kintsugi

kintsugi is a form of ceramic repair originating from Japan, using a natural lacquer called urushi (it comes from trees! also, it contains urushiol, the same stuff that makes poison oak give you a rash!), and metal powder (usually gold powder) decoration. the metal powder is optional (and expensive), to when forgone the process is typically repaired to instead as urushitsugi. to me, it is "sewing for coffee mugs". there is a great deal of cultural, philosophical, and spiritual background behind its historical background and use but i am mostly interested in it from a practical perspective. primarily, it seems to be the only food-safe way to repair ceramics: there is no such thing as a food-safe epoxy.

the process of performing repairs using kintsugi technique is beyond the scope of this document (for now), it is best to watch videos of craftsmen performing the kinds of repairs you want to do. here, i will be writing about the sourcing of kintsugi materials which are somewhat difficult to come by in the West, as well as what these materials do and what you need in order to perform basic repairs. thanks to economics of scale, it is not by any means a cheap process, but you don't need to stock up like an artisan. i will be neglecting the "kin" part of kintsugi, because i am not made of money, and haven't had anything i felt strongly enough about to be worth adorning with gold.

(urushi central) Kintsugi Repair DIY -Complete English subtitles!

the materials

ki urushi is the fundamental material of all kintsugi repair, it is the pure urushi lacquer. it is seldom used directly, instead it is mixed with other materials to give it more structure, putty-like properties, strength, etc. this is the primary adhesive.

colored urushi lacquers, such as bengara urushi and kuroiro urushi, are optionally applied at a later stage to decorate any seams. when gold or other metals are to be added, they are first allowed to be dried partially and then have metal dusted on them when they are still partly wet. when this is done, it seems bengara urushi is favored, likely because the higher contrast on the work surface makes the process a little bit easier. when metal isn't used, the color used it up to you.

of these, only ki urushi is strictly necessary. there are some other colors, too, but black and red are the most common. use your discretion.

mugi urushi, sabi urushi, and kokuso are the three important mixtures made from one of the above additives and ki urushi. mugi urushi is the glue used for adhering pieces together, made using ki urushi and wheat flour. sabi urushi is a filler material made from tonoko and ki urushi. sometimes, if you need your sabi to be thicker, you add jinoko as well. kokuso is a heavy duty filler made from mixing hemp fiber and ki urushi, it is useful for filling in large missing pieces.

personally, i think that in many repairs wheat flour and tonoko will be all that is needed. there's a video where dave pike fills in a sizable chip using mugi urushi "just because" he already had some mixed up, even though technically a tonoko or even jinoko sabi urushi might have been a better choice.

(dave pike) Step 5A, kintsugi, how to add and fill in missing pieces

these solvents are relatively easy to come by. turpentine is excellent for removing excess urushi from glazed surfaces, and ethanol is often mixed into ki urushi in order to make a very thin lacquer that has an easy time wicking into hairline cracks.

there's various miscellaneous tools you'll want to have around. a small plastic spatula of some sort for applying mugi urushi, toothpicks for scraping off excess. a small acrylic brush is handy for painting on the colored urushi lacquers. sandpaper is useful for preparing mating surfaces and cleaning up sabi urushi and kokuso. diamond files are great when you need to open up a hairline crack just enough that ki urushi diluted with ethanol is able to pull itself in.

the muro

urushi takes a very long time to dry and harden, and is picky about its conditions. you are lucky if a kintsugi repair takes a week: many will take months, you do some work and set the piece aside for a week to dry. additionally, urushi needs to be relatively warm, between 20℃ and 30℃, and have very high humidity between 60% and 85%.

in order to achieve this humidity, a box called a muro is to be prepared. there's really not much to it: find a box that will fit your piece. if its made out of cardboard, line the bottom with plastic wrap. place a damp towel on the bottom. prepare a stand from sticks or something, maybe use a trivet or something like that. then place your piece inside and close the box. a humidity sensor can be included to ensure that the box is properly humid. the towel will have to be periodically re-wet.

sourcing

with that in mind, of the necessary materials, the lacquers, tonoko, and jinoko are the tricky (and therefore expensive) stuff to get in the states. there are a great deal of companies online selling kintsugi starter kits, but they are very expensive for what you get. in part, because they include gold, which is fine if you want to use gold but i don't want to use gold. also because you tend to pay for a pretty box. you can get much better mileage for the same cost, or less, if you just go for what you need. those same stores which sell the kits sell individual items, some stores sell just individual items. maybe everything i've listed here if you are completionist, maybe the bare minimum of ki urushi, bengara or kuroiro urushi, and tonoko is sufficient for you. exercise judgement. it is trivial to find the other stuff domestically.

personally, i sourced my materials from goenne. the shipping is devilishly expensive, but afaict after evaluating total costs from several stores, it all works out about the same. goenne conveniently sells a plastic spatula and suitable model brush for the same cost, if not cheaper, than anything you'd be able to find in a domestic store so if you order from there you might want to throw those in as well.

recipes

recipes for mugi urushi, sabi urushi, and kokuso coming soon i suppose (2026-05-14) check back here in the future maybe... or look them up on the world wide web.

this is the web mirror of a gemini capsule by the same name.