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Chips in faux stone fireplace - what binder? How?

7 years ago

Hi there,

I have learned so much simply from lurking here that I hope someone can help me with a fireplace repair problem.

We have a 1960s ranch with the obligatory faux stone fireplace. The (veneer) stones are very rustic, with different sizes and shapes and with lots of crevices. They are colored in four different shades of brown, black, tan and red that blend and overlap. Many of the stones have small chips so that the gray concrete, rather than the pigmented top layer shows. I would like to fix the more visible chips.

I have the pigments from the original manufacturer and copied instruction sheet: we are to mix the pigment with the binder (which looks like Elmer's glue) in a cup and use a brush to apply the color. This does not work - the pigment does not stay suspended in the binder but drops to the bottom. The mix also dries very quickly. If I want to patch even a small section, I have to work with all 4 pigment mixes in multiple different concentrations at the same time. By the time I am done mixing, the first color already has the pigment collecting on the bottom and is dry. Also, if I invest all the time to color match, I first want to fill some of the chips. For that I need something like putty or filler material, not a liquid binder.

Does anybody have a suggestion for a better binder that makes this more like working with paint? A recommendation for an easy to use filler or spackle for faux stone? A link to an instruction video? I really need some help ;-)

Many thanks!

(I do not know the manufacturer of the repair kit because our mason gave it to us 8 years ago. The brand of the stone appears to be CVS but I cannot find anything online).

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Comments (3)

User
7 years ago
Sounds to me the repair kit is out of date and no longer works. Take the box the kit came in and go to a fireplace shop. Maybe they know what brand it is, or can help you with another product.
PRO
ACCENT MASONRY LLC
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Yes this is why I encourage all my clients to steer clear of faux stone. It looses its color in the sun, chips very easily exposing concrete and cannot be pressure washed clean. To hide chips in faux stone i dye my mud with a matching color which acts as the filler and binder. I buy the dye from my local stone yard comes in multiple shades of every color. You can use type s or m masonry mud . Besides that there's not much else you can do besides removing and replacing.
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PRO
Color Craftsmen: Fireplace Makeovers
7 years ago
Two ides for you: Pick up some One Pass at Home Depot. It's an engineered cement. You could add some of your colorant to it if you like. Mix a small quantity with a little water and fill the voids. After it dries you could wipe it down with a damp rag or sand it smooth. Second, get a quart of deep base water based paint. Don't have any colorant added. Mix a small amount of the untinted paint with your pigment until it has enough opacity to cover your patches. Use a small amount of paint on a dry brush to feather colors together.

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