Hello people!
I'm currently buying an hologram I wanted to have
since at least 10 years. I need this hologram, no
question about it. It's "Lucy in a tin hat" by Patrick
Boyd for those who know it. For those who don't, you
can check it here:
http://www.pipo.com/guillermito/holomuseum/lucy.html
Anyway. There are very few copies around. The only one
in my price range is one with a broken corner. I could
just hide this corner in a special frame, but I would
prefer to put it back, especially because there's a
small part of the subject on this corner, it's not
just plain background (of course, it depends on the
angle you look at it, we all know that a small piece
of an hologram contains the entire subject).
That was a long story, but the question is short: do
you know any good glue with a refraction index similar
to glass, that could be used to put back the small
piece with almost no noticeable optical effect?
Thanks,
Guillermito
http://www.guillermito.net/holomuseum
How to repair a broken hologram on glass?
-
Colin Kaminski
How to repair a broken hologram on glass?
I have used Norland to repair broken glass but never a hologram. It is UV cured but it only takes about 15 minutes in the sun. If you have the broken peice then it will work pretty well. I would do it emulsion side up on a waxed piece of glass as a alignment jig. To keep the hologram from being glued to the glass, place the wax paper in between the hologram and the glass. Align everything perfectly and clean up any excess glue inside the shop. When you are happy everything is perfect walk in to the sun with it. I have reglued broken pieces of handblown glass this way. The line is invisible as long as there is sufficient glue and the alignment is perfect.
There are three problems you will have to solve before you risk the hologram.
1. Any mis-alignment will be very noticable.
2. Figure out how to clean up the glue squeeze-out off the front side.
3. Figure out how to clean up the glue on the emulsion side.
When I have used this method on handblown glass I am able to clean all showing surfaces before exposure to the sun. I would practice on some scrap holograms before you risk such a beauty. If you need some, I have lots of holograms that can be broken.
I got my last bottle from http://www.thorlabs.com.
There are three problems you will have to solve before you risk the hologram.
1. Any mis-alignment will be very noticable.
2. Figure out how to clean up the glue squeeze-out off the front side.
3. Figure out how to clean up the glue on the emulsion side.
When I have used this method on handblown glass I am able to clean all showing surfaces before exposure to the sun. I would practice on some scrap holograms before you risk such a beauty. If you need some, I have lots of holograms that can be broken.
I got my last bottle from http://www.thorlabs.com.
-
Tom B.
How to repair a broken hologram on glass?
UV optical cement sounds good - the data sheets on Norland's site (http://www.norlandprod.com) provide some curing info. Also check the technical reports there. If using sunlight you will want to carefully mask off the non-cracked area of the hologram to prevent excess heating and UV induced printout (darkening of the image). If it's face down, (black side up) this is less of a problem, but you still have to somehow get UV into the crack. Maybe your dentist would let you use his UV curing wand (for polymer fillings) if you asked nicely? Cured excess on the glass side can be removed with a razor blade. On the emulsion side (probably painted black) you don't care since you won't see it Edmund optics (edmundoptics.com) also sells Norland's stuff.
Cyanoacrylate (Krazy Glue) might also be worth considering since it would avoid UV. Don't know how good the index matching would be or how well it would bond compared to Norland. Colin's advice to practice on holograms (or glass plates) that you don't care about is good.
Cyanoacrylate (Krazy Glue) might also be worth considering since it would avoid UV. Don't know how good the index matching would be or how well it would bond compared to Norland. Colin's advice to practice on holograms (or glass plates) that you don't care about is good.
-
Guillermito
How to repair a broken hologram on glass?
Thanks to both of you for your quick responses.
I didn't know this product, will probably order it.
The most difficult thing to find in Boston will be
sunlight but we have plenty of handheld UV lamps in
biology labs (to make DNA fluorescent with ethidium
bromide). I will probably train with some old
unexposed holography glass plates I have. I would
never ever break an hologram for that purpose, even
a bad one!
Maybe I can expose one plate on normal light, with
some object on top of it to have at least something on
the plate (in negative), develop it, and than break
it. My main concern was actually the effect of any
glue or cement on the emulsion. I would not like to
dissolve it
Thanks again, and keep up the good work, it's a
pleasure to read here even if we don't participate!
Guillermito
http://www.guillermito.net/holomuseum
I didn't know this product, will probably order it.
The most difficult thing to find in Boston will be
sunlight but we have plenty of handheld UV lamps in
biology labs (to make DNA fluorescent with ethidium
bromide). I will probably train with some old
unexposed holography glass plates I have. I would
never ever break an hologram for that purpose, even
a bad one!
Maybe I can expose one plate on normal light, with
some object on top of it to have at least something on
the plate (in negative), develop it, and than break
it. My main concern was actually the effect of any
glue or cement on the emulsion. I would not like to
dissolve it
Thanks again, and keep up the good work, it's a
pleasure to read here even if we don't participate!
Guillermito
http://www.guillermito.net/holomuseum