5 Tips to Repairing Sentimental Items

How do you repair sentimental items, and which glue should you use?

A broken garden ornament, a shoe sole that has come away, a handbag strap, a smashed ceramic pot, a wooden toy — these are the things people are most likely to throw out and most likely to regret throwing out. All five can be repaired with Selleys Power Grip.

Power Grip is a high-strength household glue that is extremely flexible and shock and impact resistant. It bonds a wide range of surfaces and stands up to rough conditions indoors and outdoors, it is dishwasher safe and paintable, and it works on uneven surfaces — which is exactly what a broken edge is.

The number that governs all five repairs is the initial bond time of 12 hours. Power Grip sets in about 3 minutes, which is quick enough to hold pieces in place, but a set glue is not a strong one. Twelve hours is when the repair is ready to be handled properly.

Power Grip at a glance

Colour	Transparent with a yellow tinge
Setting time	3 minutes
Initial bond time	12 hours
Service temperature	-15°C to +120°C
Packaging	4 g, 5 g, 8 g, 10 g and 20 g tubes

Indicative data only, not intended for preparation of specifications.

It sticks metals, wood, ceramic, stone, brick, concrete, masonry, glass, foam, leather, laminate, fibreglass, vinyl, fabric, cardboards and most plastics. It is shock proof, highly flexible, water and weatherproof, temperature resistant, and bends on impact rather than shattering — which is why it suits things that get knocked.

Before you start

Make sure the surfaces to be bonded are clean and dry. Remove the cap and apply to one surface, then bring the surfaces together and, if necessary, clamp or tape to support them until the adhesive sets. Do not swallow the product, and clean up before the adhesive sets with turps or acetone.

Two tips from the data sheet that make a real difference on non-porous materials: allow longer times for non-porous surfaces such as metals and plastics, and to reduce set times on those surfaces, keep the parts apart for 30 seconds before bringing them together. That short open period lets the glue start to grab rather than sliding.

Power Grip cures rapidly, so wipe the nozzle clean and replace the cap tightly straight away, and store the tube upright in a cool dry place.

1. Fix a ceramic garden ornament

Brush the dirt and dust off both broken faces first — a garden ornament always has a film of soil in the break, and glue bonds to that rather than to the ceramic.

Apply Power Grip to one side and press the pieces together. Wipe away the excess with a damp cloth and let it dry.

One thing to plan for outdoors: Power Grip will yellow on direct exposure to UV. On a garden ornament that means the glue line will darken over time if it sits in full sun. Keeping the bead tight inside the joint, and wiping the squeeze-out before it sets, is what stops that showing.

2. Fix a loose shoe sole

Brush the dirt from inside the sole, apply beads of Power Grip evenly to the surfaces and press them together. Weight the shoe down with clamps or a heavy item while the glue bonds.

Clamping matters more here than anywhere else on this list. A sole is a large, slightly curved area, and without pressure across the whole of it you get contact in the middle and gaps at the edges — which is where a sole starts peeling again. Power Grip's flexibility is what suits it to a shoe: a rigid glue in a sole cracks the first time the shoe flexes.

For a dedicated product, Selleys Shoe Fix is the specialist shoe adhesive. There is more detail in how to repair shoes.

3. Fix a handbag strap

This only works well for wide handbag straps, because a wide strap gives the glue enough area to grip. A narrow strap does not.

Remove the existing adhesive with a non-acetone based cleaner, apply a thin bead of Power Grip to the bag and press the pieces together. Allow 12 hours before using it.

Note the specific instruction to use a non-acetone cleaner for the preparation. Acetone will damage many finished leathers and coated fabrics, and it is also what you use to clean up uncured Power Grip afterwards — so keep the two steps separate.

4. Fix a broken ceramic pot

If the pot has broken into large pieces, it can be salvaged. Loosely fit the pieces together first to check they are all there, then lay them out like a jigsaw and brush the dust from the broken faces.

Apply a thin bead of Power Grip to the edge of one piece and glue it to the adjacent piece. Wipe away any excess with a damp cloth. Repeat until all the sides are glued, and allow 12 hours before use.

A thin bead is the right instruction. Too much glue in a ceramic joint holds the faces apart, and the pieces stop lining up — by the fourth join the mismatch is obvious.

5. Fix a wooden toy

Brush off any dirt and dust, apply a thin bead of glue to the surfaces and press them together. Allow it to dry before handing the toy back.

Wood is porous, and porous surfaces such as wood and ceramics usually reach practical strength within 12 hours. Give it that full period before it goes back into service, especially with a toy.

