Costume Jewelry Repair Tools

Will someone comment /advise on the basic tools and proper glue to use to clean and repair vintage rhinestone jewelry.

 

This restore and repair costume jewellery Facebook group has comprehensive instructions and so much information in their units. Well worth reading though them all . Click on Files at the top.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/436623289881629

 

https://www.craftsy.com/post/tools-every-jewelry-maker-needs/#

 

Needle nosed pliers for a start. Paperclips, msaking tape, acetone.

 

Calling @kyratango

 

Make sure the pliers DO NOT have teeth!

 

Hypocement, which is not cement but a very thin glue with an equally thin hollow application needle. Perfect for gluing tiny rhinestones.

A sticky bead mat. If you use that as your work mat your 'stones' and beads won't roll all over the place. The sticky stuff won't leave a residue on your stones, it just holds them in place.

A sticky stylus (forgot the correct term). You stick the stone on the end to glue it into a mount. That way you make sure it won't end up upside down in the mount. Again, the sticky stuff won't leave a residue.

I also use a simple ruler as a barrier, to keep small stuff from falling off my desk. Cheap and cheerful.

I still have no solution for my butterfingers, which will send any jewellery part flying into orbit, never to be found again. I am a great contributor to space debris.

Oh, and kyratango of course.

My launched jewellery components:

 

I use a little metal rod with an indent which I've had for years to set stones sometimes. It comes with a wax pad. Tweezers are very handy, so are matchsticks if you can't get a setting rod.

Good light.

 

Thank you -- that is the kind of info I need. I am not looking to make jewelry but I have quite a few collected and acquired pieces that are in need of repair and I am terrified of improperly cleaning or glueing and ruining something. That sticky stylus is something I read about sometime ago but have not been able to find anything like it in my online searches. If I can get past proper cleaning and glueing I can get going. (I "washed' a rhinestone brooch years ago and the rhinestones fell out!). Now I know what to look for, but I am afraid to jump in to maintenance and repair.

 

Start with a cheap piece, one that you don't mind messing up. Maybe a broken piece that is beyond proper repair, but which you can practice gluing etc on. As you get more experience, you will become more confident.
Good luck!

 

How do you use the acetone?

 

You can use acetone to soak off and harvest rhinestones and also to remove old glue.

 

Agree with all that was said above
Just add I never use glue directly from the container... Even hypocement
I pour tiny amount of glue on a piece of tin foil, pic some with a sharp wooden toothpick to apply precisely only on needed area!
Some assortment of rhinestones are mandatory too

 

Buy the GS Hypo cement from a good retailer as there is fake stuff out there. It must have a serial number stamped on the crimp.

 

I'm still a supporter of the deep freeze. allows you to look if there's enough beer around in the fridge at the same time...

 

For the sticky stylus, search rhinestone pen, jewel picker, wax picker pen.

 

Matchsticks can work as picker uppers, too.