How to Hide Seams When Bonding Marble

There are many occasions when craftsmen bond marble. When a project calls for bonding stone to stone, there will most likely be the need for gluing two lpieces of the stone together. For example, stone fabricators perform edge lamination fairly regularly. When gluing stone, you want the seam to be as unnoticeable as possible. To achieve this there are some basic principles to keep in mind. In this article we look at how to hide seams when bonding marble. As we do, we will mention some tools and products that can help you accomplish this goal.

Making Clean Smooth Cuts

One of the first things you want to do when hiding glue seams is to make clean cuts in the stone. The cleaner and smoother the cut, the less noticeable the seam will be when it is created. Conversely, a cut that has chips or is rough will show much more easily. One of the factors involved in achieving clean cuts is using a quality blade for making your cuts.

If you are cutting a marble stone and the edge you cut is going to be used for a seam, you want to use blades for cutting marble. Diamond blades are designed for cutting specific materials. And although you can cut marble with a variety of blades, using one specifically designed for marble will yield the best results. Getting the cleanest cut possible with no chipping is imperative if you want a seam that is as close to invisible as possible. But this is just the first step in the process of how to hide seams when bonding marble.

Use a Matching Adhesive

After you have your seam edges cut using a blade that leaves a clean edge, you now need to think about what you will bond the edges with. There are a number of adhesives that will work for bonding marble. And if the bond is in a non-structural application, there are even more. Using a clear polyester knife grade marble adhesive might be a good option for your project. Knife grades adhesives are good for bonding stone vertically since they stay in place as you work. This is important if you have the edge to which you are applying glue perpendicular to the floor.

Additionally, water clear transparent adhesives are well suited for bonding light colored marble and limestone. Since they are translucent when they cure, they tend to take on the colors of the stone around them. As the light passes through the adhesive the colors interact with translucent glue and the seam is less noticeable. Although, many adhesives can be colored too if your project is one that might benefit from this technique.

Tight Seams Are the Best

After cutting the stone cleanly and selecting an adhesive that will not draw attention to itself, it now comes time to actually bond the edges to create the seam. At this stage of the process, The key thing to focus on is getting a nice tight seam. The tighter the seam is, the better the bond will be and the less visible it will be too.

Getting tight seams is not as monumental of a task as it may sound. Using the proper tools can help you get the tightest seams as possible. Find a tool supplier that offers seam tools and you can find a selection of tools that will assist you in tightening up any seams that you create. A tight seam is one that will be very hidden when you stand and look at the surface. And that is what you want. A good seam is one that you don't notice, a great seam though is one that you have to look for to see.

So there you have it. How to achieve hidden seams when gluing marble is as easy as 1, 2, 3. First, make extremely clean cuts. Second, use a glue that is hard to see. Third, create the seam very tight. Taking these three steps when seaming marble will yield the best results.