Teapot repair crack

Tea was leaking slowly from the crack, little beads of tea forming and running down the outside of the pot. A disaster. I went online, to see if I could find some good ideas on how to repair a teapot. There were a number of places that offered to do kintsugi repairs, and even some places online that sold do-it-yourself kintsugi kits. So, no. There were a bunch of posts about commercial sealant. They looked like a much cheaper option than kintsugi.

However, I had the same concerns about safety and taste, and the examples of fixed teapots were even uglier. Finally, I saw the boil-it-in-milk suggestion. The recipe was simple, cover the teapot with milk in a saucepan, simmer the milk for an hour, let cool. I followed the directions, took the saucepan off the stove, and let it cool overnight.

When I pulled the teapot out of the milk, it had a thick buildup of milk-skin on the top of the pot, but nowhere else. I cleaned it off, dried it, and poured in some water.

I rubbed some of the milk-skin from the pan into the crack by hand, from inside and outside the teapot. I did this for about 2 minutes. There was a very small amount of milk in and on the pot, and I could see milk gunk in the crack.

I then put the teapot in the microwave on high for 15 seconds. This was a dangerous move, and it could have turned out badly. Take care if you try this yourself! So maybe wash your hands before touching the filling.

It happens to the best: One wrong move and grandmom's valuable china is not so valuable anymore. Sifting through tons of instructables I found many useful methods and adopted them to this special case: Using bees wax to hold the fragments in place Using two-component adhesive to glue the parts together Mixing baking powder with adhesive to fill missing spots Using a heat gun to remove the wax. Materials used: Bees wax or any other wax Heat gun Two-component adhesive or any other glue, that's strong enough Baking powder.

To fill in for missing pieces simple add baking soda to the adhesive Add small amounts of baking soda to the adhesive while stirring it until it becomes a thick paste Add paste to the hole in the china until it is closed. Give the adhesive enough time to harden mine took six hours. Then use the head gun to melt the wax and remove it from the pottery Little extra: Prepare a mould with a wick to cast a candle from the melted wax.

Did you make this project? Share it with us! I Made It! Tea-light Lantern by ruths in 3D Printing. Reply Upvote. Picture and list say baking powder, but instructions say baking soda. Which one is better? See more pottery, ceramic and sculpture repair lessons.

I need an expert that can fix it — does anyone have any suggestions? Many thanks for your input, fellow Steepsters! Thanks, Cwyn! Although I doubt it would work for my teapot. Login or sign up to post a message. They say right on the site that they will advise when it is not worth it to repair. An update on my leaky teapot dilemma: I remembered someone who we had used years ago on a beautiful pottery jar lid that had broken. Turns out he still does repairs. I sent out the pot with instructions and got it back a couple of days ago.