Using Gold To Repair Ceramics

As time goes on however you may need to repaint your ceramics to return them to their original luster.

Using gold to repair ceramics.

This tradition known as kintsugi meaning golden seams or kintsukuroi golden repair is still going strong. Ceramic materials boast high surface energy and wet easily. Although kintsugi repair makes it appear as though the original piece was mended with gold the original process is essentially a form of lacquer art. Japanese kintsukuroi chawan.

Even so you should clean and degrease the surface and use emery paper or sandblasting to do mechanical abrasion of the surface. However there are some fair. Some four or five centuries ago in japan a lavish technique emerged for repairing broken ceramics. Do this right before you are ready to glue the objects together as this mixture cures quickly.

Broken pieces are glued back together using urushi lacquer derived from the sap of the chinese lacquer tree. Ceramic glazes preserve your pottery and tile s coloring and also adds a layer of protection from small scratches. Paint cannot stick to smooth glazed coating. Rather than rejoin ceramic pieces with a camouflaged adhesive the kintsugi technique employs a special tree sap lacquer dusted with powdered gold silver or platinum.

The meaning of kintsugi kintsukuroi gold repair art. Artisans began using lacquer and gold pigment to put shattered vessels back together. Kintsugi 金継ぎ golden joinery also known as kintsukuroi 金繕い golden repair is the japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold silver or platinum a method similar to the maki e technique. Mix the epoxy or super glue if it requires mixing.

The glazed coating presents a problem though. You won t realize your full potential until you go. The final layer of urushi is covered with fine gold powder and then burnished. Kintsugi is the japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold a metaphor for embracing your flaws and imperfections.

After mixing you have 3 minutes at most after which the adhesive shall have dried. The gold join may seem too obvious compared to almost invisible western repairs. Once completed beautiful seams of gold glint in the conspicuous cracks of ceramic wares giving a one of a kind appearance to each repaired piece. The translation from japanese of kintsugi or kintsukuroi means golden joinery or repair with gold where the gold powder is applied on lacquer.

Of repairing ceramics with lacquer and gold is called gold lacquer repair. If you are using mica powder mix equal parts mica powder and epoxy resin on scrap paper. Some refer to it as kintsugi art with a metaphor of kintsugi life re birth or wabi sabi philosophy. This is a traditional japanese technique of repairing ceramics.

Glue your ceramics together.