seaming slate question

[o.g. (old guy)]

I saw a product the other day for seaming slate that I'm not familiar with, it's called "Jade Stone", it looks like an epoxy or maybe something like bondo. Has anybody used this? I've always used bee's wax, with mixed results.

 

[Poolhalljunkie]

Slate seams.

You will find most guys here use bondo, after applying super glue to the seams so the slates have a better chance of not moving due to settling.

 

[o.g. (old guy)]

Thanks p.h.j., I've heard that bondo can be kind of a pain, harder than slate therefore when you sand it you have to be very careful not to sand into the skate, don't know from experience just word of mouth. I saw on the internet a mechanic using Durhams rock hard water putty, he also used the super glue technique. I'm just not too thrilled with bees wax, after a year or two I always seem to get a little bit that comes out of the seam and creates a little bump under the cloth.

 

[BryanB]

I forget the name of the stuff but the guy that just setup my table used something in powder form that mixed with water. It gets as hard as concrete when cured and doesn't shrink like bondo can do.

If I see him at league Monday I will ask him

 

[Poolhalljunkie]

Bondo

I am no Table mechanic but talking to a few friends that are and getting tips from the pros here, bondo seems to be the best due to the fact it has some flex, which makes it ideal to fill the slate seams. These other materials don't sand as well as bondo, and are more brittle than bondo so if the slates move the other materials can crack. As far as sanding goes use a straight edge that is wider than the bondo area, and only let the sand paper hit the bondo area, remember to use a finer grit, so scratches aren't an issue.

 

[o.g. (old guy)]

Thanks for the info guys! Sounds like that mechanic used the water putty. I will probably use that or bondo when I recover my table. I'm not ready to do it just yet so still have time for some more research.

 

[ROB.M]

Table

I'm just not too thrilled with bees wax, after a year or two I always seem to get a little bit that comes out of the seam and creates a little bump under the cloth.

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The same with water putty... It will crumble
Wick bonded slates with bees wax or bondo is my preference.
Beeswax will not work well if the slate is not heated up first, room temp is to cold, the wax will not adhere, a lot of people apply beeswax improperly and have the wax bump problem..
There is a little more to it than just melting wax and knifing it clean, hire a well known pro.

 

[o.g. (old guy)]

Thanks for the heating the slate tip, unfortunately I live in a pretty remote area and can't afford to have a mechanic travel out here to work on it. I'll be doing it myself, so any other tips I can get will be greatly appreciated.