Have you heard the term “Kintsugi”? This term refers to the Japanese method of repairing broken pottery with lacquer. The reason it's called this is because the highlight of Kintsugi is using gold powder to cover the cracks, turning them into beautiful features.
As for why lacquer is used, it's because lacquer is durable and safe for use with food. And repairing with the Kintsugi technique is not as difficult as you might think.
- Step 1 Apply lacquer to close the cracks > This is the first step in repairing the cracks, starting with applying lacquer to the area to be repaired and leaving it for one night to harden.
- Step 2 Form and repair the broken parts with Kokuso > Grind rice grains finely with a stick until sticky and clumpy. Then mix in an equal amount of lacquer. Mix cotton fibers and sawdust together, then mold it into a piece about the size of an earlobe to get "Kokuso." Use it to fill the chipped parts of the dishes with a bamboo stick, then shape it with your hands. After that, leave it to dry for about one week.
- Step 3 Apply lacquer (Sabi Urushi) and shape by sanding > This step is to make the repaired part strong and beautiful. Lacquer is applied to small details. The method is to mix chalk powder with water until thick. Mix lacquer in a 1:5 ratio. Stir well to get Sabi Urushi lacquer to coat the cracks. Then let it dry completely, which takes about 5 days. Once dry, use a sharpening stone to shape it, then let it dry for another night.
- Step 4 Coat and polish > Apply a smooth layer of lacquer to seal and prevent water from seeping into the repaired area. Use reddish-brown lacquer (Bengara Urushi) to coat the repaired area and let it dry for about 3-4 days. Then, gradually sand and polish the repaired area in water with a grinding stone until smooth. Wipe it dry with a cloth and let it air dry overnight to ensure it's completely dry.
- Step 5 Gold application > Apply reddish-brown lacquer again, and then slowly and carefully apply gold powder smoothly. Let it sit for about 30 minutes for the gold powder to adhere easily. Then, use cotton to dab gold powder and gently apply it to the lacquer. After that, let it dry for about 3-4 days. Once it's completely dry, use a cotton swab moistened with water to clean off any excess gold powder.
- Step 6 Gold embedding and polishing > Apply lacquer over the gold powder and immediately wipe it off with tissue paper, pressing with your finger and wiping, moving to different spots. Once all the lacquer is wiped off, let it dry for another night. Once dry, use a marble stone to polish the gilded area to retain its shape. The repair is then complete.