How to Fix Broken Ceramic Figurines Step by Step Guide

How to fix broken ceramic figurine

Hey there! I’m William Jon from Florida. Now I’m going to discuss broken ceramic figurines. Sometimes, our adorable ceramic figurines fell by mistake, then it gets broke. Some of the figurines are our collection or someone our beloved. So, many people harts for their figurines. In this case, if you know how to fix broken ceramic figurines, then it’s easy for you to repair them and use them again. To fix ceramic figurines, you can choose multiple methods and steps to repair them as well.

Here, I’ll show you 3 methods which are shows fixed with professional glue, homemade solution, and repair with milk. I recommend you to repair your figurines with glue. It’s easy and shortcuts. Let’s started our magic tips to repair broken figurines easily and faster. Read us to learn effective tips and guidelines, then repair your figurine yourself as a professional.

How to fix broken ceramics: CERAMIC FIGURINES AND MORE

Fixing broken ceramics, including ceramic figurines and other objects, can be a delicate but rewarding DIY project. Here are steps to help you repair broken ceramic items:

Materials You’ll Need:

  1. Epoxy or Ceramic Repair Adhesive: Look for a high-quality adhesive specifically designed for ceramics.
  2. Disposable Gloves: To protect your hands from adhesive.
  3. Small Clamps or Rubber Bands: These will help hold the pieces together while the adhesive sets.
  4. Toothpicks or Small Applicators: Useful for applying adhesive precisely.
  5. Acetone or Nail Polish Remover: For cleaning and preparing the surfaces.
  6. Sandpaper or a Fine File: To smooth any rough edges after the repair.
  7. Paints and Brushes (if needed): To touch up any color or finish discrepancies.

Steps for Ceramic Repair:

  1. Safety First: Work in a well-ventilated area and wear disposable gloves to protect your hands from adhesive.
  2. Clean the Broken Edges: Use acetone or nail polish remover to clean both the broken edges of the ceramic pieces. This removes any dirt, oils, or residues that might hinder bonding.
  3. Test Fit: Before applying adhesive, carefully fit the broken pieces together to ensure they align correctly. Once you’re satisfied with the fit, proceed to the next step.
  4. Apply Adhesive: Using toothpicks or small applicators, apply the ceramic adhesive evenly to both surfaces where the pieces will join. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the adhesive, as drying times may vary.
  5. Reassemble: Gently press the broken pieces together, ensuring a snug fit. Excess adhesive may squeeze out from the seams; you can wipe this away with a clean cloth or paper towel.
  6. Secure with Clamps or Rubber Bands: To ensure a tight bond while the adhesive sets, use small clamps or wrap rubber bands around the repaired area. Be cautious not to apply too much pressure that could further damage the ceramic.
  7. Drying Time: Allow the adhesive to cure for the recommended time specified by the manufacturer. This typically ranges from a few hours to a full day, depending on the adhesive type.
  8. Remove Excess Adhesive: After the adhesive has fully dried, carefully remove any excess adhesive with a fine file or sandpaper. Be gentle to avoid damaging the repaired area.
  9. Touch-Up (Optional): If your ceramic item has a painted finish, you may need to touch up the repaired area with matching paint and a fine brush to blend it with the rest of the piece. Be sure to let the paint dry completely.
  10. Display or Use: Once the repaired ceramic item is fully dry and any touch-ups are complete, it should be ready for display or use.

Keep in mind that while ceramic repairs can be effective, they may not always make the item as strong as it was before the break, so handle the repaired object with care. Additionally, some antique or valuable ceramics may require professional restoration to maintain their authenticity and value.

How to Fix cracked Ceramic Figurines

Fixing cracked ceramic figurines requires careful attention to detail and patience. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you repair cracked ceramic figurines:

Materials You’ll Need:

  1. Epoxy or Ceramic Repair Adhesive: Choose an adhesive designed for ceramics.
  2. Disposable Gloves: To protect your hands from adhesive.
  3. Clean Cloth or Paper Towel: For cleaning and preparing the surfaces.
  4. Toothpicks or Small Applicators: Useful for applying adhesive precisely.
  5. Clamps or Rubber Bands: To hold the pieces together while the adhesive sets.
  6. Acetone or Nail Polish Remover (optional): For cleaning the surfaces.
  7. Fine Sandpaper or File: To smooth any rough edges after the repair.
  8. Paints and Brushes (if needed): To touch up any color discrepancies.

