Worktop maintenance

[bullethead123]

Hi all, The kitchen in my new flat is great but there is a problem with a raised joint seam near the sink. If you expand the pic you'll see it.
What's the best way to protect from more damage through further water ingress?
My first thought was to mix up some clear epoxy and 'seal' with that but does anyone have a better idea?

 

[DiyNutJob]

Are you talking about the joint between the wood effect and marble effect? If that's the case, it's curious why that isn't the center of the picture.

If epoxy works, I don't see why not. I would normally fill cracks or unwanted seams with hybrid polymer sealant. They come in clear as well. You can use masking tape to limit where the sealant goes.

 

[Mike13]

I would have thought that a flixible sealant would be better than a stiff epoxy, but if you shop around carefully there are some bubble pack flexible epoxies available from hardmann etc.

 

[bullethead123]

No. The problem is where the 2 pieces of worktop are jointed. Perhaps this enlarged picture is more clear.

 

[Mike13]

you still need a bit of flexibility in whatever you use, the two panels get loaded differently and attempt to move vertically.

 

[bullethead123]

Thanks Mike. I get your point about flexibility. I imagine that, in time, a stiff epoxy 'seal' would detatch itself from one or other of the pieces of worktop and thus trap water near to the faulty joint which would only exacerbate the problem.
You mention Hardmann as a source for flexible epoxies. I google the name but nothing comes up.
Can I ask which flexible epoxy you would use in this circumstance and could you post a link to it?

 

[Odds]

You could try one of those flexible strips to seal the edge and make it tidy.

 

[Mike13]

https://www.ellsworth.com/globalassets/literature-library/manufacturer/hardman/hardman-selector-guide---double-bubble-high-performance-adhesives.pdf

look for the high peel strength, #04007 bottom right of page, I used it in a work situation a while ago, but seems harder to get hold of in small quantities now