Greetings,
We get a lot of emails regarding home restoration of china and ceramic. Although we don’t recommend that you attempt to glue the broken pieces yourself — it never looks as good as you would expect it to and it creates more work for a professional restorer (and more money for you). However, the times are hard. So if you want to try glue the broken pieces yourself, below are a few pointers.
1. Organize the pieces. See how they fit together. If it’s a simple, clean break you’re okay. But what if you got five, ten or more pieces. If you glue them out of order, the last piece or two will not fit.
2. Do not apply glue with a cotton swab or a piece of paper towel. Use a small brush or a thin wooden applicator. A toothpick will do the trick too.
3. Quickly connect the pieces of the plate or figurine, and hold it in place for a few seconds. Repeat the steps until the entire item is cleanly assembled.
4. Place the glued item in a box or large bowl filled with uncooked rice. That will hold the item balanced until it dries fully.
5. The glued item should be drying for at least sixty to ninety minutes. When you remove it from the positioning bowl, none of the pieces should move. If they do, place the item back in the bowl.
6. The final step is to wipe away excess glue. Use a very sharp knife or razor blade and move along the connection edge. Then take a piece of lightly moist paper towl and slide it along the connection/groove. That will get rid of excess glue.
Professional invisible restoration precludes practical use because aside from gluing and bonding, there are many other steps involved, such as matching and replicating the color and design, airbrushing and glazing. If you only glue an item — a plate or vase — and want to use it for practical purposes, you can. But keep in mind that the glue is toxic, so we strongly recommend using the glued dish or vase for dry food only.
Luel Restoration Studio specializes in professional, invisible repair of china, ceramic, terra cotta, majolica, plaster and glass.
Visit us at www.luelstudio.com
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