Has anyone used this for stal repair where a glue would not be effective.

https://www.milliput.com/

We have in  mind a set piece for conservation at the next Fairy Cave Quarry session.

A bit here --

https://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?topic=18209.0

We have a rough surface only 3 x 4 cm at the base of an upright feature so it will have to be embedded to work rather than glued. Any sort of drilling is out of the question.

Can Miliputt be coloured during mixing or afterwards to last in a cave environment.

The Old Ruminator said:

Can Miliputt be coloured during mixing or afterwards to last in a cave environment.

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I have never used it (although it sounds like something to keep handy)
From their website:

"Colouring Milliput

There are a number of ways of colouring Milliput.

Different colours can be obtain by cross-mixing or blending from the range of colours that Milliput is available in.

Powder pigment can be mixed in, in small quantities, so that the mixture does not become too dry and crumbly. Strong powder pigment rather than powder paint is better as smaller amounts can be used.

Liquid colourings, like enamel paints, oil paints, spirit based-dyes or pigments can also be used to colour Milliput, but liquids or pastes may be difficult to introduce into the putty, again small quantities should be used, to avoid creating a very wet mix that may be difficult to mix.

In all cases the Milliput should be thoroughly mixed by rolling & folding about 30-35 times."

They don't say if the colours will last, but if it sets hard I imagine they will stay there.

Dave Hodgson has just called me and asked me to post the following, in case it's any help (as he's not registered).

About 4 years ago, when he was at the Natural History Museum, he consulted their senior conservator Lorraine Cornish about slal repair. She immediately recommended Milliput Putty. They apparently buy it in bulk, as it's so useful for all sorts of repair work, such as reassembling delicate bones through to heavier jobs.

Apparently it can be used underwater, so there should be no problem with its use in a damp cave.

He also mentioned it comes in a range of colours, one of which will be used shortly to repair a red stalactite from Wizard's Chasm.

I've done quite a few stal repairs myself over the years but never tried that stuff. So, if you do go ahead, please could you let us know how you got on? Thanks.

iv'e used it to but granite worktops together . it's as strong as hell and polishes up really well.
if you get he colour match right i bet you would'nt even see it

Milliputt------Millitary Putty all made at Dollgelly in mid wales .
Invented to replace Plasterciene which was used to hold components
together in our first Atomic Bomb!!!!! 

I use the stuff for all sorts of things, it's basically a very thick two-pack epoxy so will set underwater. Should be fine on stal....

As I told OR Jrat recommended it to me for stal repair and it was used successfully (although the stal got broken again).

mrodoc said:

As I told OR Jrat recommended it to me for stal repair and it was used successfully (although the stal got broken again).

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Yeah but I bet it didn't break at the original fracture, the millyputt probably held

If the stal is still fairly active (ie wet), I wouldn't worry too much about blending the colour exactly, it grows a calcite layer surprisingly quickly, I can recall one of the classic stals in OFD (or was it GG?) was repaired with araldite and it wasn't long till you couldn't see the join.

Thanks everyone. I think it is the route to go. Essentially its a special conservation project that we hope to include in the next Fairy Cave Quarry filming session. The stal is a large crystal structure relatively dry now so I am rather thinking of adding acrylic paint after the putty has gone off if the repair is too obvious. The curtain in Erratic Rift in Shatter Cave was glued many years ago but the repair still shows rather obviously. Working with Andy Freem has shown that there is a lot of scope for conservation work at Fairy Cave Quarry and it may be that specific trips will be planned in future to do this.

we used superglue and activator for stal repairs in HLIS. Worked pretty well.

A successful repair to show the colour of the standard putty. The adhesion is very good.

thumbnail by Nicholas Chipchase, on Flickr