How To Repair Broken Ceramic Mug

My higher mug came out the dishwasher with a fissure last calendar week. My coffee didn't taste the same out of a mug that didn't remind me of all the lectures I no longer have to nourish.

Having invested an inordinate amount of time scouring the cyberspace for methods to repair it, I figured I could spare other sentimental souls that try and compile a review of the best means to relieve a ceramic keepsake.

How To Repair A Ceramic Mug: Short answer

Hairline cracks in ceramic mugs can be repaired either by soaking them in warm milk or by gluing them with cyanoacrylate mucilage or epoxy resin

Which method you choose depends on how astringent the cleft is and whether you're repairing it for appearance or functionality.

How To Repair A Ceramic Mug With Milk

It's not a hoax: boiling your croaky ceramics in milk actually can seal up the cracks! (quick video below to show yous how)

I had to attempt it. Since I intend on drinking coffee out of my mug this seemed like the least toxic selection and I figured it couldn't do any harm. To my amazement, it worked!

The method is non complicated:

Put the mug in a bucket and cover it with milk.
Bring it very gently to the boil (vigorous humid might result in more than a hairline crack).
Once boiling, turn information technology downwards and simmer for an hour.
Wait for the milk to cool before extracting your repaired mug.
Leave it to cure for a day or two before drinking from it again.

How Long Will A Mug Last If I Glue Information technology With Milk?

How long the milk technique holds out seems to be very variable.

Skeptics suggest that the organic nature of the casein protein ways it would be very susceptible to heat and water harm and come up autonomously later on the first couple of washes.

I'm sure it depends a lot on the blazon of ceramic and the severity of the crack, simply in that location are loads of stories online about dishes and cups that accept lasted years of dishwashing after existence repaired in milk.

My cup has lasted about v washes and then far and is still going strong. I'll have to update you when the crack starts to show!

How Tin can Milk Mucilage A Mug Back Together?

Milk contains a poly peptide called casein. When milk is heated the casein separates out and settles on nearby porous surfaces, forming a plastic-like material.

When your cracked cup is submerged in the heated milk, the casein settles into the crack and kind of bonds the two rough edges together.

How To Repair A Croaky Mug With Cyanoacrylate Glue

Cyanoacrylate glue, aka Crazy glue or Super glue, is clear, quick setting and forms an extremely potent bond with a very thin layer of glue. It's bachelor in liquid format, which allows it to soak into cracks, and some additives give information technology better heat and h2o resistance.

All that makes information technology perfect for repairing a fine cleft in your mug until you realize that it's toxic, and hot liquids upward against the glue are likely to leach the toxins into your brew.

If your main goal is to make the mug look skilful, fifty-fifty if you tin never once more drink from it, and so cyanoacrylate is probably the best style to get.

If you're pretty sure the crack doesn't get all the way through your mug this might work for you likewise, but personally, I prefer non to chance getting toxic materials in contact with my food and beverage.

Apply glue carefully over the crack line, making sure there is plenty excess to soak in.
Let it soak in for 3-v seconds
Apace wipe off all the excess glue earlier it dries.
Exit it to cure according to the manufacturer's instructions.

How To Repair A Cracked Mug With Epoxy

Epoxy is a two-office adhesive, consisting of a resin and a hardening agent. Once the two are mixed they begin to cure, forming a very durable bond with any surfaces they come into contact with.

Epoxy is more heat and water resistant than milk or cyanoacrylate mucilage, and unlike cyanoacrylate, it is available in "food-rubber" versions. (I'm still non convinced well-nigh how safe information technology is for contact with food. Even "food-safety" epoxy contains BPAs which have been linked to all kinds of wellness weather condition.)

The drawback with epoxy is that information technology requires a bigger gap between the two surfaces to be bonded. And then while it might be great for gluing whole pieces back on or filling in larger cracks or chips, information technology'south probably non ideal for a hairline cleft.

The method is the same as for cyanoacrylate glue, with the additional get-go step of mixing the resin and the hardener.

Other Ways Of Restoring Cracked Mugs

Professional restoration: If the mug is invaluable to you and you don't trust your DIY skills, you lot could accept it to an antiquarian dealer or ceramic studio and pay them to do information technology perfectly.
Kintsugi: Japanese for "Gilded Joinery", Kintsugi is every bit much a philosophy equally it is a technique. Using lacquer and aureate dust to join up cracked surfaces, information technology celebrates the history of an object rather than hiding flaws, often with very pretty results.
Repurposing: Since it's non about the contents so much as the vessel, the best way to preserve your love mug might exist to end drinking out of information technology. Utilize it equally a pencil holder, a plant pot or a candle so you still become to look at it while sipping your brew out of something else.

Can I Utilize Milk Or Glue To Fix Bigger Cracks? And Breaks?

Although milk has been credited with fixing actual breaks in ceramic objects I'm not certain how conceivable those stories are, or how long the repair would last.

For larger repairs stick to glue of some sort. If you program on drinking out of the mug over again then become with the "food-safety" epoxy.

If it's a wide fissure you could endeavour heating information technology upwardly very gently in the oven offset to open it up and go the epoxy inside. As it cools the crack volition clamp downward on the epoxy for a tight join.

If the crack extends all the mode through, essentially splitting the slice in 2, yous might do all-time to break the 2 sections apart and gum them dorsum together, rather than filling in the crack.

If you lot're gluing two pieces together, make sure y'all accept them firmly taped or clamped in place for as long every bit the gum takes to cure.

The scissure in my mug is fixed for now but I've taken this every bit fair warning that I need a new mug to which to adhere myself. Hopefully, your repairs will give you the time you need to replace yours too!