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Crack Through a Mangiarotti Marble Coffee Table, Repaired in Tribeca

A mid-century Angelo Mangiarotti coffee table in black Nero Marquina marble, about 34 inches and round-ish, with a crack running completely through the slab. The crack started at the edge and went about 7 inches into the top. The owner asked me two things: the price, and what the process is. I filled the crack from top to bottom with black flowing epoxy and polished along the line. Then I re-polished the whole top so it looks uniform. The work was done at the owner’s home in Tribeca, Lower Manhattan, New York, NY 10013. It took one visit, about 6 hours, and the table didn’t have to be moved out.

Before and after of a black Nero Marquina marble Mangiarotti coffee table with two round cutouts, scratched and dull on the left, polished and shiny on the right — *Before and after. Left, the top scratched and dull. Right, the same top after the crack repair and the full re-polish. The crack is too thin to see at this size, the close-up below shows it.*

A crack that goes all the way through the slab

From across the room the top looked whole. Up close the crack was a thin dark line with a small gap, running from the edge toward the middle. On the edge it showed as a short line down the side, through the whole thickness of the stone. The owner wrote it twice: the crack goes all the way through the slab. That changes how the crack has to be filled.

Close-up of a crack in a black marble table top running from the rounded edge into the slab, fine scratches and white veins around it — *Before. The crack starts at the edge and runs about 7 inches into the top. The fine scratches all around it are the wear the full re-polish took out.*

The rest of the top was worn: fine scratches everywhere, dull spots and white etch marks, and the shine gone in most places. That has nothing to do with the crack. But polishing only along the crack line would have left a shiny strip on a dull top, so the owner chose to re-polish the entire top too.

Black Nero Marquina marble mid-century coffee table with two round inset discs, the top covered in fine scratches and white dull spots — *Before. The whole top, scratched and dull, with white etch marks. The crack is at the far edge, too thin to see from here.*

Flowing epoxy, not paste

A crack in stone can be filled two ways. A thick epoxy paste gets pressed in from the top. It closes the line you see, but it only goes into the top part of the crack, and the slab under it stays open. That fill is weak, because very little holds the two sides together.

Flowing (liquid) epoxy is thin when it goes in. It runs down into the crack and fills most of it, top to bottom, so the two sides are held together through the whole thickness. For a crack that goes all the way through, that is the strongest fill. On this table the epoxy came out on the underside, which is how I know it went all the way down.

Underside of a black marble table top with black epoxy beads along a crack line where the flowing epoxy came through — *The underside of the top, shot from below with the table standing. The black flowing epoxy came through the crack from above and filled it to the bottom.*

The work was:

cleaning out the crack, as deep as reachable
filling the crack on the top and on the edge with black flowing epoxy
sanding off the excess epoxy
polishing and buffing along the crack line
re-polishing the entire top to take out the scratches and etches

Marble is softer than granite, so it can be sanded and polished to a shine right next to the crack. On granite the same spot comes out flat but less shiny.

Done in place, nothing moved out

The floor, the rug and the sofa around the table were covered with plastic drop cloths, and I worked on the top right where it stands. The work makes some dust and a smell of epoxy, which is why everything around it gets covered.

Black marble coffee table top wrapped at the edges with plastic sheeting, the room covered with plastic drop cloths during polishing — *During the work. The top being polished in place, with the room around it under plastic.*

What the owner was told, and how it came out

Before any work, the estimate said:

The crack line will be visible, and it can be felt on touch.
The two sides of the crack were uneven, so there can be a small wave on the surface along the line.
The crack may come from tension inside the stone. If that is the cause, it can open again, and there is no guarantee.
A polished strip along the crack line alone would look different from the rest of the top. With the whole top re-polished, it blends in.
The deepest scratches and damage don’t all come out with a re-polish.

On this table it came out better than that. The crack line looks like one more vein in the Nero Marquina and is hard to notice. There is a very small wave along it, and it can’t be felt. Most of the scratches are gone. The estimate gives the limits that can happen, and every crack comes out a little different. The one limit that stays is that the crack can still open again.

Black Nero Marquina marble mid-century coffee table after crack repair and re-polishing, the top shiny and reflecting the windows — *After. The crack filled and polished, and the line now looks like a vein in the stone. The whole top re-polished to an even shine.*

Mid-century tables, the stone part only

I have restored many mid-century tables, Knoll Saarinen and others, like a chipped clear coat on a Saarinen marble table. I work only on the marble or stone part, not on the wood or other parts of the furniture. A black marble top with a crack inside it was filled the same way, with black flowing epoxy and on site, on an oval dining table with an internal crack. A round Nero Portora table had its cracks done too.

Questions people ask about cracked marble tables

Does black marble hide a crack better than white marble?
Yes. On black marble the fill is colored black, and on this Nero Marquina top the line ended up looking like a vein. On white marble the fill is matched to the gray veining, but a line or a patch on white marble always stays visible to some degree. White epoxy looks worse, it stays flat white and shows more.

My marble table top split in two. Can it be fixed?
Yes, the two pieces are glued back together with colored epoxy, then sanded and polished along the line. The glued line can be visible and can be felt on touch. It should be strong for normal use, but it can break again, in the same place or a new one, if it gets hit or extra force is put on it.

Is the repair better if the table is taken away?
Not for a crack like this one. The crack fill and the polishing are the same work at your home. Moving a big marble top back and forth is the easiest way to chip or crack it.

Is a mid-century marble table harder to repair than a new one?
Not because of its age. What makes an older table harder is what was done to it before: old epoxy from an earlier repair, or a clear coat on the top, like on the Saarinen tables.

Can a crack open again in an old table and in a new one too?
Both. A crack can come from tension inside the stone, and a new slab has it too. A filled crack can also open again if it gets hit or extra force is put on it.

If your marble table has a crack, send me a few photos or a short video. Tell me the size of the table, how long the crack is, and whether it goes through to the underside. I’m based in Brooklyn and work all over Manhattan and New York City. Email info@marblerestoration.us.

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