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Hi, new here. PLEASE HELP!! Been reading many threads, in awe of your work here!! WOW!
I have a glass-top patio table. (well, it is kinda like glass, is some form of fake-acrylic, frosty-ish stuff, heck maybe it is actually glass...it's ugly at any rate!!..). I want to put a mosaic on it. It has a very small lip on rim.
HERE'S MY QUESTIONs..
WHICH GROUT is best for outdoors IN THE SUN? (the rest of the year, is stored in shed that IS pretty cold, probably does freeze in there..) Some say white will turn yellow in the sun? Some say colors fade in the sun?
WHICH SEALER is best?
I have been reading many threads, looking for this exact question, sorry if this is already posted.
I learned i can add acrylic paint to grout to color the grout, right?
WHICH GLUE is best to glue the tiles on?
I glue tiles DIRECTLY onto the glass, right? Should i "rough" it up or anything first? One online resource said something about getting some kind of net to put between the tiles and the table, but i don't understand what is benefit of that?
I'm thinking i will use broken ceramic peices for 'tile' to save $.
THANK YOU FOR ANY ADVICE!!! Even if you only know ONE of these answers, i would be so grateful!!!
Also, any artistic people wanna help pick out colors? THE TABLE is teal-green blue, and THE CHAIRS that go with it have hunter green/light green/tan fabric on them...(weird, huh? I never noticed this discrepancy in frame vs. fabric color til today, ha ha!!)
tigerlily, grout is a cement product, so if it's mixed right and dried slowly the sun won't affect it. Your table would be able to withstand freezing temperatures the same as above-ground concrete does in your zone.
I can't help with adhesive recommendations, though, as I have used mortar for all my tile/mosaic projects.
One thing you need to be sure of is that the surface you're going to mosaic will take the weight of your adhesive plus your mosaic pieces plus your grout. It might be a good idea to replace it altogether.
Maybe you could try posting a link to this thread on another mosaic table thread that's gotten a lot of activity, and people who are already watching that thread would see yours. The one below might be a good one to try that with: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/971758/
Hi, Tige! Just checked in at DG to see what's new... I've started this year to be interested in various glass art. Just this past week I've received from a nice man on Free Cycle list - a 46" round, ancient but still good, glass patio umbrella table. First I'll need to get rust under control in frame. It's tubular and about 1" plus in diameter for the frame. The glass top is sort of 'hammered' texture and quite sturdy. In 1960 I had another table with same glass. The main problem is that where the frame contacts the glass you can easily see the rusty surface. Not real attractive. So... decided to glass mosaic the glass. This involves using thin pieces of stained glass or glass tiles available online from art suppliers, like Delphi Glass or others. Will use GEII silicone adhesive if I want the light to travel thru both layers of glass (table and tile), then grout with thinset grout - available at Lowe's or HD everywhere. It comes in grey, white or black. The white can be colored easily, I've heard.
If you want an easier method, without letting light come thru the glass pieces, just put down a layer of wet thinset first, then push pieces of glass straight down into it to make pattern of your choice. Thin pieces of glass or thin china like porcelain will not require as much thinset, thus holding down the additional weight you're placing on the table's glass surface. You want the thinset to be just deep enough that it comes up around the edges of your glass/china to cover sharp edges when you push them into place. Just a bit of practice and you'll get the feel of it. I first tried this technique on a wooden picture frame and it worked well. It's important to put your pieces fairly close together with regular spacing - maybe 1/4" between them for best result and appearance. Search on 'concrete mosaic' to get more info. There's lots out there.
Happy mosaic-ing!
tigerlilly, I'm a little late on this subject and read your questions on what to use as a glue for a table top and also the other questions you asked. I live in Florida, but have been messing around with mosaic's for a little while and I have great success with weld bond, it holds, and drys clear. I use it with ceramic and glass projects, I do bird houses that hang outside all year long, and I've never had a problem. I also coat some of my stuff with a clear polyurethane and that helps to keep the pieces clean, as grout is pourus and can suck up moisture which turns into mold from the dampness. I can't say I would use it on my bird houses, but I also do mosaic on terracotta flower vases and this is where I wouldn't want yucky looking grout. I know someone told you to use thinset, and maybe that's OK, but if your doing a very fine piece of glass and you want details in your work, I would think the thinset would swamp your glass when you set in into the thinset. you need space between your pieces when you grout, to hold it, and the thinset, if too high up between the glass pieces, would push the grout out, what you end up with is grout and thinset between all your little pieces of beautiful glass. I don't know, I'm curious to see some of your work and see how you made out. I'm not saying that what someone else told you is wrong, just offering my advice as to how I do it. Peace :) I'm sending a few pics of the different things I've finished, I have a table in progress, that is a butterfly, and done in glass, a birdhouse that's hanging outside in a tree, this pic shows a little snake living in it, and a stepping stone of a palm tree. Good Luck, and like I said I missed your post somehow, and would have offered advice when you needed it. Ciao, Jami