Steps for Repairing Cracked Ceramic Figurines:

  1. Safety First: Work in a well-ventilated area and wear disposable gloves to protect your hands from adhesive.
  2. Clean the Crack: Use a clean cloth or paper towel to wipe the cracked edges to remove any dirt, oils, or residues. If the figurine is dirty, you may use acetone or nail polish remover to clean the surfaces, but be sure to let it dry completely before proceeding.
  3. Test Fit: Carefully fit the cracked pieces together to ensure they align correctly. This will help you confirm that the repair will be seamless.
  4. Apply Adhesive: Using toothpicks or small applicators, apply the ceramic adhesive evenly along the crack. Make sure to cover both sides of the crack with adhesive. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the adhesive regarding drying times.
  5. Reassemble: Gently press the cracked pieces together, ensuring a tight fit. If excess adhesive squeezes out from the seam, wipe it away with a clean cloth or paper towel.
  6. Secure with Clamps or Rubber Bands: To maintain pressure and ensure a strong bond while the adhesive sets, use small clamps or wrap rubber bands around the repaired area. Be careful not to apply excessive pressure, which could further damage the figurine.
  7. Drying Time: Allow the adhesive to cure for the recommended time specified by the manufacturer. This usually ranges from a few hours to a full day, depending on the adhesive.
  8. Remove Excess Adhesive: After the adhesive has fully dried, carefully remove any excess adhesive using fine sandpaper or a file. Be gentle to avoid causing further damage to the figurine.
  9. Touch-Up (if needed): If the figurine has a painted finish, you may need to touch up the repaired area with matching paint and a fine brush to blend it with the rest of the piece. Let the paint dry completely.
  10. Display or Use: Once the repaired ceramic figurine is fully dry and any touch-ups are complete, it should be ready for display or use.

Keep in mind that while this process can effectively repair cracked ceramic figurines, the item may not be as strong as it was before the crack. Therefore, handle the figurine with care to prevent further damage. For valuable or antique figurines, consider seeking professional restoration services to maintain their authenticity and value.

How to fix broken ceramic figurines with glue

It is an easy method to repair any type of figurine. You can even fix porcelain figurines, stone figurines, and glass figurines with glue. Choose some professional glue or epoxy to repair it properly. I have listed here some professional gorilla glue, super glue, super glue gel, epoxy, putty, and Loctite glue.

Hello, welcome to do it yourself with Wayne. Today we’re going to be repairing a ceramic figurine from our nativity scene. Unfortunately, when we were packing up our Christmas figurine got dropped. And you can see there are pieces here. And we’re going to be doing our best to put it back together and make it look like new again. We’re going to be using our JB weld clear epoxy to make the repairs on this little figurine.

Top 5 Glue for ceramic figurine

  • List Element
  • List Element
  • List Element
  • List Element
  • List Element

And William is all about helping you learn how to do things yourself to save your money. And that’s the basis of our whole channel is to help you save money. So if you’re interested in saving money, you might want to save our website bookmark to help you find more of our content in the future.

Mix up the epoxy

Broken figurine repair

So now we’re going to proceed, now we’re going to mix up a little bit of our epoxy. And we’ve already tested a few of these pieces. Then we’re going to start with a few pieces that we think we can put in first and see how it moves along. Read more, ceramic sink repair.Step one is to make some epoxy. In our first step, we’re only going to do one small piece to start with, because we’re concerned about how the pieces will fit together as we start gluing a figurine. And if you glue in pieces that you can’t get the pieces in with it in place, that’s a problem.

Start with small pieces

So we’re gonna start with small pieces, that to do your epoxy, typically wood epoxies, you take equal parts of both bottles. So we’re going to do that here. That’s about two equal parts of the two colors, we’ll take a small stake, we’re using a little mode, popsicle stick, which is part of alcohol, we won’t small stakes here. And you make that real thoroughly.

I’d caution you that when you make your epoxy, go a little overboard on mixing it, you don’t want to have any parts of it that aren’t mixed up well because the parts that aren’t mixed up well blue as well. So go a little above and beyond mixing your epoxy. And we use Thank you got it makes good enough, just start a little bit more just to be sure, because you don’t want thoroughly mixed parts.

Collect those broken pieces and prepare them

Alright, now what we’re going to do, we’re not gonna start with a little figurine yet, we’re gonna start with this piece right here because we’ve determined that this piece right here goes right there. And because of the way they’re gonna have to fit back together, if I put the big piece in first, I may not be able to get this piece in. So our first step, all we’re going to glue is this piece and this piece together. So we don’t need hardly any of this glue. But we didn’t want to make it a too-small mountain that they don’t make swale.

