That is truly great! Now I'll have something to show others when they ask "Can I use this, that?" A testimonial of sorts.

I use GEII exclusively. It came on sale a couple of weeks ago and I went to the store and bought them out. Got a funny look from the clerk, but I'm used to funny looks from folks since I discovered curb diving, dumpster diving, etc. :)

I have a statue of St. Francis of Assissi in the gardens. The head was broken when I bought it three years ago, and I glued it with GEII. It's been knocked over by the deers twice, but the head is still holding after three years!

Thankyou for sharing that sorrowful tale!

WOW Wench that is a real horror story. How sad to have to watch all your pretty work melt away. Thanks for sharing this.

I do have a grout question. If I get your story right . Your regular sanded grout lasted through the winters until the under mastic layer failed? Right? So a grouted piece with GE11 used as the glue for tiles might stand a chance of holding up? We get as low ar 25 below sometimes many feet of snow most times.

I ask because I would love to mosaic a washing machine tub and was considering just GE11 the tiles on and no grout since I can not bring the tub inside in the winter or move it to cover easily. Grout would be wonderful and I could cover with a tarp in the winter.

Tiffy. Our vet has a statue like that in his exam room and it scared the heck out of our puppy when we took him up there for his shots. A month later for neuter he was still scared of the statue. NOT the vet. LOL

Thanks Chris

wench...I used that same stuff when I did my first ball and it held up for a few years (Im in Washington so pretty mild weather) then did EXACTLY the same thing. I still have it outside but am afraid to move it as I haven't made another one yet!!! Live and learn!!! I had made a few other outside things with it that were gifts they probably are ruined by now!!!

Loved the tutorial! Especially the "motto"! I'm probably more of a "horrible warning" person more often than a "good example"! My very first mosaic was a blue glass bottle broken and put onto a bowling ball with the same adhesive that we had used tiling our entry. Then used the same indoor grout, and didn't seal it. Don't think that would have mattered. Bad part was, that where the glass fell off, it was very sharp! Hadn't yet turned my ice cream machine into a tumbler yet! Yes, live and learn! Now love GEII! Jennie

Is this premixed grout and adhesive the same as premixed thinset? I was just searching another forum elsewhere and they said the premixed thinset is fine to use outside. Can you use premixed thinset for outdoor use on stepping stones and flower pots? I usually use the big bags of mix it yourself thinset but I've been asked to demo my method and I was hoping to use a premixed thinset so to shorten the demo time.

The pre-mixed grout and adhesive that I used was NOT thinset. It was NOT a cement like product. I'm glad you are all benefiting from my little page. It seemed so obvious when I went outside and saw that lump on the ball . . . .

Shades, I have bowling balls outside that were done with silicone and grout and have held up just fine. Don't see why your washer drum wouldn't fare as well.

Thanks for the response. I'm heading to Lowes to stare at the product they carry today. I know better than to get advice from big box home improvement store clerks as often they are so very wrong about what I should use.

I once needed a solvent to remove carpet glue but not damage the underlying fiberglass. Asked clerk for suggestion with my parameters, he handed me a bottle. I read bottle...It said 'Do Not Use On Fiberglass' right on the back.

Shades, it also depends on how many freeze-thaw cycles you get. Here in SE Michigan we get MANY freeze-thaw cycles during the winter. I take all my stuff and put it in the shed.

thanks for the info wench!!

Maria

I'm in SE Wisconsin so I know freeze and thaw . . boy do I know it.

When people buy my outdoor mosaics I ALWAYS tell them they can get wet and they can get cold but they can't FREEZE. They can extend the life by bringing them in and storing them in a heated space over winter.

WOW --- that brings back visions of my bowling ball that I used liquid nails and globs on. I sat it outside & the globs started popping off like popcorn. Those globs were all over the yard . The neighborhood kids would come over to my yard to find "Jewels" ... LOL
I guess we live & learn . Sorry that happend to you ..all that work !

I have 2 pedestals on my front porch right now that I used liquid nails on,they are falling apart i did them on resin..i will glue back on with the GEII and see what happens,it takes so long to make something it really hurts to walk out one day and see pieces laying on the porch...Thanks Annie

Hey thanks for the warning on the grout and adhesive product. I went both to lowes and Home depot today and when I asked the clerks about premixed thinset in smaller containers both tried to talk me into the grout and adhesive product. I told them your problems with the stuff.

Now the only problem is that the smallest container of premixed thinset I found was 1 gallon. That is way more than I need. I swear when I went and looked at this stuff a few months ago Home depot had smaller containers of it. I have the name of a non big box store to call tomorrow to find hopefully a 1/2 gallon or smaller bucket of the stuff.

p

Bumpety...playing over on page 57 today...I have "orbs" that I bought at WM yesterday on 75% off, and will be making garden balls out of them, and another BB in the closet.
I did use GEII on my first BB...not sure where it is...I think my garden art got left out, and is now covered by 2 feet of snow...guess that'll be my own test.
Thanks for your testimonial!

Can't help but laugh as this same thing happened to my first bb that I used Liquid Nails to attach my flat marbles. It made it through one winter, but by the end of the second winter, the marbles were in a pile on the ground below it. The Liquid nails on the other hand, stayed stuck to the bb (and still is stuck to it). Let me tell you also, that old Liquid Nails on that ball is SHARP and does not want to come off. The ball is sitting in my work area waiting for me to come up with a solution to cover it without trying to remove the Liquid Nails!

I still think the plastic material that BB's are made of is mainly the source of problems.

From a website on BB care:
"Store your ball as close to room temperature as possible. Avoid extremes of hot or cold whenever possible. Changes in temperature cause expansion and contraction, which, while they may not immediately harm your ball, will put stress on it over time"

Before I found this site that is so full of inspiration and help and all, I put tile on a terra cotta pot with weldbond...watched it fall off piece by piece througout the summer......lesson learned.

LOL Bama, that was the death of my red ball. It had been my league ball for several winters and out of shear laziness I used to keep it in the hatchback of my subaru. It would be SO COLD on bowling night! LOL So you know that was a miajor contributer to it's failure as a garden orb