Pot repair

[jquast]

Does anyone know of a potter in the States that profesionally repairs bonsai pots?

 

[Dav4]

I've never used them but have heard good things about this company. If the pot is expensive, I'd contact them
http://www.lakesidepottery.com/Pages/pottery-and-ceramic-fix-restoration-repair.html

 

[jquast]

Thanks Dave. I will reach out to them and see what they can do.

The pot is a Reiho that I purchased for a large trident that I have.

 

[Dav4]

Ouch! I feel your pain.

 

[jquast]

At least it should go back together nicely. It was broken in shipment and the seller replaced it with another similar pot at no cost but I still prefer this one.

 

[jquast]

I've never used them but have heard good things about this company. If the pot is expensive, I'd contact them
http://www.lakesidepottery.com/Pages/pottery-and-ceramic-fix-restoration-repair.html

So Lakeside said that they could repair it but that it could not be used as a pot with a tree/soil in it and that it would be just for decoration. Does anyone else know of anybody that repairs pots by chance?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Dav4]

I've heard of folks using gorilla glue to repair cracks...since this is a freebie, it might be worth a shot.

 

[jk_lewis]

That appears to be a simple break. Unless that are a number of tiny fragments, I see no reason that you couldn't repair that yourself with Superglue and CAREFUL fitting together.

I've done that twice, and am still using the pots outside year 'round.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Be careful using gorilla glue, because it expands and pushes the pieces apart, seeping as it sets. I've had better luck using epoxy; light coat on the surface of the crack itself to put it back together, and heavier, 2nd coat along the crack on the indoor of the pot after the first coat sets up. I've repaired 2 pots with epoxy, and both have lasted for years outside after.

 

[Cypress187]

I would do it myself but my pots are like 5 dollar a piece, and i would just use the other side as the front

 

[Dale Cochoy]

Gorilla B
Glue will make it usable as a bonsai pot. I have used it many times.

 

[Eric Schrader]

I'd note that depending on how much you want to spend there are options for ceramics repair that are done by professionals specifically trained to deal with repairs for museums and high end private collectors. There's one here in SF who does repairs where you almost cant tell the pot was ever broken, he's a true artist. But, even small repairs are $200-$300 so unless the pot is worth much more than that it may not be worth the money.

My two cents on superglue or epoxy is that while it may do the job it will likely ultimately detract visually from the quality. Consider a repair that will add character rather than being something that compromises it. Many old repairs done in Japan are themselves beautiful. See Peter Tea's blog posts on pots for a couple examples.

 

[MidMichBonsai]

As Brian said, be careful with the use of Gorilla Glue. It can work but you have to use a VERY small amount so that the expanding doesn't separate the pot.

 

[MidMichBonsai]

AS suggested: https://peterteabonsai.wordpress.com/tag/pot-repair/

 

[sharkman154]

In my 4 years of working with pottery i have found repairs to be very much hit and miss. For me I would toss it because I can make another. However i'd saw find yourself a good NON-EXPANDING CERAMIC SPECIFIC glue. Worst thing that happens is you have to repot the tree.

 

[JudyB]

I think that with the pot coloring, a gold repair would look really nice. Good luck finding a suitable repair. Have you tried to contact Ryan Bell to see if he has any ideas for where to send?

 

[Jester217300]

I ended up reaching out to LakeSide as well since I have two nice pots that broke during shipment. They confirmed that they will not repair bonsai pots for functional use and that Kintsugi repairs fail often and it is common for them to have to repair them.

Shoot...

I feel bad throwing them away.

 

[Dav4]

I think that with the pot coloring, a gold repair would look really nice. Good luck finding a suitable repair. Have you tried to contact Ryan Bell to see if he has any ideas for where to send?

I vaguely remember him giving Lakeside a recommendation in a thread on face book...that's where I heard of them

 

[jquast]

I think that with the pot coloring, a gold repair would look really nice. Good luck finding a suitable repair. Have you tried to contact Ryan Bell to see if he has any ideas for where to send?

I agree. The gold with the blue glaze woud look great. Will reach out to Ryan Bell to see what he says.