From the Freer Gallery of Art collection at the National Museum of Asian Art at the Smithsonian. Be sure to visit the first link below to zoom in on the photos.  

Edo Period Satsuma-Ware Porcelain Jar

• Body: Late Edo period. Kagoshima prefecture, Japan
• Kintsugi: Date unknown
• https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1899.59a-b/
• https://collections.si.edu/search/record/ark:/65665/ye332f481e53da8442b86cde5f77ac23ecc

Has anyone had any experience dismantling ceramics that have been poorly joined with mugi-urushi in the past? If so, what method worked best? The item is old (a Chinese Ming bowl), but reasonably robust. The kintsugi work is very poor and I'd like to redo it.

Copy pasted from my post in r/jewelrymaking after a commenter said y'all might have some suggestion.

>I have a box full of scrap glass from a glass blowing artisan who let me have some, I want to wire wrap them for pendants but first need to take care of the sharp edges. I am not sure if this will be the best sub to ask, but I am hoping for some recommendations on the right files. I know to get diamond but I mean shape and grit, because I want to buy the right set of files the first time. I would give a picture but I am moving in two weeks and the box is currently packed up deeply buried in a moving pod. The scraps are almost entirely smooth and not hollow, they are like roundish dollops that have a sharp part where it was connected to other glass, kind like if you were twisting off a piece of dough making biscuits. Basically I only need to file a straight or pointed edge down until it's flush with the glass dollop, and then I can just polish it. I will ask again later this month with pictures if necessary.

This video demonstrates our complete Kintsugi Gold Effect process, from controlled breakage and bonding through filling, brass powder application, finishing and completion.

Our Gold Effect method uses fine brass powder as an alternative to real gold, creating a rich metallic appearance closely comparable to genuine gold. For those interested in how to do Kintsugi without real gold, or looking for a Kintsugi gold powder alternative, this method provides a more accessible and affordable option while using many of the same basic repair and finishing skills. The same method can also be used with silver, copper and bronze metallic powders.

Materials and Tools Used

The following materials and tools were used to create this Kintsugi Gold Effect vessel:

• Tile cutter (used to create controlled breakage)
• PC-Clear Epoxy (bonding adhesive)
• PC-11 Epoxy (filler)
• Red Mudtools Polymer Rib (for shaping and smoothing the filler)
• Pottery Pin Tool (for detailed filler application)
• Easy Leaf Extra Brilliant Pale Gold #5 Brass Powder (creates the gold effect)
• 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (surface cleaning)

Choosing a Metallic Powder

While this demonstration uses Easy Leaf Extra Brilliant Pale Gold #5 Brass Powder, it is only one of many metallic powders available. Easy Leaf offers a wide selection of brass, gold, copper, bronze, and silver powders in different shades and particle sizes, allowing artists and restorers to achieve a variety of finishes and complement the ceramic object being repaired.

Safety

If your hands may come into contact with uncured epoxy, wear nitrile gloves and work in a well-ventilated area. Wear eye protection when appropriate and always follow the manufacturer's safety instructions for each product.

Gold Effect Compared with Real-Gold Kintsugi

While visually similar to traditional gold Kintsugi, this modern approach is faster to complete, requires fewer specialized materials, and is well suited for artists, hobbyists, and restoration professionals. Traditional Kintsugi uses genuine gold applied over lacquer, while our Gold Effect process uses brass powder encapsulated within a lacquer or epoxy bonding system. This creates a comparable gold appearance using a simpler and more accessible process.

See how we implement our 23.5K Gold Kintsugi process:
23.5K Gold Kintsugi Process

Posted here previously were the results of my first traditional kintsugi workshop in London.

After a few requests, we are coming back!

9 weeks taking students from initial preparation to applying gold.

Really excited to be able to teach this course again, it was a wonderful time and the pieces turned out so much better than my expectation.

Thia si my first time doing kintsugi succesfully,i relaly liked the preocess!

