Hello,

Would anyone know where I can get a Corian repair kit and instructions on how to repair the crack in my counter? I would like to repair it myself.

Thankyou.

Corianman

I realize that this answer is to over a year old question. But since it still comes up on a search I just wanted to add my 2 cents for the readers. I am retired now and have no affiliations with DuPont.
I was one of the first sets of fabricators to go through the DuPont certification process and spent over 25 years fabricating this wonderful Product. I also taught at the DuPont school in PA. as a Fabricator Instructor for several Years and My Fab shop was the first authorized repair shop in the MD, Northern Va, and DC area for many years.
The Corian product should always be repaired by an authorized repair representative for the correct repair that will last as well as comply with the 10 year warranty that was offered by the DuPont company. Cyanoacrylate Adhesive (Brand name Super Glue) were never recommended by DuPont as an acceptable adhesive for repair or fabrication work. The acrylic monomers that you need to bond the material were controlled and never sold to consumers directly. This is why you need to use a pro. Also Counters crack for a reason and that reason has to be determined and corrected if needed for any repair to be effective. As Wags stated this is done once the reason for cracking has been corrected by cutting with routers and sometimes specialized templates and replacing the damaged area with another hopefully mating piece of Corian which you should have been supplied with at the time of the original installation. If you were going to do anything yourself and are extremely hands on and handy it would be for a crack situation to stop the crack from spreading. Drilling or preferably routing a small hole at the very end of the crack has been effective in doing that in my experience while waiting for someone to come out. If in a pinch you are out od warranty and don't want to spend the money for a proper repair this might be an alternative and filling that hole and the crack with epoxy might give you some more time. This is not by the way recommended by DuPont but is a real life solution offered by me as a last resort. You can buy some acrylic or poly monomers ( adhesives) usually two part that can be tinted and will get hard enough to fill an area . Not the most attractive but certainly a better solution than using Superglue. Wags posts are correct. Info for Corian used to be at the 1-800-4-CORIAN and I suspect still is or contact a local Distributor for help.

CORIANMAN

thumsup

Greeting,

This is a very interesting thread. The back and forth, pros and cons. Are good and should
be considered. But, this is all good for "Warranty" applications. What about the DIY'er, who has a full blown wood shop and a need to work with corian scrapes for craft projects?
I carved a 1/2" piece with a carvewright cnc machine, turned out very nice. So, where can I find adhesive for this product?

Joe

Corianman

Hey Joe...great name for a song....sorry.
The adhesive that DuPont sells and matches to their colors is an acrylic
2 part adhesive and is sold only by a Distributor of the DuPont Corian Brand
in Your area. Easy to find with a google or Phone book as there is usually only one
in each Market. Unfortunately they will only sell to Fabrication shops that have went through the Certification process which involves commitments and schooling and not an "Afternoon" like some other BELIKEME brands. These days Corian has seen
it's heyday however still very popular in certain markets for bathroom use Granite has surely taken a bite out of many successful shops in the last 5 years. That said there may be someone who is a certified fabricator willing to sell you some adhesive if they know just what you plan to do with it...ie "NOT fabricate Tops or other items involving a DuPont Warranty. Likewise you may be able to purchase other products whose Manufacturers and Distributors don't have such stringent rules may "work" and bond acrylic sheet even though not recommended by DuPont. Super glues are used to tack Solid Surface however NOT permanently bond them and are no good for what you want. Other adhesives like Polyester and epoxy may be strong enough for your needs but I recommend trying to find an acrylic substitute. You may try other brands 'LIKEME" Brands or perhaps an acrylic sheet distributer Lexan, Plexiglass to see if they will sell you a suitable substitute even though the chance of any color matching is slim. Not what you wanted to hear but hope that helps.

CORIANMAN

thumsup

Thanks Corianman, the "facts nothing but the facts", lol Your reply is very helpful.
Now I know where to start.

Joe

kidolph

The facts just the facts

I haven't had time to answer lately but Corianman's answer just needs to be rectified.

Corian just celibrated its 40th birthday. That means that there was a lot of development between the time that it was invented and when Corianman went to school.

When the Corian group took Corian to the duPont Laboratories, they determined that Cyanoacrylate would be the best adhesive for Corian. It tested the best in the laboratory. In the field however the results were spotty. Since they were trying to produce something reproducible and standard, they next used 100% Silicone not as an adhesive but as a seam filler while they sought a permanent solution. They settled on the best two part epoxy they could find. I believe they produced it or its components at the time. An amateur came up with using Corian dust to tint the product. They developed a better tinting process.

By cyanoacrylate adhesive I am refering to pure industrial grade CA. It has improved over the last 40 years. In fact the one we sell is used by the aircraft industry to bond metals where welding is not advisable. CA is not what you belive it is. The things that made results spotty in the 60's were: time. humidity joint tightness and acid content. No CA fully cures in less than 24 hours. If the object adhered is given a sudden impact in that time the bonding stops at whatever level it has achieved. If the relative humidity is below 35% the bond may not be waterproof and will be brittle. CA is an anarobic adhesive and requires a very tight fit to bond properly. If acids are present when applied, say from cleaning products, CA will not bond. And more is not better.

The duPont seam adhesive has a bond strength of about 800 PSI, high grade CA about 1400 PSI The one we sell is 3,500 PSI. It is not unusual for the clamps to fall off as CA bonds Corian. We are also authorized to sell duPont seam adhesive to the public.

What gives me the authority to say this? When we were set up as a distributor of Corian for non-traditional uses over 16 years ago, I had access to all of the duPont Corian engineers including Dr. Slocum the inventor. We needed to know more about Corian than your every day countertop guy in order to help our customer develop products using its unusual properties. Since that time, our testing and experience has brought a wealth of knowledge not particularly useful in countertops. I will not advertise my company on this forum I consider that to be unethical.

Our countertop repair system has been used by over 2,000 amateurs with 5 known failures. Two of which I cannot explain. Nothing in precludes someone from having a professional repair made later if they are unhappy. Our bonding material has been used by many individuals and industries for home use and industrial applications.

Lastly to Corianman, you are right about the phone number. Though it is not advertised as much, it still works. Call it and ask Sandy to put you through to Mr Corian (private joke). I will be happy to talk to you.