Beginner here. I am just wondering how one would apply sabi and black/red urushi waterproofing layers inside a vessel where it is practically impossible to reach inside? I could technically get a brush in there but I would not be able to see what I was doing to apply layers effectively. Thank you!

What are some other food safe options to use instead of gold powder? I was hoping for some not metal options if they exist.

Hello! This is my first kintsugi project, it's been going super well thanks to this awesome community and its recommendations. I am following the basic kit and steps from Chimahaga. The first coating has fully cured and I just did the fabric sanding (approximately 14 minute mark).

Given the break is at the spout, I am wondering if it is necessary to do the second coating and gold finishing on the INSIDE of the spout for it to be safe to use? The inside is obviously challenging, and although I am patient enough to do it, I would not mind skipping some steps if it isn't necessary!

Thanks in advance, I couldnt have gotten this far without this subreddit.

Hmm, are these getting boring? Nah. I still like tiny projects.

From the Freer Gallery of Art collection at the National Museum of Asian Art at the Smithsonian. Be sure to visit the first link below to zoom in on the photos. 

Yatsushiro ware tea cup with Korean-style decoration

• Body: Late Edo to early Meiji period, 18th century; Kumamoto, Japan. 
• Kintsugi: Date uncertain but likely Meiji Period
• https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1901.121/
• https://collections.si.edu/search/record/ark:/65665/ye3dc92c0f18cab4c028ffbfe57a988c0ab

I am not sure if i will do kintsugi, but i intead to fix the lid of a gaiwan tea pot, but i am not sure wat adihsive i should use. Since it is something that would be in contact with boiling water i am asmuing you would use a food safe(er) option

I’m almost finished on this project.
I can’t decide myself if I go all the way with gold of if I leave it this way.
If I go to the gold route, I’ll try Maru fun for the first time…but I need to source gold for that first :)

Edit: gah typo in the title. Mid-way!

Hi there! I'm two steps into my first Kintsugi project, and have a couple questions:

Silly, but: the kit I received has lots of warnings about skin reactions to Urushi - it has made me terrified of touching anything when I'm working on this. Two questions: once it's dried, and is being sanded off, is it still toxic? Or is that a "safer" step in the project. How worried should I be about having my cat around for, example. And how bad is it actually if you do touch raw Urushi?

For a future piece where I'm fixing a broken mug handle, I was thinking of doing it in two steps, because the pieces all need to stick together so well and if one moves they all move. Good practice, or bound to fail?

Finally - I'm seeing seeing lots of suggestions to dilute the Urushi with acetone or other solvents - is that common practice and what proportions do people use? I attached a picture of the tools in the kit I've received. I've seen other people using some cool brushes/flattening tools. Any recommendations?

Thank you! Pics of progress so far.

Longquan wares were highly sought after by temples and the wealthy in Japan, and the kintsugi repair on this one (and of course its recorded provenance) show the history of its trade from China through Japan. 

From the Freer Gallery of Art collection at the National Museum of Asian Art at the Smithsonian. Be sure to visit the first below to zoom in on the photos. 

Longquan Celadon Vase

• Body: Southern Song or Yuan Dynasty, 13th century; Zhejiang Province, China. 
• Kintsugi: Date unknown, but completed in Japan
• https://asia-archive.si.edu/object/F1909.355/
• https://collections.si.edu/search/detail/edanmdm:fsg_F1909.355?q=lacquer+repair&record=124&hlterm=lacquer%2Brepair&inline=true

Hi everyone, I could really use some advice from anyone who has experience with expired urushi.
I'm currently working on a few kintsugi restorations, but it's very difficult to get fresh urushi where I live. I even tried ordering some from Japan through Amazon, but the shipment was stopped during transit.
I still have three unopened tubes of urushi that expired in January 2026. They've never been opened, and I've kept them in the fridge the whole time because I heard refrigeration helps extend their shelf life.
Has anyone successfully used expired but unopened urushi that was stored this way?
I'm mainly wondering if it would still be suitable for the early stages, such as making mugi-urushi and bonding the broken pieces together. I know that for the final finishing coats it may wrinkle or not cure as nicely, so I'm not planning to rely on it for that. I just want to know if it's reasonable to use it for the initial repair, let it cure, and then continue with fresh urushi once I'm able to get some.
I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences.  Thanks 🙏🏻 

Looking to use a flexible 2 part epoxy to mix in gold mica for kintsugi on cement shrinkage cracks. What can I use to mix myself in small batches and apply with a syringe?

