What will you do if your favorite pottery cup or ceramic coffee mug breaks into pieces? Probably, you’ll certainly try to give it a new life by using an adhesive if the pieces are sizable enough to work with. And precisely this is where ceramic glues benefit us. It is a quick-fix solution for everything and works magically in rescuing the broken pieces of any item.
A good ceramic glue is not only capable enough to stick the broken pieces together but also gives a durable backup to your pottery. And that is why the use of ceramic glue is so widespread. So, adding an excellent ceramic glue to your pottery tool kit is undoubtedly going to be beneficial for you.
But do you know that choosing ceramic glue for all types of pottery pieces is not always the right decision? Though glue is indeed the best option to fix your broken pot, there are some drawbacks to using this adhesive. In this article, we are going to talk about those limitations. But before moving on to it, let’s have a quick study on the adhesives we usually use for ceramic wares.
What is meant by Ceramic Glue?
As evident from the name, ceramic glue is a kind of adhesive that we mainly use to stick together broken or cracked pottery pieces. These glues are usually stronger than any other regular glue that is used for arts and crafts. Ceramic adhesives are more powerful for fixing objects like mugs, plates, bowls, sculptures, antiques, floor tiles, etc., which are quite impossible to get mended using typical glues.
There is a wide plethora of ceramic glues available in the market that come with different features and varied price ranges. The different types of ceramic glues differ in terms of their strength, purpose of usage, and durability.
Below we have listed a few characteristics and uses of the varieties of ceramic adhesives.
Types of ceramic glue | Characteristics | Usage |
| Epoxy glue | Epoxy glue is a polymer glue. It comes in two parts – resin and hardener, which you need to mix to prepare the glue. Epoxy glue can resist high pressure and temperature. This kind of glue is entirely waterproof. It is strong enough and sticks to a place with added strength. | Epoxy glue is widely used to stick the broken cups, mugs, plates, or other ceramic pieces. It can be an excellent option for you if you want a waterproof glue. You can also use the epoxy glue as a gap filler on ceramic wares. |
| Superglue | Made of cyanide-derived cyanoacrylate, superglues harden when they come in contact with air. Unlike epoxy glue, you don’t need to mix the compounds to prepare a superglue mixture on your own. They are much easier to apply, but they aren’t waterproof and as strong as epoxy glue. | If you want a quick fix to your little pottery pieces for decoration purposes, then a superglue is ideal for you. Also, if you don’t want to struggle with epoxy, then a superglue can be your best friend as they are too easy to use. |
When and Why Not to Use a Ceramic Glue?
There’s no doubt about the ability of ceramic glue to repair a broken pot. However, it is not safe to use ceramic glue everywhere. So, here we are going to tell you when you should not use ceramic glue and why.
1. When you are making food-safe pottery:
It’s heartbreaking when our favorite coffee mug scatters into pieces mistakenly. But using glue to join them together is not a good idea. Most of the ceramic glues contain chemicals to enhance their adhesive power. These chemicals are toxic and harmful to consume. The ceramic glues tend to dissolve out from the walls of your crockery as soon as they come in contact with liquid food. Hence, using these glues to fix your food-safe pottery will make it highly unsafe.
Thus, it is better to avoid glue for repairing your food-safe utensils. Instead, you can use an alternative way, known as the Kintsugi process of fixing pottery with a mixture of lacquer and powdered metal. Besides, you can also use the hot milk soaking technique to ace the game.
2. When you want to use a dishwasher on your glue-applied broken pot:
If you clean your pottery with dishwashers quite often, then using a ceramic adhesive might not be a good option for you. Ceramic glues are strong enough to stick to the hard surfaces of pottery pieces, but often they cannot withstand water.
For that, you need to choose a glue that is waterproof as well as dishwasher-safe. Strongest Glue by HG POWER GLUE Industrial cyanoacrylate Adhesive can be an ideal choice for you, as it is not only dishwasher-safe but also easy to apply. So, before mending your cracked coffee mug with ceramic glue, ensure its waterproofability and dishwasher safety.
3. When you don’t want your pottery to look odd
There are some glues available in the market that change color after it is completely dry. Especially the epoxy glues tend to change color once they get hard. So, you need to be pretty sure about the color of your final pottery piece.
If you are using it on a beautiful pottery piece and the color of the glue and pottery surface refuse to match, then the pot will look quite odd at the end. It is either better to know precisely about the final color that you will achieve at the end, or avoid using such kind of glues that can ruin the entire aesthetic value of your product.
Conclusion:
There are many more alternative ways to fix your broken pottery that are wholly food-safe and washable. You only need to do a little bit of research on it. However, using glue is not at all a bad idea if you want to fix those potteries that you don’t use for food and drink purposes. Instead, it will be a smart decision to do so.
Nevertheless, many glue companies are now manufacturing waterproof and dishwasher-safe ceramic glues. You can purchase one for quick and better results. Make sure to read the product description thoroughly before buying one. But till now, no food-safe glue has been produced, so strictly avoid using them for your crockery set.
