Katie sent us this sad picture and a good question: Dear AT, I inherited a vintage Italian ceramic fish dish from my parents. The other week I came home to find the tail broken off. The cats must have gotten too frisky and broken it. Any suggestions on how to repair it? Glue? Super glue? Gorilla glue? Some other magical repairing solution? Thanks!
In our experience PVA (polyvinyl acetate) glues, like plain old Elmer's White Glue are the best for porous material repairs like this. The reason we like it is that you have time to work with it and can usually get a precise match before the glue sets - super glue just dries too fast.
The thin consistency (use a brush to apply) and easy clean-up (scrape off any excess with an exacto after drying) also makes the repair easier. A tip we just found : you may want to submerge the piece in a container with dry rice or beans to hold the repair in place overnight while it dries fully.
Calling all repair and restoration diy-ers...any info or advice to share?
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on the other hand, if you want to ensure that it will stay re-attached forever, i'd say gorilla glue.
one friend broke her razr phone at the hinge, and the gorilla glue has held it perfectly (can't see the crack unless you're really looking); and another has successfully used it to hold the soles down in his steve madden shoes.
Don't use epoxy. For a while last year, I got a little epoxy-happy and repaired a ceramic bowl with the two-part stuff. While the repair hasn't failed, the glue went all yellowish over time, which looks like crap.
Thanks for the tips on gluing.
Janel, good tip on standing the piece in rice or dried beans. I was wondering how to handle that.
Blown away by the dish. What a beauty.
Thanks ag! My heart totally broke when I saw it broken.
Weldbond cures everything!
Dave thanks for the Weldbond tip. I've never heard of that before, but I'm intrigued. Especially since it claims it dries crystal clear. Any advice on using it? Does it dry really fast? Do you have a little leeway?
Sorry about your dish Katie. I too recommend Gorilla Glue. Broke the frame of a mirror made of who-knows and a stoneware candlestand. GG-ed them and then are holding up just fine. Follow the instructions carefully (ie) wet both sides, apply only a little (the stuff expands). Janel's tip above is priceless!
How awful!!! I hope you can repair it!
I also recommend Weldbond. You have a little bit of time...i recommend not attaching the broken section until the bondglue is a bit tacky - which helps to hold it in place.
As a side note, I used Gorilla Glue to repair a stone vase....and I guess I underestimated how much the glue would expand - and once it dries (which it does in only a few seconds!) it stays that way forever! The yellowish color of the Gorilla Glue is a serious downer for the glue. And as it dried/expanded - it also warped the shape of the vase. me = :(
(Nonetheless, I love gorilla glue for other home improvement projects)
My summer ceramics class just let out and one of the instructors highly recommended Gorilla Glue to a man that came in with a broken piece. I would suggest playing with it first by gluing popsicle sticks or something like that together, that way you get an idea about the expansion rate before applying to your piece.
Why don't you call Lill Street Gallery and see what they would recommend. It's a beautiful piece and would be a shame to use the wrong kind of glue.
Suzanne
Katie, like Purple Smurf stated, you do have some leeway before it sets. I also second the tip to apply glue to each surface and let it get a bit tacky. Weldbond also suggests sealing each edge with a 5 part water 1 part Weldbond mixture. Let that dry completely and then glue as noted above. Good luck - Weldbond has saved many things in my house!
What do you recommend for repairing handles or pieces that get washed?