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Looking for the best glue to use for placing river rocks on painted stretched canvas? Since the rocks have a little weight, I want something that can hold them as the finished product will hang on a wall. I don't want to use a glue gun as I want something VERY strong. Thanks

Joachim
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Debra
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  • Thinking maybe in the glue E6000 range. A superglue variant, or Gorilla Glue/Gorilla Glue Superglue. – Lyssagal May 10 '20 at 17:00
  • Thanks, I have both so will give them a try!!! – Debra May 10 '20 at 17:31
  • I would recommend a superglue that does not expand on drying, the way Gorilla Glue does. – Buzz May 10 '20 at 19:12
  • Does this answer your question? What kind of glue works for stones and shells? – Elmy May 11 '20 at 06:41
  • @Elmy, some of the adhesives mentioned there should work by coincidence, but gluing shells and stones together is very different from gluing stones to canvas. I wouldn't expect some of the adhesives mentioned there to work for this application, so it would be dangerous to rely on that thread for this question. – fixer1234 May 11 '20 at 08:29
  • @fixer1234 We have a lot of question like "How to glue stones and/or shells to something", but I have to admit that we have no 100% duplicate. The question I linked to has the most different answers, so I think it could suffice. I'd like to let the community decide if it's actually duplicate or not. – Elmy May 11 '20 at 08:49
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    There is an answer at the suggested duplicate addressing gluing stones to heavy paper, but the question asked does not really reflect it, and I don't want to mess with the intention of the author. I vote to keep this open. – Joachim May 11 '20 at 09:52
  • What kind of paint is used on the canvas and how thick is it applied? As fixer1234 mentions in his answer, it is best to glue the stones to the canvas itself. – Joachim May 11 '20 at 10:03
  • @fixer1234 I'm not sure I agree with the addition of the [safety] tag here, as it seems to be a byproduct rather than a driving force behind the question. – Joachim Jul 31 '20 at 21:24
  • @Joachim, we have a bunch of questions about gluing shells and pebbles. This was the only one about gluing heavy rocks and then hanging it on the wall. I see your point about safety not being the motive for the question. I saw that more as a relevant factor for answerers. The adhesive isn't just about keeping the art intact; there are also risks of heavy stones falling off the wall, which frames the requirements for the adhesive. I thought it was an appropriate tag (it was a consideration when I answered), but if you strongly disagree, feel free to delete it. – fixer1234 Jul 31 '20 at 22:21
  • @fixer1234 I agree that it is important, but - in addition to my former reservation - it seems to me that if it was a consideration for the OP, they would have added it. Of course it can be negligence, but we can't know that for sure. – Joachim Aug 03 '20 at 15:27

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There are really two aspects to gluing the stones. One is the glue. The materials (canvas and stone) are different in almost every way and the canvas is not really a rigid surface, so you will get the most reliable, long-term attachment with a glue that remains flexible and adheres to both kinds of surfaces. E6000, as suggested by Lyssagal, was the first glue that came to my mind, also. Regular superglue is brittle and not good for attaching to fabric. There is a variant that contains rubber particles and is also much more viscous that remains more flexible and might work. Silicone adhesive is another that might work. Gorilla glue will also work, but as Buzz notes in a comment, use the type that doesn't expand.

Note though, that if you are gluing to dried paint rather than canvas, some glues may not adhere to it well (the surface texture provides more bonding area, but the glue may not bond well with the paint).

A second problem is that no matter how well the glue bonds with the paint, the stones will be only as secure as the attachment of the paint to the canvas. Even if the glue bonds with the paint, the stones may eventually fall off with the paint firmly attached to them. If you want a reliable bond, you need to glue the stones to the canvas, itself.

The best solution would be to sketch the design on the bare canvas to identify the stone locations, then glue the stones to the canvas before you paint. If painting is already completed, I would suggest creating glue areas for the stones.

Position a stone where it will be glued, then draw an outline on the painted canvas smaller than the stone so it will be completely hidden. Within that outline, remove as much paint as you can. How you do that will depend on the type of paint, how thick it is, and how recently it was applied. After removing as much paint as you can, it might help to scuff the surface within the outline to expose some bare canvas (use a cutout template to protect the paint outside the outline).

But if you are gluing a lot of heavy stones, that kind of weight might cause the canvas to stretch more over time and start to sag. I would be tempted to glue something rigid to the back of the canvas (like Masonite, thin plywood, or even thick corrugated cardboard), the full size of the stretcher frame opening.

fixer1234
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