I finished my first set of traditional resin pieces, in a couple weeks I should be done with the tea pot and matching cup but that one needs more curing time because of some extra reinforcement and filling needed. The ones that are done far from perfect but I tried my best. Maybe I will try to touch up in the future because I am not sure why the color is so dull, if that’s just how bronze is or if I mixed them turpentine and resin sealant 1:1 combo a little wrong. Before that final step the bronze powder was very bright. It could be possible I rubbed off some bronze too. Since I am such a newbie I am not sure what I did wrong..

Hello Reddit, I just accidentally dropped one of my fiancé’s favorite mugs. I’ve looked around a little bit, but it’s hard to find a place that does kintsugi let alone make it food grade safe, so we can keep using it. I live in SoCal and I’m willing to drive a little bit to a studio.

Also would it just be easier or more efficient to just do the kintsugi myself, never done it before so I’m just wondering how I would go about it. Thanks

While I'm still working on my first synthetic kintsugi, I'm reading up on traditional methods for the future.

It seems that at different stages the urushi is mixed with different powders (iron oxide for black and clay for red). I'm wondering is there a reason for it?

Of course, one of the reason would be visibility. You can see where you have or have not applied the new layer, but I wonder if urushi properties change with each mix?

I'd assume that raw urushi would be the most "sticky" so that's why it's used first. Adding iron oxide would thicken it to make it easier to brush on perhaps? Maybe is has another quality that I'm not seeing? What about red? Would it mixing clay make the finish closer to ceramic? Does it make it food safe?

I'm just curious if there's science behind the tradition.

I bought his ceramic art piece years ago, it's flat ofc, but it's been glued to a felt backer. Well, one day it decided to take a dive off the wall and broke and since then haven't been able to hang it up, least of all bc I don't want an ugly bare ceramic gash all across the picture.

I feel the picture lends itself well to kintsugi, but I'm not sure what kind of cheater method I could use to get the effect; not sure if gold, or black (to keep with the stained glass effect), or what would be good to blend a little better. Also open to any other methods you think might make it a little nicer

This one’s another piece from the Freer Gallery of Art collection at the National Museum of Asian Art at the Smithsonian. Be sure to visit the first link below to zoom in on the photos. 

Edo Period Yatsushiro Dish

• Body: Edo period, 18th century; Kumamoto, Japan. 
• Kintsugi: Unknown. 
• https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1904.329/
• https://collections.si.edu/search/record/ark:/65665/ye37dc155d38d8d488ab09a999c1c28ee7c

I was unpacking some boxes and found my late grandma's figure thing was broken and this is my favorite I didn't think I would actually be able to do it I have been practicing my fine motor skills the last couple of year I think it's because of my autism I couldn't even tie my shoes cut a straight line or right legibility till high school but I have been working really hard i didn't buy a kit because they seemed expensive and my dad has a workshop in the garage whith most of what I needed I tried liquid epoxy but I didn't like it because it dried to fast and was harder to remove if I make a mistake so I am using super glue and then going over everything whith epoxy sculpt then I mix yellow paint whith gold Mica power and a bit of clear glue and paint it on. Before the paint drys I dab on Mica powder I'm also using all these tools that kind of look like there from a dentist office to scrape off excess paint or glue I'm not sure if any of this is recommended because I kinda went whith the flow instead of following a tutorial im not finished yet but I should be in the next few days then I can show my mom and I know she will be really proud of me and I'm already super proud of myself I don't know why but if feels like a huge accomplishment it feels like the first time I read my first chapter book on my own when I was 13

I need your help! Does anyone know a place in Hanoi where I can buy natural urushi or Vietnamese lacquer?

I’ll be traveling there soon, and unfortunately my current urushi lacquer has expired. It’s becoming really difficult to continue my kintsugi projects with it.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! 🙏

We’re restoring our floors and have a hearth from an old fireplace still in the room. Unfortunately the hearth is cracked. I’m not sure what material it is but it’s a Victorian terrace in London. My husband has the idea that kintsugi could be a beautiful way of restoring it. How would you recommend we do this?

Please be kind as these are very imperfect but I enjoyed the process a lot and learned so much by failing. I did not build up my layers enough before applying gold but they are set and technically a whole vessel again. Next time I will be much more careful with my taping as I made a big mess. 🤦‍♀️

Idk if this is sacrilegious but I used a nail dremel (bought for shaping gel nails) to file down the parts where I over applied sabi urushi - just gotta make sure to do it outside with a mask as I’m sure it’s bad to breathe in. I got a bit too overzealous with the sanding and that’s why the first pic looks so shallow and not quite like the river of gold I had hoped.

Lastly I ran out of gold powder and left my last piece as just the red urushi and I think it looks nice in a visible mending way. I will be mending all my chipped plates this way as I have a lot of tiny chips that are perfect for this craft.

On to the next one!

