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Anyone with experience or knowledge of glue technology some advice would be greatly appreciated
Bought a beautiful black marble plinth for my log burner install
Its got a glued on perimeter approx 25 x 35 mm of marble cut offs. 3 sides covered with a central spine.
It lifts the plinth too high really, makes it harder tp install, and i really want it flat.
It was £30 so not the end of the world if i crack it but i want to remove the perimeter blocks.
Looks like a 2 pack black epoxy has been mixed on the underside and its set rock solid.
Tools available. Angle grinder with diamond blade or grit stone discs. Sds, circular saw. Hot air gun.
Currently thinking wet cut 3 or 4 mm into the extension peices in each side on a shallow angle then a straight cut down, and use an adjustable to smap off 40mm lumps then grind it flat. Can rig up water flush if needed
Or is there a way to break down the epoxy somehow.
i have melted some epoxy's with a hot air gun. Not all melt though
Can you get hold of / borrow an oscillating saw / multi- tool ? Eg.
https://www.screwfix.com/c/tools/multi-tools/cat830708
Shape charge?
Acetone might work, as it can be used for cleaning up grp resin tools. Not certain that the acetone would penetrate the join though 🙁
Clamp a strip of ply on the back, use that as a guide for the grinder with the diamond disk. It will give you a clean cut in the stone. Water isn’t going to help with the cut just keep the dust down, wear a mask obvs. Careful with water and a 240v grinder!
Take it somewhere who can cut it straight and then polish it for you.
Your going to end up with an awful edge
Eh? Its underneath, like a skirt.
The main peice i want intact its the support arms i want to knock off. Xylene might work. Going to get some nail varnish remover to see if i can break down the glue.
It might not be epoxy if it is used on stone. Could be methacrylate.
In any case the answer is likely to be the same. The two best suggestions above are heat and acetone. I'd probably go with heat first. It will likely start to break down an soften around 120C so far lower than the temperature you'd damage the stone at.
Acetone is trickier to work with. It evaporates so fast that it rarely has time to act.
Other ideas that I know can destroy epoxy - warm water - 60C water bath was always pretty aggressive.
Xylene, again mentioned but you would likely have just as much luck with something a little easier to get hold of like white spirits. Same sort of molecular weight and solvent power. De-aromitised is safer but I wonder if all DIY stuff is? Methanol - toxic, and same problems as acetone. Warm ethanol?
A standard paint stripper might work. The epoxies used in adhesives are very similar to those in the 2K epoxy paints.
Lauric acid, niche, but good at 60C
As you were . I must have mis imagined your description. I had it like a border round the edge for some reason. A pictures worth a thousand words n all.
I'd try heat. If I've understood the description, with it upside down, if you put it on slight angle you could pour boiling water in. Let it soak, if necessary drain once some heat has transferred and refill. Poking the epoxy will tell you if it's softened, if so you can probably wedge the extensions off.
I don't think acetone is much good on cured epoxy; it works for cleaning brushes etc but not once it's gone off.
If you use the heat gun, the heat itself won't damage the stone but heat it slowly to avoid thermal stresses.
You're thinking about it wrong 😉
Cut a channel in the floor the same shape, recess the upstands, job jobbed.
Epoxy resin is a thermoset resin. It doesn’t melt with heat but it will burn.
Acetone works on polyester resin not epoxy.
Your best bet is cut off the bits you want to remove and then tidy up what’s left as best you can :o)
Aaand its done.
Hot air gun did little tbh. Softened it a tiny bit but didn't want to release
Hot water, 2 soaks 1 at about 40c then another at 60ish. Again, seemed to soften it a tiny amount but zero movement.
Angle grinder ftw.
Upside-down on a doubled up sleeping bag. Cut through the glue line till its 90% done and tap it till it hollows, and away.
Lots of dust and noise and shards of marble in my face but i now have a lighter perfectly flat slab. Tiny bit of breakout on the lower lip where the lock nut caught but the carpet will hide that.
A pictures worth a thousand words n all.
Trying to post a picture could result in its own 8 page thread 🙂