Gabler
Masterpiece
To get a bold gold line, I've found it works best to sand the broken edges. That leaves a bit of a gap in the glaze for the epoxy to ooze into, and it makes a good matrix for the metallic sign paint I used.
Kintsugi: UPS Smashed My Brand New Pot
- Thread starter Gabler
- Start date
Gabler
Masterpiece
Rather than glue the whole thing together at once, I found it best to glue together two to three chunks at a time. More than that, and it's too much for the painter's tape to hold it together until the epoxy sets.
Gabler
Masterpiece
You'll want the epoxy to ooze out. The excess scrapes off easily with a dull knife, and the remaining epoxy filling the cracks has a surface flush with the glaze of the pot.
Gabler
Masterpiece
Here it is with putty filling in the gaps. The putty doesn't actually have to look good. The paint covers the visible portions, and the hidden portions are hidden.
Gabler
Masterpiece
After scraping off the excess epoxy . . .
Note that in this example, many of the cracks did not fill with epoxy completely. That made it a huge pain in the butt to paint. I kept having to wipe off excess paint, and with oil paint, that's hard to do effectively. It took way longer than it should have for that reason.
Note that in this example, many of the cracks did not fill with epoxy completely. That made it a huge pain in the butt to paint. I kept having to wipe off excess paint, and with oil paint, that's hard to do effectively. It took way longer than it should have for that reason.
Gabler
Masterpiece
Compare this intermediate attempt to my first.
Gabler
Masterpiece
Note also that I have not yet attempted anything on the pot that UPS smashed. I broke a few cheap dishes intentionally to practice on them.
hinmo24t
Masterpiece
the old bay powder filler came out killer!!
jp and cool project
jp and cool project
Gabler
Masterpiece
Anyway, I'm pleased with the way the practice pot turned out. Any recommendations for species to plant in it? I'm thinking of training up a hollow-trunked deciduous tree to fit with the theme of breaking and healing. Holly would suit the pot just as well, and I have access to plenty of Ilex opaca. Thoughts?
Gabler
Masterpiece
At the moment, I'm leaning toward sweet gum. Red and yellow fall foliage could both look great.
leatherback
The Treedeemer
USDA zone 7
Frost in winter
Your pot will probably not really resist frost anymore?
Species you keep frostfree would be my siggestion
Frost in winter
Your pot will probably not really resist frost anymore?
Species you keep frostfree would be my siggestion
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
Actually I have a few pots that were fixed with epoxy many years ago and have been outside the entire time. I know one of these pots was epoxied over 20 years ago. I would not have though it would have lasted but it has survived many freeze / thaw cycles including minus 14 degrees F.
Gabler
Masterpiece
I hadn't thought much about the pot resisting frost. Epoxy resin is usually pretty temperature tolerant, but I don't know how well it might handle frost damage. I'm considering an experiment where I take the pot in and out of the freezer a bunch of times to see how it handles wild temperature swings every day.
leatherback
The Treedeemer
Good to know. That is with a tree in it I take?
I was not concerned about the epoxy not able to deal with frost, but with the added pressure ice can exert?
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
Sounds like a decent science project.
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
With trees and without, it has been a long time.
leatherback
The Treedeemer
Gabler
Masterpiece
I just gonna soak the pot to get the porous ceramic wet. For the experiment, though the pressure of the expanding soil is a good consideration. I might add some wet peat to the pot to simulate expanding frozen soil.
Gabler
Masterpiece
Update on the original smashed pot.
Gabler
Masterpiece
Here's the finished pot with a plastic Christmas tree.
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