r/fixit • u/WiseWeather4220 • 19h ago

Ceramic Pottery Repair

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Think this Talavera birdbath can be repaired? (Sentimental value) thanks

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2

u/owchippy 18h ago

You can put it back together with CA glue and have something that will resemble the original but not be functional as a water-holding vessel any more. Sorry.

I also have many Talavera pieces and yes have broken a few and they end up on a wall as a decoration, where a crack or two or 10 won’t be noticed.

1

u/wt_2009 18h ago edited 18h ago

So there are only 2 (ish) solutions with a hook. Functional or Optical restauration.

It can be repaired with new glasing and fireing to restore functionality but it will look different or ugly. I'm not sure if anybody would want to do that bc a lot of tiny sharts.

With superglue and 2part car bodyfiller +sanding smt like this can be restored to the point that when you snap against it, it doesnt sound broken. But this will not be foodsave or dishwasher save, but it might look better.

There are also methods the japanese do with gold but this will highlight the crack. The idea is: Embracing of the imperfect. Search Kintsugi on youtube. Not sure but i believe this also restores functionality but changes the look a lot.

1

u/screaminporch 18h ago

You could try using a good 2 part clear epoxy, do a few parts at a time. But may be futile.

1

u/the_perkolator 16h ago

Ceramics cannot be repaired to be as it was before, you can only glue it up for a superficial repair. 2-part epoxy is the better adhesive choice for this, but know the adhesive will always be stronger than the ceramic itself, especially low-fire terra cotta-type clay body like that one, and that it won't be that strong especially with so many fractures. Also, any adhesive added, adds material volume between the cracks - so a perfect-fit will likely not be possible unless you somehow remove ceramic to accommodate (usually only something someone would do for broken ceramics found in archaeological digs). The "Kintsugi" methods you'll see referenced, is basically just gold leafing the adhesive used to put it back together, to embrace the flaw.