Superglue Fixes Everything
The story behind the breaking and super gluing of the Tutenkamen mask sounds like something out of a sitcom. Unfortunately it really happened.
Comments
Sorry, Patty, but the use of 'super glue" (cyanoacrylate) was, most likely, the best of all possible choices as many varieties are so fluid that when they set there is, absolutely no discernible residue. Add that to the fact that most of them bond within seconds and hold fast under extreme pressure they'd be my 1st choice.
Some of these 'super glues' can be used in surgery on human skin. Others bond aluminum like the skin on aircraft wings. Others set slower and can actually fill small gaps. I assisted a doctor, years ago, to extract a small, hard plastic bead that was lodged in a kid's ear using a stick of balsa wood and some super glue. The only other alternative being discussed was THE KNIFE as all other attempts had failed.
Some of these 'super glues' can be used in surgery on human skin. Others bond aluminum like the skin on aircraft wings. Others set slower and can actually fill small gaps. I assisted a doctor, years ago, to extract a small, hard plastic bead that was lodged in a kid's ear using a stick of balsa wood and some super glue. The only other alternative being discussed was THE KNIFE as all other attempts had failed.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 01/23/15 at 10:33 AM
I get that but antiquities are supposed to be carefully restored by trained experts. A custodian(presumably the same one who broke it in the first place) was allowed to glue it like it was grandma's vase. That is crazy.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 01/23/15 at 10:57 AM
In this and another article I read, they say epoxy.
Posted by BMN on 01/23/15 at 11:03 AM
The photo shows an ugly line of glue. It could be anything from an epoxy (I hope not) to God knows what. My guess is that it is epxoy. Something next to impossible to remove without causing more damage.
Posted by Victor Berthelsdorf on 01/23/15 at 01:13 PM
Expat: an alternative to the super glue and balsa wood trick is a soda straw. It once removed a pebble from my son's ear canal. If the pebble is too irregular, the process can be aided with chewing gum.
BNM: I also read 'epoxy' in teh report I saw. I also read that the 'repair' was done by the cleaning staff who originally broke the mask, not a trained conservator.
BNM: I also read 'epoxy' in teh report I saw. I also read that the 'repair' was done by the cleaning staff who originally broke the mask, not a trained conservator.
Posted by tadchem on 01/23/15 at 02:09 PM
I vote for use of cyanoacrylate also. You can almost get the bond good enough to hide the seam.
However, the author seems to have mixed up the terms of epoxy and "superglue." There some mixtures of cyanoacrylate that are thick and fill gaps. I wonder is epoxy is actually what was used. In any case, scraping the excess was a major blunder.
However, the author seems to have mixed up the terms of epoxy and "superglue." There some mixtures of cyanoacrylate that are thick and fill gaps. I wonder is epoxy is actually what was used. In any case, scraping the excess was a major blunder.
Posted by KDP on 01/23/15 at 05:14 PM
I would vote for chewing gum or anything easy to undo.
Posted by BMN on 01/23/15 at 07:52 PM
@Expat - We have a product here called New Skin. It is essentially a gel super glue. Not only does that kind of thing bond skin well it also is a antiseptic.
Posted by BrokeDad in Midwest US on 01/24/15 at 03:03 AM
I know it well. Greece is only a 2.5 world country. :lol:
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 01/24/15 at 03:13 AM
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Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues | Can’t Possibly Be True | Goofs and Screw-ups