Improving the process
In front of 200 fabricators, in Carson City, NV, Ron Hannah, owner of Cadenza Granite & Marble in Concord, NC, and a founding member of the Stone Fabricator’s Alliance (SFA), tried out a new product that would change the way he installs sinks. “As fabricators, we are always trying to improve the process,” said Hannah. “We discovered Black Mamba Adhesive while surfing the internet one evening back in June of 2019. We contacted the manufacturer and asked a multitude of questions, including, ‘Does the product actually perform as you claim it does?’ At the conclusion of our conversation, we suggested they send us a sample tube, which we took to James Donaire’s SFA Workshop in Carson City. It was at that workshop where we first demonstrated the product. The success of that demo, coupled with a solid product testimonial from Morris Granite in Illinois, encouraged us to open Hannah Industrial Solutions, Inc. and become the Master Distributor for the USA.”
Black Mamba has a high viscosity or “Hi tack,” and therefore, creates almost a vacuum effect when hanging sinks or lavatory bowls. The product makes hanging sinks an extremely efficient operation. Fabricators just have to clean the opposing surfaces, apply a continuous bead of the MS Polymer Adhesive around the rim of the sink and compress the two together. Count to 10 and it is done.>
When Hannah demonstrates the product at SFA events around the country, he will also use a clamp on the bowl solely to create even pressure around the sink. So why use Black Mamba over other adhesives? “Black Mamba has no solvents, therefore, we don’t experience the chemical ‘bleed’ in marbles or quartzites that we see in other adhesives,” said Hannah. “We as fabricators work so hard to have extremely tight seams with our countertops that when a solvent-based adhesive is used to join countertops, the shadow created from the bleed makes your joint look an inch wide.
“Black Mamba is not affected by humidity, and therefore, the stone does not have to be 100% dry,” Hannah went onto say. “You don’t need to drill holes in your countertop material so you are not compromising the structural integrity or voiding any warranties. There is no need to worry about the location of anchors, as you simply no longer need them.”
Because the product never cures to a brittle state, getting about as hard as a rubber tire, should a sink or bowl have to be removed, the adhesive can simply be cut away using a knife or oscillating saw.
The product doesn’t have to just be used on sinks, however. “We use it for all kinds of things,” said Hannah. “Black Mamba loves dissimilar materials, such as stone to steel, stone to wood, plastic to wood, etc. We are doing a lot of porcelain in the industry right now, and doing a lot of slab shower walls. Normally you would have to apply thin-set, put the panel in place and then screw in a cleat up top to hold it into place until the thin-set cures. Now we can just put two dollops of Black Mamba, do the thin-set as normal, and we know it will hold into place. When doing fireplaces, you deal with a lot of expansion and contraction in the stone when it heats up. If you have an adhesive that cures to a hard state and doesn’t allow that expansion, you end up with a cracked stone. It can be used for slab walls, corner shelves, shower seats, exterior signage — the opportunities are endless. We’ve even repaired our install trucks with it.”
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Jason Kamery is the Managing Editor and Group Digital Editor of Stone World. With more than a decade of experience covering the stone and countertop industry, he has conducted hundreds of interviews with fabricators, manufacturers, and industry leaders, and hosts the Stone World. podcast. He reports from events worldwide, including TISE, Coverings, and Marmomac, and his coverage extends to worker safety and silicosis, trade policy and tariffs, and fabrication technology. Kamery has also served as a speaker and panel moderator at The International Surface Event (TISE). He graduated from Purdue University with a B.A. in Mass Communication.
email: kameryj@bnpmedia.com | office: (248) 833-7356
