Because this definitely needs a thread.
So, my favourite tea mug broke earlier. It's a clean break, I've wrapped up the two halves and put them in a drawer for now. So the question is how do I fix it?
Options include:
- Superglue it with any old glue, and turn it into a plant pot or similar
- Try and find some epoxy or something that's food safe - but that might not be tea-safe and could be messy
- Shell out and try silver or gold kintsugi, which could look really cool but the kits are expensive and it may not be dead easy.
Thoughts?
I'd like to think that there is a glue that's safe for this purpose in both ways, i.e. it won't dissolve harmful chemicals into your tea, and it won't come unglued when hot water is added. But I don't know what that glue is :( If there's a traditional hardware store or ironmongery somewhere near you, they might know.
Kintsugi does indeed sound good, but I suspect it's something I'd want practice with before trying it out for real. On the other hand, I don't do any model-making or similar; experience with that sort of activity would probably transfer well to kintsugi.
http://www.krazyglue.com/product/details/all-purpose-krazy-glue#.V2XRznTD_qA
Certified non toxic and food safe. Don't put so much that it spills out from the crack, put the pieces tightly together quickly and squeeze it firmly until it sets. It ain't coming apart again.
Being curious, I've read through the details on the website. It's a cyanoacrylate glue, so there should be something directly equivalent available over here ("Super Glue", I think). In the Q&A, they say it's non-toxic, waterproof, and microwave-safe, but recommend not putting a glued item in a dishwasher. They say it's heat-resistant to about 180F (82C), so I'd be wary of pouring boiling water directly into the glued mug; on the other hand, someone else says they glued their favourite coffee mug and it's been fine. There is some mention of an "Advanced Formula" that is more heat-resistant.
It would probably look armadillo but you could use something like rtv silicon, it's non toxic. Don't know how heat resistant it is but I'd imagine it can handle boiling water with ease.
One should be able to order it on amazon for only a couple dollars or pounds.
Ja: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001CNZJA0
"Through the wonders of modern technology..."
I grew up in the 1980s; a lot of my sense of how the world works was set then, and never really updated. Evidently, I still expect that most US-branded consumer products are not readily available in the UK, and require a time-consuming and expensive mail-order process to obtain over here. Oh well, live and learn...