A piece repaired with a modern kintsugi kit should be treated as a decorative object rather than crockery: dust it, wipe it gently by hand, and keep it away from food, drink, standing water and the dishwasher permanently. The adhesive that makes the repair possible is a strong two-part epoxy, and it is neither food grade nor waterproof, so the care instructions are short and firm rather than fussy. Follow them and a golden repair will look exactly as good in ten years as it does the morning after you finish it.
Why is a repaired piece decorative rather than practical?
Two honest limitations, both worth understanding rather than simply obeying.
The first is that the adhesive is not food-grade, so repaired pieces are best kept for display rather than used for food or drink. This is not a technicality invented by lawyers. It is the straightforward consequence of using a material chosen for strength and ease rather than for sitting under hot soup.
The second is that the repair is not waterproof, and a mended piece is not guaranteed watertight. That rules out the use people most often ask about, which is a vase. A hairline seam that looks perfectly closed can still weep slowly over hours, and a bowl left full of water is asking the join to do a job it was never given.
Traditional kintsugi, made with urushi lacquer over weeks of curing, sits differently on both counts, which is one of the trade-offs you accept when you swap months of work for an evening. The modern kit buys you accessibility. It does not buy you a dishwasher-proof dinner bowl, and any kit that claims otherwise deserves suspicion.
How should you clean a kintsugi piece?
Gently, dryly and rarely. The routine that works:
- Dust with a soft dry cloth or a clean, soft brush. For most pieces this is the entire cleaning regime, forever.
- For marks, use a barely damp cloth and dry the piece immediately afterwards. Wipe along the seam rather than scrubbing across it.
- Never soak it. Prolonged water contact is the one thing most likely to work its way into a join over time.
- Keep it out of the dishwasher. Heat, detergent and pressurised water together are a serious test that a decorative repair has no reason to sit.
- Skip solvents and abrasives. White spirit, acetone, bleach and scouring cream can all dull or damage the gilded seam. Nail varnish remover in particular is exactly the wrong idea.
The gold seam is a premium gold mica pigment, the same family of mineral pigment used in fine cosmetics and art materials. It is durable in normal handling and it does not need polishing. Metal polish is for metal, and a kintsugi seam is not metal.
Where should you keep it?
Somewhere stable, somewhere dry and somewhere it is not going to get knocked, which is a slightly ironic list of requirements for an object that has already been broken once.
Keep repaired pieces out of prolonged direct sunlight. Epoxy resins tend to yellow slowly with heavy ultraviolet exposure, so a sunny windowsill will age the join faster than a shelf across the room. Keep them away from radiators, hobs, open flames and anything else that generates real heat, since heat is not a friend to adhesives generally.
Do not stack repaired pieces inside other bowls. The weight bears unevenly across the seams and the edges of the join can catch and chip. Store them upright and separately, and if a piece is going into a cupboard for a while, wrap it loosely in tissue rather than cling film so it can breathe.
When you pick a repaired piece up, take it by the body rather than by a handle or a rim that carries a seam. Handles concentrate leverage precisely where you least want it.
What can you actually use it for?
Plenty, once you stop thinking of it as tableware. Repaired pieces are at their best doing jobs that are dry, decorative or both:
- Tea lights and candles. The classic answer, and a genuinely lovely one, since a mended bowl throws light beautifully along its golden seams. All of the beauty with none of the food contact. Use a tea light in its own metal cup, keep the flame clear of the join, and do not leave it burning unattended.
- Keys, coins and pocket clutter by the front door, where the piece gets seen every day.
- Rings and jewellery on a dressing table, which is arguably an upgrade on whatever they currently live in.
- Dried flowers or a display of dried botanicals, since dried needs no water.
- Simply as an object on a shelf. No two kintsugi repairs on earth fall the same way, so a mended bowl is genuinely one of a kind.
The one category to keep it away from is anything edible, including nuts, sweets and fruit that touches the surface directly. A small dish inside the bowl solves that if you want the look.
What if a repair fails or a new crack appears?
It happens, and it is usually fixable. The most common causes of a weak join are a mix where parts A and B were not combined in equal amounts and stirred thoroughly, too little glue, dusty or greasy edges, or the pieces not being held firm long enough while setting. All four are process problems rather than material ones, which means the repair can be redone properly.
To redo a seam, separate the affected pieces if they have come apart, clean the edges so they are completely dry and free of dust and old residue, mix a fresh small batch, apply a thin, even layer, and hold each join firm for 30 to 60 seconds before moving on. Then leave it alone to cure fully.
And if you have not started yet, the best insurance is the boring one: practise first. The kit includes two china bowls specifically so you can learn on something disposable, and there is a good reason we say so repeatedly. A treasured piece deserves your second attempt, not your first.
Kintsugi care FAQs
Can I eat or drink from a kintsugi repaired piece?
No. The adhesive is not food grade, so repaired pieces are for display, decoration and tea lights rather than dinner.
Can a repaired piece go in the dishwasher?
Never. Treat it as the decorative object it has become: hand dust it, wipe it gently, and keep it away from food, drink and the dishwasher.
Will the gold seam wear off over time?
Not with normal handling and gentle dusting. What does damage it is abrasive cleaning, solvents and scrubbing, so avoid all three.
Can I put water or flowers in a repaired vase?
No. The repair is not waterproof and pieces are not guaranteed watertight, so use dried flowers instead if you want the look.
Can I repair the same piece twice?
Yes. Clean and dry the edges thoroughly, mix a fresh batch of the kit's epoxy in equal parts, and hold the join firm while it sets. Most failed joins are down to mixing or handling rather than the piece itself.
Fancy mending something beautifully? Browse our craft kits.