Hoeever,the gold isnt very well seen,anyone knows why?

After a carefull repair, done over the past few month, the repaired lid was put back to use this monrning on this teapot
It’s a teapots that I really love. It was gifted to me by my parents for my 41th birthday…and sadly I broke the lid a few months after…

Always a bummer…but it triggered me to go back to Kintsugi practice…which I did not really practice for the past few years
So this morning…it’s with great joy that I brewed my Japanese tea from Fukujuen in it :)

From The Curtain Foundation Gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK. Be sure to visit the link below and zoom in on the photo.

Porcelain Arita-ware sake bottle

• Body: Early Edo period. Saga prefecture, Japan
• Kintsugi: Date unknown
• https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O493452/sake-bottle-unknown/

Yesterday, I started the project I envisioned while buying a broken Mano Shunen teapot on Yahoo Auctions.
It arrived last Tuesday, and upon a carefull inspection, sadly the extent of the damages was way worse than what I anticipated.
The cracks were going way longer than what pictures let see.
And two cracks were running through the sculptured part of the teapot
So I made the decision…to make it worse and break it in its individual parts, as I feared to not be able to properly locate all cracks and fill them with Urushi.

So the project started as a teapot in 7 different pieces.
I filed the rim of each breaks carefully to have really thin Urushi lines in the end.

I also extensively taped the pot to protect the delicate parts
So here is the first part…I’ll have the answer if it was successful in 10 days :)

Hi, I am about to start my first project!

We broke our favourite tea cups so I was lookign for a way to fix them.

I looked into the Kintsugi art. I really like the traditional way of reparation - I don't mind the difficulity.

I looked at many tutorials and started gathering material. I just have a question - can I use Mika powder instead of Gold? I dunno if it would give the same effect tho.

Thank you for your inputs!

My kintsugi teacher says to use camphor oil, but since it’s not readily available in US to use turpentine instead. Which of these three that I picked up is best do we think?
Gum spirits turpentine by Utrecht
Distilled turpentine by Winsor and newton
Oil mediums: turpentine by daler rowney

I was cleaning my brushes when it suddenly dawned on me that I totally forgot to clean the oil from them before I started using them. 😭 I worked on about six pieces.

I’ve never made this mistake before so I don’t know what happens. Do I need to sand off that layer or will it just peel off? Will it affect the cured layers below? Is there anyway I can fix this?

Any advice would be much appreciated. But I’ve definitely learned my lesson not to work when I’m really tired and scatterbrained.

From the Freer Gallery of Art collection at the National Museum of Asian Art at the Smithsonian. Be sure to visit the first link below to zoom in on the photos. 

Tea bowl, possibly Karatsu-ware

• Body: Early Edo period. Saga prefecture, Japan
• Kintsugi: Date unknown
• https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1898.66a-m/
• https://collections.si.edu/search/record/ark:/65665/ye32c206a2f267840de863056c196cd28fd

Beginner here. I am just wondering how one would apply sabi and black/red urushi waterproofing layers inside a vessel where it is practically impossible to reach inside? I could technically get a brush in there but I would not be able to see what I was doing to apply layers effectively. Thank you!

What are some other food safe options to use instead of gold powder? I was hoping for some not metal options if they exist.

Hmm, are these getting boring? Nah. I still like tiny projects.

Hello! This is my first kintsugi project, it's been going super well thanks to this awesome community and its recommendations. I am following the basic kit and steps from Chimahaga. The first coating has fully cured and I just did the fabric sanding (approximately 14 minute mark).

Given the break is at the spout, I am wondering if it is necessary to do the second coating and gold finishing on the INSIDE of the spout for it to be safe to use? The inside is obviously challenging, and although I am patient enough to do it, I would not mind skipping some steps if it isn't necessary!

Thanks in advance, I couldnt have gotten this far without this subreddit.

From the Freer Gallery of Art collection at the National Museum of Asian Art at the Smithsonian. Be sure to visit the first link below to zoom in on the photos. 

