Repairing your Mova Globe

Following advice I found on the web, I wanted to add detail on repairing a Mova Globe that was beginning to fail due to fluid loss.

I purchased my globe 3 years ago, and a few months back, noticed an air bubble forming on the top. It steadily grew over the months,
and towards the end, I noted the globe began to struggle spinning. I really like this globe, I purchased it during a wonderful vacation,
so it brings back good memories to me. I researched sending it back, repair, etc, which wasn't inexpensive or easy during COVID, so I wanted to repair this globe in my home and give it a new lease on life.

Searching on the web, I found a courteous poster that shared his procedure, which I used, and am very happy with. I wanted to share further with additional specific details in the hope that it inspires others' to keep their globes going.

I'll start by saying my craft skills are average, and many of you will probably do a better job than I.

First, the supplies, I ordered mine via Amazon: A hand drill, syringe, Goop glue, and mineral spirits. About $40 total.

Finally, I don't work for Mova. I am sharing this advice freely in that it can be helpful to you, but I cannot be responsible for how these steps ultimately work on your end.

Hand drill, I used the 1.5 size as measured on the provided scale. Notably the drill comes with a foam insert, and I used it to limit the drill's travel,
so that it would create a hole in the globe surface, but not go so far as to potentially damage the inner spinning globe. Drilling was fairly easy, about 1 minute.

Mineral Spirits fluid to re-fill your globe. I used about 25% of the bottle for the loss in my six inch globe (imaged further below).

This syringe worked perfectly. My order came as a five pack.

The goop to seal the drill hole. I used painters tape to limit the amount of glue that spilled beyond the drill hole.
I also let the first coat dry and applied a bit more.

Here is the six inch globe before the repair procedure with a sizeable loss of fluid.

And the final result. Given my average craft skills, I can see a very tiny bubble and a tiny spot where the drill hole happened, but only upon close inspection.
In general, the globe now sits on my desk, spinning happily, and the memory of my vacation from whence I purchased it is well restored.

One final note, I completed this about a week ago, and so far so good. I'm not clear on the root cause of the fluid loss, and it may be
that over months this may happen again over time, but it will now be easier to re-fill it given the hole is drilled and sealed by glue, and that I have all the supplies
needed with a workable procedure.

My plan then, is to keep it spinning.

© 2021 John Miranda