Have you ever taken a brand new product that you purchased out of its packaging, only to damage it while putting its parts together? In most instances, if you damage a product that you purchased, you\’re out of luck. But not with our wall cladding stone panels. Don\’t sweat it if your StoneLite® incur small chips or fissures during installation. These issues are easy to repair.
You\’ll need a few items in the event that chip or fissure repairs are needed. Make sure you have knife-grade clear resin, coloring pigments, resin hardener, stone chips (of the same type as material being repaired), water, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), razor blades, masking tape, clear packing tape, small paper/plastic cups, a stir stick, and sandpaper of varying grit sizes. When you begin repairing a chip or fissure, clean the area of the wall cladding stone panel that is going to be repaired with MEK, then allow the stone to dry. Place masking tape along edges and corners while keeping the tape\’s top edge in line with the top of the stone, creating a barrier for the resin and to prevent staining or filing of the adjacent stone.
Next, use the small paper/plastic cups and stir stick to mix the resin and hardener at a 3 percent hardener-to-resin ratio. Then mix in the coloring pigments to match the color of the stone. To provide texture, stone chips (of the same type of stone that is being repaired) can be ground to a powdery sand consistency and added to the mix. The more stone that the compound holds, the less gloss the final product will show. Mix everything together well and remember, if the mixture starts to get lumpy, you\’ve used too much hardener of taken too long. You\’ll want to start over if this happens. Once your mixture is ready, you can apply it to the area of the wall cladding stone panel that you\’re repairing. Ideally, you\’ll want the depth of your patchwork to become even with the surface of the stone and for it to be a bit wider than the area being repaired.
After the mixture has been applied, take the razor blade and remove any excess resin. You can ensure that the patchwork stays even with the stone surface by placing the clear packing tape over the top of the repaired area. Once the resin has completely hardened, you can use the MEK and grade 00# steel wool to clean excess resin from the wall cladding stone panel. If you dull the stone\’s finish during the removal of excess resin, you can polish your patchwork with the sandpaper. In a pinch, you can also use liquid super glue or clear nail polish to restore the finish. If the stone is polished, it is advisable to make a trial application on a piece of scrap material to test and practice this procedure prior to the actual repair.
If you ever have any questions about repairing our wall cladding stone panels, you can leave us a comment on this blog post or contact us by phone at 469-635-5000 or email at [email protected].
