Prevention on cracking bubbles?

All, i have a potf yoda that the crack is now spreading. What can i do to prent it from spredding further?

I'm not aware of anything you can do. I'd recommend cutting very fine pieces of tape and using it to take the stress of the crack. I'm know some frown on that but the alternative is a destroyed bubble

I agree with Richard, I can't see what else you can do.

I agree that tape might be your friend here, but it can also be quite ugly. And of course, it also leaves a sticky residue which might well be hard to remove from the crack in the future. Tape will also usually yellow and become brittle over time, meaning the crack might start spreading again without you realising it. Therefore, if the crack is definitely spreading, and if it were my figure, since the alternative is a destroyed bubble, I would be tempted to try using a very fine bead of superglue or even Araldite at each end of the crack to halt its progress. Depending on how good your join is, that might be enough to hold the bubble together without the crack needing gluing along its entire length (which would almost certainly look crap).

Of course if you did decide to glue it, naturally if you ever came to sell the card, whilst I imagine it would probably be pretty obvious that it had been repaired, nevertheless you should of course fully declare any restorative work carried out on the card. Apologies if this is teaching granny to suck eggs

I don't know what type of plastic the bubbles are made with but would polystyrene cement as used on plastic model kits work? It melts the plastic allowing the two surfaces to bond together.
Maybe test on a loose bubble first if you do try it.

I would get it sent off for U-grading immediately! :lol:

Joking aside it is going to be a tricky fix and although glue would make me nervous maybe as suggested rubber cement might be worth testing out and I do think tape would only dry out over time unless there's some kind of archival tape out there somewhere.

Best of luck with it though, it's probably going to happen to all the bubbles out there at some point.

Ian

I have decided to leave the crack un touched, but now the card is laid flat, rather than upright to take any stress off the bubble, tbh i wouldnt dream of gluing as it would most likely melt the bubble plastic and also make a mess of it.

I did think about tape but again, it could make a horrible mess.

Carl Waterworth said:

I have decided to leave the crack un touched, but now the card is laid flat, rather than upright to take any stress off the bubble, tbh i wouldnt dream of gluing as it would most likely melt the bubble plastic and also make a mess of it.

I did think about tape but again, it could make a horrible mess.

Click to expand...

Good decision!! 8)

Have you thought about using a repro bubble to use just for protection?? I know its not the best fix but there must be some positive uses for repro bubbles.

UHU glue doesn't melt figure bubbles, but it does dry very quickly at room temperature and is relatively difficult to apply a fine bead with, which is why I recommended superglue or Araldite. Neither of those should melt the bubble either, but as with anything like this, I would always recommend testing whatever you were going to use on an old similar bubble first. Of course if you have decided not to fix the bubble after all, then this whole thing becomes irrelevant ;-)

The problem with tape is it goes bad over time. It looks good to start with but yellows eventually, and can be hard to get off a brittle bubble. Personally I would just leave it, if you are concerned about it cracking due to movement maybe put an elastic band around it?

I haven't tried this myself and it may be stupid but how about putting some cling film over it :?:

your not stupid

ive used cling film on my cracked stormie moc

i cut a thin strip of film and i wrapped it around gently around the bubble. sorted

That sounds like a great idea.
It's not permanent and won't leave any trace, brilliant

One option that may help is the bubble protector we offer at CAS. It is a superior product to prior designs, as the protector is attached to the base of the case for more stability, and the protector is also snug (but not too snug) against the bubble to prevent further damage. here is is a pic of it with a Glasslite R2 bubble:



If you're interested, send me a pm here or reach me on Facebook - name is Ross Barr. Thanks.

Yep, if the crack's at the edge of the bubble then cling film does indeed sound like a good idea. If the crack's across the front of it however, you might have more problems :?

When trying to stop cracks ive always gone for drilling holes at the end of each crack though this was not on sw bubbles lol but can be effective, maybe try piercing a hole with a fine syringe at each end of the crack, just a thought though the lying it flat is prob a better option :wink:

I work in the Sign/Print industry. There are many clear tapes out there with many different strengths. DO NOT use glue, yes it will melt bubble and make a right mess! If I was repairing it I would obviously realise the crack will only get bigger and will always be there so a high-tack ultra clear vinyl strip should do the trick. 3M are a very good manufacturer who could send you a sample if you ask them nicely. An easier option might be Scotch tape which once rubbed down is pretty discreet (see screengrab). Any stationery supplier should sell this. Failing that, good old reliable cellotape but use a scalpel knife and do not get finger prints on glue side, use blade of knife to apply neatly. Good luck bud :wink:

Drilling a hole at the end of crack works very well in metal objects as ive seen it done multiple times and the remainder of the crack is then welded in. But in the case of plastic bubbles I don't think it would be the best option :lol:

Thanks for the comments guys, on closer inspection, there are 2 cracks mm apart, as the crack increases it devalues it, so putting celotape will also devalue it, but at least the tape has a chance.of preserving it.