adhesive for sealed marble

[gakoid]

I have a marble floor that has been sealed with a solvent based concrete sealer.  I need an adhesive that will stick tenaciously to this.  Need your recommendations and thoughts.  Thanks

[Mark D.]

It would help if we knew what you were trying to glue to the marble floor. Hypothetically if you rough up the marble you can use either Polyester resin or epoxy to glue something to it as both will bond well to marble.

Glad to be of service,
Mark

[gakoid]

Thanks for responding, Mark.  I am trying to seal a seam in the floor of a fountain.  The seam is where a waterproofing membrane ends on the marble surface.  I think that there is some water leaking under this seam, indicating that the waterproofing has not really adhered to the marble, probably because of the sealer.  So, I am trying to fix/seal that seam by applying an adhesive that will adhere to the marble and the waterproofing membrane.  The adhesives that I have tried will stick to the membrane but not to the marble.  Any advice is appreciated.  Thanks

[Mark D.]

ummm...have you tried 100% silicone yet? That would be my first attempt...

Mark

[gakoid]

Yes, that was my first choice also. I had tried the silicone earlier, but it was applied to the sealed marble surface and did not stick very well.  I will roughen the surface by sanding to see if I can break the sealer and then try another application.  I will also try a marine grade 2-part epoxy and another product called Sani-Tred. 

Gary

[gakoid]

Okay...I've tried the silicone, the marine grade epoxy and the Sani-Tred material and nothing has stuck.  Apparently the sealer on the marble is indeed the culprit and it goes pretty deep into the stone, almost a quarter inch (I  can see it on a cut side of the marble)  These materials did stick somewhat well on the un-sealed cut sides of the marble.  I can't grind or sand away a quarter inch of marble ....so, I'm still left with the issue of what adhesive will stick to sealed marble?   Or can I apply another coat of thickened sealer to it and use that as an adhesive to seal this seam ?  Any thoughts or guidance is appreciated...

Gary

[Mark D.]

It may be a resin instead of a sealer. A sealer impregnates the stone, but it generally won't go deeper than 1/4"...usually....
A sealer can be removed with an alkaline solution. Try this:
Rough up the stone with coarse silicon carbide sandpaper. If it is resined this will knock out some of the resin.
Take some Drano and out it over the spot to be glued, then lay a wet paper towel over it and let it sit there wet overnight. The Drano has sodium hydroxide in it which is a heavy duty alkaline and will remove any sealer given enough time to work.
The next day wash off with water and let the stone dry out fully. Allow at least a couple of days.
Then try gluing it with an epoxy for stone like this one:
http://www.defusco.com/Glues:-Epoxy,-Polyester,-etc.-Epoxy-for-Natural-Stone/c82_500/p2371/INSTANT-INSTALL-29-MINUTE-EPOXY---20oz-KNIFE-GRADE/product_info.html

You can use other epoxies, but I am unfamiliar with the product you are using now.

Glad to be of service,
Mark