn't need a high temperature to be applied, the same would be true to remove it.

20th Apr 2014 17:21 UTCJohn M Stolz Expert

Personally I think hot glue is unreliable. Plus, since acetone is the only way to remove it (except it didn't fail on its own), and acetone creates fine crazing lines in Lucite that I find objectionable, I make custom mounts for my specimens. It takes maybe 15 minutes for a more involved mount.

Tools I use are a dremel, an old 4x4 tile, and playdough.

Simply flatten out the playdough, set the specimen as you want it displayed and press into the playdough.

Then place the Lucite base on the impression and with a marker, trace the outline.

Grind out within the lines. Don't worry about getting the depth contours of the impression correct, just grind it all away. If you want, step the grinding in 2 depths--a shallower larger outline and a deeper area for a local projection. The point is that the specimen need not make intimate contact everywhere with the base. The process does make a mess, so do it in the garage or somewhere where you'll clean up all the small flakes.

I've found that some cubes (not the standard beveled bases) have a different composition that melt when heated by the dremmel cutterhead. The cuts can work but its messier because you have to deal with a small pool of liquid plastic in your grinding area, and when you withdraw the dremmel, it's a pain to chip away the rehardened plastic encasing the cutterhead.

In some cases you may need a support piece. You can make that easily by cutting a piece of 1/4" round stock available from plastic stores (here in California, there's TAP Plastics), beveling one end, and using the adhesive that you can also purchase with the stock. The adhesive is a misnomer, it's actually a solvent that dissolves both ends and fuses them together. I would practice a bit with the support pieces--it's not a get-it-right-the-first-time process.

Anyway, that's what I do and it sounds much more involved than it is. BUT it looks so darned professional, PLUS you get to take breaks and look at the specimen ;)

21st Apr 2014 06:25 UTCCarrie Siems

John, you've peaked my interest with your stands. The two depths- is this all on one piece of lucite, or two depths created stacking two pieces atop each other? I have done some work with acrylic and polycarbonate. You use your dremel- any reason dremel over scroll saw, other than to angle edges. Which, I suppose that could be done on a scroll saw if need be.

Would you mind sharing pictures of some of the stands? I would love to see them to get a better understanding of what you're talking about, and to put an image with the instructions you've provided. :)

Thanks,

Carrie

21st Apr 2014 15:41 UTCEd Clopton 🌟 Expert

Here's another alternative for making display bases for specimens:

For several years I have been using thermoplastic polymer clay to fashion bases for miniature and larger specimens. Sculpey and Fimo are two brands widely available at craft stores. I use black for most specimens and grey for black specimens.

Soften and condition the clay by kneading. Pre-form a suitable amount and press it onto a metal baking sheet. (I use the bottoms of cake and bread pans turned upside down to have clear access from all sides.) Orient the specimen to display to its best advantage and press it gently into the clay. If the bottom is very rough or irregular, care may be needed to keep clay from sticking in cavities, but that usually isn't a big problem. Set the specimen aside and trim and sculpt around the impression to make a stable, attractive base. Check the fit periodically as you work and adjust as needed. Then bake the base in the oven according to package directions and allow it to cool before handling. Minor fitting can be done with a knife if needed after the base has cooled.

With patience and some practice, you can produce custom-made bases very economically that look and perform better than generic peg stands or wads of putty.

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