Kintsugi: UPS Smashed My Brand New Pot

[Gabler]

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.

 

[Gabler]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[Gabler]

Compare this intermediate attempt to my first.

 

[Gabler]

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]

the old bay powder filler came out killer!!

jp and cool project

 

[Gabler]

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]

At the moment, I'm leaning toward sweet gum. Red and yellow fall foliage could both look great.

 

[leatherback]

USDA zone 7
Frost in winter
Your pot will probably not really resist frost anymore?

Any recommendations for species to plant in it?

Species you keep frostfree would be my siggestion

 

[penumbra]

USDA zone 7
Frost in winter
Your pot will probably not really resist frost anymore?



Species you keep frostfree would be my siggestion

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]

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]

have been outside the entire time

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]

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.

Sounds like a decent science project.

 

[penumbra]

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?

With trees and without, it has been a long time.

 

[leatherback]

Sounds like a decent science project.

 

[Gabler]

IWith trees and without, it has been a long time.

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]

Update on the original smashed pot.

 

[Gabler]

Here's the finished pot with a plastic Christmas tree.