A chip is not the end of the story

There is a particular ache in finding a chip on a favourite plate — a piece of Victorian ironstone, perhaps, or a studio pot you have used every morning for twenty years. The instinct is to hide the damage, or to relegate the piece to the back of a cupboard. Visible mending offers a third way: a repair that is honest, beautiful and strong enough to keep the plate in daily use. Borrowing its philosophy from Japanese kintsugi, it treats damage not as a flaw to be concealed but as part of an object's history, worthy of being marked rather than erased.

Kintsugi and its Western cousins

True kintsugi uses urushi, a tree-sap lacquer that hardens into a durable, food-safe finish, dusted with gold powder while still tacky. The process takes weeks, requires a humid curing box, and — importantly — raw urushi causes severe skin reactions in the uninitiated. Most of us are better served by its spirit than by its chemistry.

What we tend to call "kintsugi-inspired" mending uses modern adhesives and metallic pigments to a similar visual effect. Two broad approaches exist. Decorative visible repair employs a strong two-part epoxy tinted with mica or gold pigment, producing a bold, jewellery-like seam. Conservation-style repair is more restrained: reversible adhesives such as Paraloid B-72 in acetone, applied sparingly, with any filling toned down rather than shouted about. The first suits the plate you eat toast from. The second suits the plate you hope to hand on.

Building a small mending kit

You do not need much, but you do need the right things. A modest tin will see you through years of repairs:

• A slow-setting two-part epoxy (thirty minutes or more of working time)
• Conservation-grade adhesive granules for reversible work, dissolved in acetone
• Fine mica or metal pigment powder in gold, bronze or pewter
• Cocktail sticks, fine sable brushes and low-tack masking tape
• Isopropyl alcohol or acetone for degreasing and cleaning squeeze-out
• Small clamps, elastic bands, and a tray of rice or sand to cradle curved forms
• Nitrile gloves and a well-ventilated workspace

Mending a chip, step by step

Work slowly and treat the first stage as the most important one. Begin by cleaning both broken faces with isopropyl alcohol; a trace of grease will ruin the bond. Dry-fit the pieces, photograph the arrangement, and number them with a pencil if there are several.

Where a chip has removed material rather than created two matching faces, you will need to build up a filler. Mix epoxy in tiny batches on a scrap of card and thicken it with fine powder until it holds a peak. Apply it in thin layers rather than one heavy dollop, letting each partly cure before adding the next. Pigment the mix if you want the mend to read as a deliberate gold or bronze vein rather than a pale scar.

For a clean break, apply adhesive to one face only, press firmly, and hold the join with tape. Support the piece in a bed of rice or sand so it cannot slump while curing. Wipe away any squeeze-out immediately with a swab dampened in acetone — once epoxy has cured, removing it risks scratching the glaze. Leave the repair undisturbed for at least twenty-four hours, and preferably seventy-two, before washing or using the piece.

If you want a gilded seam, wait until the adhesive is fully cured, then brush a thin line of fresh epoxy or size along the join and dust it with mica powder. Tap off the excess with a soft brush. The result should catch the light without looking applied.

When to stop, and when to call in an expert

Not every piece should be mended at home. If a plate is signed, rare, or likely to be sold on, a professional conservator will use reversible materials and document the work, preserving both the object and its value. Reversibility matters: a future owner may want to undo your repair, and they cannot undo epoxy.

Think twice, too, about pieces that are structurally unstable, or where an earlier repair is itself of historical interest. Sometimes the most respectful act is to stabilise the object, store it safely and enjoy it as it is.

Living with mended ceramics

A visible repair asks a little care in return. Wash mended pieces by hand in warm water, never in a dishwasher, and avoid pouring boiling liquid directly onto a repaired seam. Skip the microwave, and do not subject the piece to sudden temperature changes, which stress both glaze and adhesive. Store it as you would any favourite — used, not hidden.

Handled this way, a chipped plate becomes something more interesting than it was when perfect. The gold line is a record: of the accident, of the patience, of the decision to keep going. In a collecting world obsessed with condition, that is a quietly radical thing to own.