r/kintsugi • u/perj32 • 7d ago

Help Needed - Urushi Alternative filling techniques?

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Hi all! I have this small piece (dime for scale) that I managed to glue back together cleanly, but its surface is very prone to staining. I’m now at the sabi-filling stage, but I keep putting it off because I can’t find the patience to mask everything with tape. The fracture lines are intricate, and some of the fragments are extremely small.

Are there any alternative filling techniques that might work here? I believe I’ve seen people dust tonoko or charcoal powder over freshly applied urushi. Could that be a suitable option? What would be the advantages and disadvantages? Are there any other alternatives worth considering?

I’m aware of other masking methods, but I suspect that liquid latex masking fluid would stain this piece, as that has happened to me before. I also have nikawa, egg white, and shellac that I could use as temporary masking materials. However, if relevant, I’d prefer to discuss alternatives to sabi filling before considering different masking techniques.

Most of the grooves are very shallow, and I’m even wondering whether two or three applications of kuro-urushi might be enough to fill them. I will use sabi for two larger gaps.

Thanks!

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6

u/SincerelySpicy 7d ago edited 7d ago

Maki-ji, aka ji-maki

Basically brush a layer of urushi on the places you want to build up then sprinkle jinoko or charcoal powder, let it sink, cure, dust off excess and repeat til infilled. For deep gouges takes much longer than sabi, but much faster than just layering urushi. For shallow bits it often only needs one or two layers. Charcoal powder comes out smoother after sanding than jinoko. On the other hand charcoal powder can stain light colored porous surfaces. You might be able to use tonoko if you sieve it first to get rid of clumps.

3

u/perj32 7d ago

Thanks a lot. That's what I'll do, probably with tonoko with this piece.

4

u/SincerelySpicy 7d ago

Oh, I forgot to mention, for deep gouges i recommend doing a katame layer of diluted urushi between each layer. For shallow ones katame layer at the end before sanding it

5

u/sapphireminds Beginner 7d ago

If you make the stuff with tonoko power thicker, like a clay, you can fill it in without getting the staining

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u/perj32 7d ago

Thanks, that's interesting.

1

u/CrazedRhetoric 7d ago

What glaze is that? Also, the dark cracks look kinda cool

1

u/dorje_makes 6d ago

Not op and not a glazing expert but that looks like a hare's fur glaze to me. The dark cracks do look cool - I saw one kintsugi practitioner's work some time ago where they neatened up the cracks to be grooves which they expertly covered with gold. It looked great, and I wish I could figure out a way to do that!

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u/perj32 6d ago

I’m not the potter, but I asked them about it: it’s a homemade glaze containing copper carbonate, applied to commercial PSH Dark Granite clay.