badge repair made easy

[DavidS]

I've tried this stuff on a couple of repairs now and think it's time to share with the brotherhood: JB Weld "JB Kwick" steel-filled epoxy. I picked up the lead from a tabletop gamers site regarding gluing cast metal figures where epoxy didn't seem to work too well.

The Canadian Chaplain's badge pictured had a lug snipped right at the base. It has a beautiful black enamel finish (this badge is pictured on the CanBadge Index), so trying to have a new lug brazed on was no-go. I had used regular epoxy three times on this and it would never hold, regardless of the fact that I had ground away the stump of the lug then finally taken the finish down to bare brass.

The Kwick version sets solid in 5 minutes and seems indestructible. A caution in that, unlike regular epoxies, it gets runnier after it has been mixed and before it sets, so you need a good three hands to make sure the lug doesn't tip over and stays aligned. I used a round toothpick to keep the lug aligned and upright while the epoxy set. Practice on some scrap badges to get a hang for using it.

Once set, the epoxy has a nice grey finish, a bit plastic looking but not quite as shiny as in the badge back scan and, like I say, it makes and incredibly strong, benign repair -- no more heat damage to metals or finishes. I don't think I needed as much as I used on the lug, but it was a first go and I was still getting a hang for the fluidity of the epoxy.

I've also used it to reattach a broken tang back on an OSD medical corps badge & am convinced I could easily bend the tang with no ill effects, although I won't put that to the test till I'm ready to mount that badge. I can see this being useful for a range of repairs, including reattaching overlays.

The stuff is made in the US; here's the company's product link. I found it at Canadian Tire in the automotive section (it wasn't racked with the other glues).

[41st]

In the U.K I've seen it for sale in Automotive spares shops and advertised as plastic metal or something similar.

[boots and saddles]

Thanks for that tip David, I can't see it taking away from the value as some people are quite consious of because a repaired lug is just that "a repaired lug". You did a nice neat job of that Chaplain lug. Ray

[Moe RCNR]

Hello David: Thanks for the tip. In your estimation would it be possible to grind down the excess around the base of the lug with say a Dremel tool?
Moe.

[DavidS]

Originally Posted by Moe RCNR

Hello David: Thanks for the tip. In your estimation would it be possible to grind down the excess around the base of the lug with say a Dremel tool?
Moe.

Do you mean the epoxy or the lug remnant? I ground the stump of the lug off with a Dremel tool, as there was < 1/16" left sticking up, but I don't have any problem with the look of the repair so I didn't try taking off any excess epoxy. Like I said in prev. post, the stuff was runnier than I expected after mixing & I had some fun with the lug tipping over, so this first go-round I ended up using more than I expected. If I had had a better set-up (jeweler's alligator clip stand or some such) to position & hold the lug in place, I think a lot less epoxy just on the foot of the lug would have worked. Don't see any reason why the epoxy couldn't be ground down, though.

[Moe RCNR]

Helllo David: The excess epoxy at the base of the lug is what I meant. Will have to try your tip on a scrap badge as you suggested.
Moe.