Using Gold To Repair Ceramics

Japanese kintsukuroi chawan.

Using gold to repair ceramics.

This is a traditional japanese technique of repairing ceramics. The glazed coating presents a problem though. 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. Paint cannot stick to smooth glazed coating.

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. Broken pieces are glued back together using urushi lacquer derived from the sap of the chinese lacquer tree. The translation from japanese of kintsugi or kintsukuroi means golden joinery or repair with gold where the gold powder is applied on lacquer. Some refer to it as kintsugi art with a metaphor of kintsugi life re birth or wabi sabi philosophy.

Glue your ceramics together. You won t realize your full potential until you go. If you are using mica powder mix equal parts mica powder and epoxy resin on scrap paper. Artisans began using lacquer and gold pigment to put shattered vessels back together.

Even so you should clean and degrease the surface and use emery paper or sandblasting to do mechanical abrasion of the surface. Do this right before you are ready to glue the objects together as this mixture cures quickly. If you are using liquid gold leaf you will only need the epoxy resin for step 3. As time goes on however you may need to repaint your ceramics to return them to their original luster.

Of repairing ceramics with lacquer and gold is called gold lacquer repair. Some four or five centuries ago in japan a lavish technique emerged for repairing broken ceramics. 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. Ceramic glazes preserve your pottery and tile s coloring and also adds a layer of protection from small scratches.

Kintsugi is the japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold a metaphor for embracing your flaws and imperfections. 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. Mix the epoxy or super glue if it requires mixing. This technique transforms broken ceramic or pottery into beautiful art to it s its new life enhancing the break lines with gold giving the mended broken pottery.

After mixing you have 3 minutes at most after which the adhesive shall have dried. Ceramic materials boast high surface energy and wet easily. The meaning of kintsugi kintsukuroi gold repair art. The final layer of urushi is covered with fine gold powder and then burnished.

However there are some fair.