ceramic repair close by?

krnie · September 2007

My favorite mug appears to have cracked at the join between the handle and the cup, and I really want to keep it. Does anyone know if ceramic can be fixed, and if so, where I might go that's local?

fruitbat · September 2007

I broke my favorite bowl once (cinnamon fell off the spice rack and chipped it), and a professor of mine who is an art conservator recommended fixing it myself using hardware-store epoxy (the kind that come in two tubes, which you mix together yourself).

He recommended squeezing out a bit of the epoxy onto a scrap of tinfoil, mixing thoroughly with a toothpick, and spreading lightly on both broken surfaces using a fresh toothpick. Press the broken bits back together again, wipe off any excess epoxy which comes squooshing out of the break with a q-tip, and leave in such a way that gravity isn't working against you (ie, put something under the handle to prop it up). Then leave your mug alone for 24 hours, and you should be good to go!

I'd ask someone at the hardware store to recommend the correct epoxy, and then double-check the directions, but hopefully this is a simple repair you can do yourself!

Good luck!

brooklynpotter · September 2007

i'd try to see if i could find an identical mug on ebay.

once you glue it with good epoxy, you can't put it in the dishwasher. plus, the heat from what's inside the mug could possibly compromise the places you've joined, and i don't know that you want the glue to fail while you're holding it.

sorry. i guess i'd be the expert here and there's not much you can do. but it would likely make a wonderful pencil holder.

fruitbat · September 2007

good call, brooklyn potter--come to think of it, the bowl my teacher recommended epoxy for was decorative and not dishwasherable. Thanks for setting things straight!

brooklynpotter · September 2007

not a prob. it's rare i get to be an "expert"... love your avatar

ceramic repair close by?

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