Adhesives and Tools

I am really proud of the wonderful range of adhesives and tools now on offer:

Merlin Mosaica proudly brought the No Days range of Adhesives to Australia, and offer the straight adhesive film, as well as groutless adhesive in black, pewter and clear. I also have the wonderful No Days Heat activated mesh available. Please check out the great product review by Peter Twining of Treasury Road on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsvRteaIuzs&t=4s

This heat set adhesive can be activated in a normal over, as approx. 120deg Celsius.  You can even use it on acrylic substrates with no issue.  Some of you have queried if the products can be used outside. Well, yes they can! I have made pavers that have been in the Canberra winter with no issues, and the American wholesaler has even used the Groutless film to make a bird-bath. The only proviso here is that the Pewter and Black films may fade over time in direct sun, but their adhesive integrity is maintained. See below for a blog post from 2013 relating to using them in a bird-bath…

https://nodaysadhesives.blogspot.com/2013/12/q-monday-no-days-groutless-mosaic.html

Merlin Mosaica is stocking the Soudal Fix-All range of SMX polymer adhesives. These are suitable for all materials & substrates (except PE, PP, bitumen  & PTFE), non-staining, odourless, paintable, suitable for mirror, waterproof & weatherproof. When grouted correctly (with a waterproof grout with no cracks or fissures) they are suitable for bee-baths. I recommend using the Save-a-Tub cap with your Soudal.  Using a caulking gun, I squeeze twice into a plastic bag, nip the corner off, and use like a piping bag. Clean-up is with IsoPropyl Alcohol.

  • Black (Hi-Tack) – Super sticky, super strong – up to 320kg holding power per 10sq.cm
  • Grey and White Fix-all Flexi – White is great under translucent glass on a solid substrate.
  • Crystal Fix-all Flexi – sold in some areas as Soudal T-Rex

We also stock the Australian-made Prep Multi-Use Adhesive. It has been around for 20 years, and is used by tilers. It is quite liquid, but unlike PVA glues (such as Weldbond), won’t re-liquefy once cured, so is suitable for outside use. (TIP: to clean it off any tile fronts, just moisten with acetone – nail-polish remover).

Merlin Mosaica also stocks Apoxie Sculpt, Apoxie Clay and the AVES Safety Solvent. This is wonderful for adhering beads and other embellishments that may get lost in grout, or for making your own 3D embellishments, that can be used outdoors. Easily coloured with Oil Paint (use sparingly) Dries rock hard!

Our range of tools may be only small, but they are very handy: mosaic picks, flexible grouting bowls, grout spreaders and Toyo flexible headed glass cutters (oil-filled). All very handy products that I use whenever I mosaic.

NOTE: I use ALL these adhesives and tools. I also try to sample as many of the products as I can, but my time is limited….

Have a look at our range here: http://merlinmosaica.com.au/product-category/tools-and-accessories/

 

Ali….

2 replies
  1. Barbara Long
    Barbara Long says:

    Hi Peter I’m loving all your videos you do them so informatively and well I have begun mosaicing again and am planning a large piece for my garden so this has been extremely helpful I will continue to view thanks for your generosity in sharing information cheers Barbara in Maleny Qld

    Reply

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