Yatsushiro ware tea cup with Korean-style decoration

• Body: Late Edo to early Meiji period, 18th century; Kumamoto, Japan. 
• Kintsugi: Date uncertain but likely Meiji Period
• https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1901.121/
• https://collections.si.edu/search/record/ark:/65665/ye3dc92c0f18cab4c028ffbfe57a988c0ab

I’m almost finished on this project.
I can’t decide myself if I go all the way with gold of if I leave it this way.
If I go to the gold route, I’ll try Maru fun for the first time…but I need to source gold for that first :)

I am not sure if i will do kintsugi, but i intead to fix the lid of a gaiwan tea pot, but i am not sure wat adihsive i should use. Since it is something that would be in contact with boiling water i am asmuing you would use a food safe(er) option

Edit: gah typo in the title. Mid-way!

Hi there! I'm two steps into my first Kintsugi project, and have a couple questions:

Silly, but: the kit I received has lots of warnings about skin reactions to Urushi - it has made me terrified of touching anything when I'm working on this. Two questions: once it's dried, and is being sanded off, is it still toxic? Or is that a "safer" step in the project. How worried should I be about having my cat around for, example. And how bad is it actually if you do touch raw Urushi?

For a future piece where I'm fixing a broken mug handle, I was thinking of doing it in two steps, because the pieces all need to stick together so well and if one moves they all move. Good practice, or bound to fail?

Finally - I'm seeing seeing lots of suggestions to dilute the Urushi with acetone or other solvents - is that common practice and what proportions do people use? I attached a picture of the tools in the kit I've received. I've seen other people using some cool brushes/flattening tools. Any recommendations?

Thank you! Pics of progress so far.

Longquan wares were highly sought after by temples and the wealthy in Japan, and the kintsugi repair on this one (and of course its recorded provenance) show the history of its trade from China through Japan. 

From the Freer Gallery of Art collection at the National Museum of Asian Art at the Smithsonian. Be sure to visit the first below to zoom in on the photos. 

Longquan Celadon Vase

• Body: Southern Song or Yuan Dynasty, 13th century; Zhejiang Province, China. 
• Kintsugi: Date unknown, but completed in Japan
• https://asia-archive.si.edu/object/F1909.355/
• https://collections.si.edu/search/detail/edanmdm:fsg_F1909.355?q=lacquer+repair&record=124&hlterm=lacquer%2Brepair&inline=true

Hi everyone, I could really use some advice from anyone who has experience with expired urushi.
I'm currently working on a few kintsugi restorations, but it's very difficult to get fresh urushi where I live. I even tried ordering some from Japan through Amazon, but the shipment was stopped during transit.
I still have three unopened tubes of urushi that expired in January 2026. They've never been opened, and I've kept them in the fridge the whole time because I heard refrigeration helps extend their shelf life.
Has anyone successfully used expired but unopened urushi that was stored this way?
I'm mainly wondering if it would still be suitable for the early stages, such as making mugi-urushi and bonding the broken pieces together. I know that for the final finishing coats it may wrinkle or not cure as nicely, so I'm not planning to rely on it for that. I just want to know if it's reasonable to use it for the initial repair, let it cure, and then continue with fresh urushi once I'm able to get some.
I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences.  Thanks 🙏🏻 

I finished my first set of traditional resin pieces, in a couple weeks I should be done with the tea pot and matching cup but that one needs more curing time because of some extra reinforcement and filling needed. The ones that are done far from perfect but I tried my best. Maybe I will try to touch up in the future because I am not sure why the color is so dull, if that’s just how bronze is or if I mixed them turpentine and resin sealant 1:1 combo a little wrong. Before that final step the bronze powder was very bright. It could be possible I rubbed off some bronze too. Since I am such a newbie I am not sure what I did wrong..

Looking to use a flexible 2 part epoxy to mix in gold mica for kintsugi on cement shrinkage cracks. What can I use to mix myself in small batches and apply with a syringe?