It’s almost unfair how the most beautiful things in life tend to be the most fragile and easily breakable. Porcelain is no exception. There are a number of ways that it can be broken, both by human fault and by accident, though neither option is particularly preferable, as both leave you with shards of sharp, broken material devoid of the delicate beauty characteristic of the original piece.
How Might Porcelain Break?
As mentioned above, there are a number of ways in which a porcelain masterpiece might be reduced to a pile of seemingly worthless and hopeless rubble. Many of these can happen in an instant in which you least expect it. This might happen while you are washing a porcelain dish by hand; many dishes have been known to be reduced to shards from the unhappy combination of dish soap and water. Other works of art, like porcelain dolls, have been split in two or more pieces by the natural folly and play of children. Children do not have the stability and ease of muscle control that we experience as adults, which makes sense since they have not been using them for as long as we have been using ours. Wobbly legs are unreliable legs, and if they happen to be carrying a doll made of porcelain when they go down, the doll may not survive the fall.
However, even though the most common and drastic form of damage done to porcelain happens as a result of sudden shock to the piece (whether it is caused by a human or natural causes), porcelain can also accrue damage done to it over a period of time, whether it be days, months, or even years of being improperly cared for.
How Can I Restore Porcelain after It has Been Damaged?
Damaged porcelain is nearly impossible to fix on your own, as any fearful child with a fear of Mom and a bottle of glue can tell you. It takes patience and knowledge about all types of porcelain, as well as the proper expertise and materials. It is almost always better to turn to a professional if you want your porcelain repaired correctly. Chances are, no matter how badly it is damaged, a proper porcelain restoration company will be able to help bring your plates, bowls, or teacups back to their original and beautiful state.
How is Porcelain Professionally Restored?
Porcelain restoration can be done in one of two ways: visibly and invisibly. Obviously, the latter is the preferable in many situations, especially if the piece you need restored is a national treasure and part of an important museum exhibit, but visible restoration also has its place, especially if the person having the piece restored is unable to pay for a more careful job.
Visible porcelain restoration can be either temporary or permanent. The first is useful in situations where you need to keep all of the pieces together and maintain the structural integrity of it until you can afford a permanent reconstruction. Permanent visible restoration is a choice when you don’t mind if it is possible to see where the fault lines in the piece are (maybe if the story of how it broke is a good one!), or if you are unable to afford the pricier invisible porcelain restoration. Invisible porcelain restoration is a process similar to the visible process, with a couple of extra steps added in.
It’s important to carefully consider your choices if you are planning to have your porcelain restored. Not all porcelain restoration companies are the same, and even if the one you choose has a lot of experience, it may not be with the type material you bring to them. Make sure to do your homework before you trust your family heirlooms to any company.
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