Limitations — where Power Grip should not be used

• Not for polyethylene or polypropylene plastics. Use Selleys All Plastics for those. If a plastic item will not hold a bond, this is usually why.
• Not for permanent water immersion. Weatherproof is not the same as submerged. For a repair that lives in or under water, Knead It Aqua is the product designed for it.
• It will yellow on direct exposure to UV. Keep glue lines tight on anything that lives in the sun.
• Allow longer set times on non-porous surfaces such as metals and plastics.

Clean up

Uncured product can be removed with turps or acetone. Cured product can be sanded and scraped.

Safety: five repairs in a row is the exposure that matters

Power Grip carries the signal word Danger, which is unusual for something sold in a 4 to 20 gram tube, and the reason is not flammability — it is not classified as Dangerous Goods at all. It is the eyes and the skin. The classifications are H318, causes serious eye damage (Category 1); H317, may cause an allergic skin reaction (Category 1A); H315, causes skin irritation; and H335, may cause respiratory irritation.

H318 is not H319. Almost every other consumer adhesive on this site that carries an eye classification carries Category 2A — serious irritation, which resolves. This one is Category 1: the effect is not assumed to reverse. The geometry of these five repairs is the reason it matters. A small tube is squeezed by hand, at close range, with your head down over a ceramic joint or a handbag strap, and the nozzle often ends up pointing back towards your face while you clear a blockage. A tube that has warmed in a pocket or in a car releases its contents faster than you expect. Eye protection for the whole session costs nothing.

H317 is the one this page uniquely sets up. Skin sensitisation is not irritation. It is the immune system learning to react to the substance, it is generally permanent once acquired, and afterwards far smaller exposures set it off. Category 1A means a high-potency sensitiser rather than a marginal one. It is built by repeated casual contact rather than one big spill — and a guide that works through five repairs in an afternoon, with the instruction to wipe away the excess with a damp cloth at each one, describes that contact precisely. Wear nitrile gloves and the whole exposure disappears.

On tip 3, note that the non-acetone cleaner is specified for the leather, not for you; acetone is also the clean-up solvent for uncured Power Grip, so keep the two steps and the two cloths separate.

If you switch products, the hazard changes kind. Shoe Fix and All Plastics both carry H225, highly flammable liquid and vapour, with H319 and H336. That vapour is heavier than air and pools at floor level, which is where a shoe repair gets done and where a heater usually sits. Open a window and turn the heater off for those two.

For tip 5, the wooden toy, there is a cleaner option. Aquadhere Interior is not classified as hazardous under GHS 7 at all, and on a porous timber joint that does not need to flex it will outperform a general adhesive anyway.

A splash in the eye needs a 15-minute flush and a call to the Poisons Information Centre — 131 126 in Australia, 0800 764 766 in New Zealand — not a rinse and a blink.

Common questions about repairing sentimental items

How long before I can use the repaired item?

Twelve hours. Power Grip sets in about 3 minutes, which holds the pieces, but the initial bond time is 12 hours and that is when the repair is genuinely usable.

Do I glue both surfaces?

No — apply to one surface, then bring the pieces together.

My repair keeps slipping while it sets. What do I do?

Clamp or tape the pieces to support them until the adhesive sets. On a shoe sole, weight it down.

Why won't it hold on metal or plastic?

Non-porous surfaces take longer to reach strength. Keep the parts apart for 30 seconds before bringing them together to reduce the set time, and allow longer before use.

Will it work on my plastic item?

Most plastics, yes — but not polyethylene or polypropylene. Selleys All Plastics is the product for those.

Can I put the repaired item in the dishwasher?

Power Grip is dishwasher safe, though it is not for permanent water immersion.

Can I leave a repaired ornament outside?

It is water and weatherproof and rated for exterior use, with a service temperature range of -15°C to +120°C. Expect the glue line to yellow with UV exposure.

Can I paint over the repair?

Yes, Power Grip is paintable.

How do I clean the strap before gluing?

Remove the existing adhesive with a non-acetone based cleaner. Acetone can damage finished leather and coated fabric.

How do I get glue off my hands or the surface?

Turps or acetone before it sets. Once cured, sand or scrape it.

What size tube should I buy?

Tubes run from 4 g up to 20 g. The larger tube suits a shoe sole or a pot with several joins; the small ones suit single repairs, and the product cures rapidly once opened, so buy for the job in front of you.

How do I stop the nozzle blocking?

Wipe the nozzle clean and replace the cap tightly immediately after use, and store the tube upright in a cool dry place.