Hi everyone! Longtime lurker, first-time poster. :)

I run a small kintsugi studio in Portland, Oregon (Kin & Kuro), and I primarily stick to traditional kintsugi. However, I have a commission request that’s a little outside my usual experience, and I’d love to hear from anyone who’s tackled something similar.

A client has asked me to repair a pair of sentimental ceramic Shabbat candlesticks that were broken in a move. They’d really like to continue using them every week, and he explained to me that unlike a candle that’s lit briefly and blown out, Shabbat candles are traditionally lit just before sunset on Friday evening and allowed to burn out naturally, so the repaired candle cups would be exposed to repeated, fairly long heat cycles over many years.

I usually prefer to use 100% traditional materials, however, the repeated heat exposure around the candle cups has me wondering if a hybrid approach might make more sense? I was thinking maybe using epoxy for the structural joins in place of mugi urushi, then continuing with traditional sabi, urushi layers, etc. But, I'm genuinely unsure.

I’m wondering whether anyone here has repaired candleholders before, and if so:

• Did you stick with a fully traditional approach?
• Did you use a hybrid method?
• Did you make any adaptations to help manage the heat or mechanical stress?

Thank you so much in advance!!

What have people found is the best way to sand sabi urushi on glazed pieces? I’ve been using wet sandpaper and have had terrible problems with scratched glaze. I’ve been reading about whetstone sticks, crystal whetstones, polishing charcoal, etc. All are difficult to source and quite expensive. Grateful for any advice.

I recently was gifted a ceramic piece, that sadly got broken during shipping. I would like to repair it, and I'd like to add to its history by highlighting the mending. This is made me look into kintsugi (which I was vaguely aware of through learning of wabi sabi years ago), and eventually lead me here.

I did some more research on the practice, and I think I'll go the modern/epoxy route for this piece. The price and availability of traditional materials are a factor, of course, but I also feel it fits the piece which is a mass a produced western good with a bit of its own flair and history. The piece is ornamental, so I'm not concerned about food safety.

My current plan is to use one of the cheap epoxy kits, but replace the gold mica finish with gold chrome powder. I do, however have a few questions before I begin:

How to keep the lines thin when using epoxy?

When you look up images or videos of people using those kits, they usually show thick blobs of epoxy seeping out from the cracks. I know that a lot of that will be either user error or personal preferences, but this is not the right look for this piece. Are there any good practices to make an epoxy kintsugi have a more traditional look (thin lines, flush with the original piece)?

Should I just scrape the excess using razor/exacto knife (if so, when - before it dries, after it cures)? Or should I add minimal epoxy at first (just enough to glue it back) and go back over with extra layers of epoxy?

Best/proper way to use chrome powder?

I decided to try gold chrome powder because its finish is closer to actual gold powder than what mica pigments offers, and that finish will work better with the piece than the glittery sheen of mica. However, there's really no info I could find on using it in kintsugi.

Would I mix it into the epoxy like I would mica? Would I use clear epoxy and sprinkle the powder afterwards (on a final layer of epoxy)?

I've seen the latter method mentioned on here, but I'm concerned about loosing some of that finish after final steps (steel wool pass or other buffing/burring).

Should I get few practice pieces before?

The piece that lead me to giving kintsugi a try is somewhat important to me, but I don't expect it to come out perfect (again, a bit of that wabi sabi mentality). Also, I would really want to start working on it as soon as I can... but I know that it goes against the standard advice on here.

What works in my favor is that I do come from an art background and have some experience with gluing small/intricate bits to make larger forms, small scale painting, and redoing it when it's not quite right from working in miniatures/dioramas (example here or here).

Not to mention I don't even know where to get practice pieces? Would I buy some cheap ceramics and just drop them to make one? Are there any special ways of breaking them?

Thanks for reading this far. I'm excited to start this adventure and curious of the answers to those questions.

Not much to say about this one. I just like it a lot and it’s possible to go see this in person right now. :)

This piece is from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and is currently on view in Gallery 224 as part of the Infinite Artistry of Japanese Ceramics exhibition running through August 8, 2027. This specific piece may be rotated out during the span of the exhibition but other kintsugi repaired pieces will be on display as well.

Edo Period Aka-Raku Chawan

• Body: Edo period, 18th century; Japan. 
• Kintsugi: Unknown. Multiple repairs made at different times. 
• https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/63180

This was my third or fourth fully urushi-based kintsugi project, but only my second time applying gold. The first time, I didn't have the technique figured out well, so the result was not that great looking. I'm happier with this one, although there are a couple of minor imperfections. This was keshifun. I didn't do any fungatame, just cleaned it up a little with a tokusa and burnished it.