Going through my bonsai pot inventory, I have noticed that two of my Tokoname pots were lightly damaged during my relocation. While they are not priceless antiques, it would be a bummer to no longer be able to use those pots because of a tiny chip.
Pictures:
Kaiyou pot (42cm x 32cm x 9cm / 16.5" x 12.5" x 3.5")
Toyo pot ( 15cm x 4.5cm/ 6" x 2")
One possibility I thought about was the traditional kintsugi (or the new version that uses epoxy instead of urushi), the other would be patching with a 2 parts epoxy dyed to match the surrounding.
I would probably either leave them be or match the color of the repair using epoxy. I would reserve kintsugi for a pot that was completely broken and unusable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen kintsugi on a unglazed container. I think the contrast could be rather nice!
Always mix and dry a test sample of the compounds before attempting to fix a pot. The dried colors and gloss will be different .Keep mixing volume records so you can reproduce a good batch! Getting an UGLY fix off a pot is mindnumbing.
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I have been trying thin epoxys with NOT much success. The dried colors, textures and surface gloss are ALL wrong. Doesnt appear to hold broken pots very well, either. KEEPING THE PARTS TOGETHER untill dried is crazy hard.
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Working with automotive BONDO (two part epoxy with opaque nature and hard as rocks!). holds well, not as glossy, colors are muted and opaque. It takes additives well.
Tried mineral concrete colorants (easily available at local home improvement centers!) to some success. Crazy array of colors! and shades when mixed. (Alread had them for stucco on house…) When applied, BONDO is tacky and holds the broken pot together (Unlike thin epoxys.) Partially dried, it is carvable and , dried, it it sandable!
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Trying art store powdered pigments, gold and silver. Remarkably bright colors. Mix well, and surface application is like kintsugi ( on BONDO repairs while still taky…
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No interesting photos yet. Long term project. Only doable with open air(!) and warm temps. DO NOT use in a basement or apartment! Fumes are nasty!
and dangerous. Wear a respirator.
Kintsugi would traditionally more typically repair a crack in finer pottery and not necessarily broken off edges in thicker plant containers. If you do not have the parts broken you would end up with a quite bright spot. For the epoxy techniques fully second Kurt‘s approach. One option is to wait till the repair putty style epoxy has hardened and then go about the colour with the colours used for plastic models. You can mix them and get to match your desired colour directly on the repaired areas.
The chip on the Kaiyou is small enough that I could possibly leave it as is on a back corner, but the one on the Touyou is a bit larger proportionally… I’ll do some testing with 2 parts solid epoxy or indeed Bondo if I can lay my hands on some.
