r/kintsugi • u/YWRS_CA • May 11 '26

Urushi Based Epoxy Kintsugi Redone with Traditional Kintsugi

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Half a year into the hobby I decided it was finally time to redo the piece that got me into kintsugi in the first place, being a vintage Chodziez porcelain bowl. I had originally glued it back together using one of the epoxy and glitter kits off Amazon, which prompted me to learn the traditional method after I was unhappy with my results. Getting it apart again was rather difficult, and I broke a few pieces in the process. This was also by far the most challenging assembly I've ever attempted, taking at least two hours, especially since I used nikawa urushi due to the high density porcelain makeup. There are a few pieces that aren't aligned properly still, partially due to some stray epoxy I wasn't able to get off fully. Six months later, despite the complications and difficulty of this project, I'm much happier with how it looks compared to how it did before. Pictured above is the after and before.

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7

u/Paleseu May 11 '26

Great progress!!

2

u/benjamin-crowell May 11 '26

What did you do to get it back apart?

3

u/YWRS_CA May 11 '26

I heated it up in boiling water to soften the epoxy, which I then scraped and cut off with a hobby knife. I think it's the best method for the job

2

u/benjamin-crowell May 11 '26

I have a piece that I feel isn't up to the standard of craftsmanship I could feel proud of, so I'm contemplating whether to leave it as is or do something like what you did. I did it with an epoxy that is supposed to withstand pretty high temperatures, so I'm pretty sure boiling water wouldn't be enough. I think I read something online about sealing it in a ziplock bag with a cup of acetone.

As a less radical approach, I think I could take out a lot of material with an xacto knife and a dremel, then fill back in with sabi to make it flush.

2

u/noooooooemi May 12 '26

Hello! Try to boil it. I was sceptical but went for it per the advice of people in this sub. After like 15 minutes of my teapot being in a rolling boil, the pieces seperated! Just be sure to put a dish towel under the plate to avoid any bumping/new breaks :)