So we’ll take my little stick, and we’ll put a little bit on there. Don’t take much. That’s probably more than I need right there. And then we’ll put that on there. And we’ll hold it in place do it sticks, and curves a little bit if I can get it this day in place. All right, right there it is the same place now and I’m going to hold it right there. Read more, How to clean ceramic bearings.The stuff is supposed to sit in five minutes. And if I have to hold it for five minutes, that’s what I’m going to do. But I want to take my time and do this slowly and try to do a really good job.

Remix the epoxy glue for the final step

At this point, we’ve taken our time and glued a couple of small pieces into the larger pieces before we tried to put the larger pieces into the little figurine. And so now we’re going to take our epoxy, we’re going to mix up some more to make our final gluing of the larger pieces into the main part of the statue. And here again, you want to get you to know equal parts of both as best as you can. Something like that looks like equal parts. And we’re going to mix them up well. taking your time to make some

How epoxy sit

One thing we did notice was these epoxies supposed to set in five minutes, it’s taken a little longer than that. I don’t know if it’s a little bit cooler temperatures or humidity or whatever. But it is taken longer to sit in, and the five minutes is supposed to sit. But it’s probably just our conditions or something. I think on a normal warm day or something, it probably said it faster. Goes temperature and humidity can affect how quickly epoxy sits.

But I do like this particular poxy I’ve used it before it works well. So we’re gonna get this mixed up good. And I just like to say at this point got any Questions about doing this? Just, you know, post it in the comments. And, you know if we can answer your questions, we’ll be happy to try. Also read, how to paint ceramic mug.

Apply glue on broken pieces

Repairing ceramic figurine

But anyway, we’re gonna proceed here, with a little glue down to their little bit over here, I know it makes up a lot more than I’m going to need. Read more, ceramic neti pot.But I don’t want to run out, run inside there. But the top piece and first set it in place. Mo, get some more glue. And we’ll do the same thing on the bottom.

Place the pieces back on the figurine

Alright, that should give us enough glue. And like I said, I’ve already glued a couple of little pieces that we had broken charge to this piece. And I want to the upper piece. Now that should fit in there. And there we go. And fitting together pretty well. One of the problems that we keep having here is to get glue on our fingers, and your finger sticks to things, and it pulls it apart. So that is something that you’ll have to deal with. If you do one of these.

Let wait some time to sit the glue

They will just kind of hold this now until it sets a bit. And like said this epoxy is supposed to sit in five minutes, we found it it’s taken longer than that at least six, eight, ten minutes sometimes. So I’m going to hold this and give it some time to see it and then we’ll see how it ends up.

Polish the surface

At this point, we’ve got our large pieces glued into the back, and we’re going to let it go with this. It’s certainly not as good as new, but it’s a lot better than it was. And so that’s how you can repair your ceramic items that get broken. And if you won’t, if you’re the kind of person it gets into the small details, and you want to repaint and refinish something like this.

I would recommend a Ron Hazelton video about how to repair broken ceramics. He fixes a cookie jar that’s his man in his family for a while. And he not only puts the pieces that he has back together but he has holes where art pieces are missing, and who show you how to repair those as well as repaint the parts that are repaired so it blends in really well.

FAQ’s

Certainly, here are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about how to fix broken ceramic figurines:

Can I repair a broken ceramic figurine myself?

Yes, you can repair a broken ceramic figurine yourself with the right materials and techniques, but it requires patience and attention to detail.

What type of adhesive should I use for ceramic figurine repairs?

Use epoxy or a ceramic-specific adhesive designed for bonding ceramics. These adhesives provide strong and durable bonds.

Do I need to wear gloves when repairing ceramic figurines?

It’s advisable to wear disposable gloves when working with adhesives to protect your hands and prevent contamination of the adhesive.

How do I clean the cracked ceramic surfaces before repair?

Use a clean cloth or paper towel to wipe away dirt, oils, or residues. If the figurine is heavily soiled, you can use acetone or nail polish remover, but be sure it’s completely dry before applying adhesive.

Can I use regular glue to fix a broken ceramic figurine?

Regular white glue or super glue may not provide a strong and lasting bond for ceramic figurine repairs. It’s best to use epoxy or ceramic-specific adhesive.

Should I sand the repaired area after the adhesive has dried?

Yes, after the adhesive has dried, use fine sandpaper or a file to smooth any rough edges or excess adhesive for a cleaner finish.

Can I paint over the repaired area to hide the repair lines?

If your ceramic figurine has a painted finish, you can touch up the repaired area with matching paint and a fine brush to blend it with the rest of the piece.

How long does it take for the adhesive to dry?

The drying time varies depending on the adhesive and manufacturer’s instructions. It can range from a few hours to a full day, so follow the recommended drying time.

Will the repaired figurine be as strong as before the break?

While a properly repaired ceramic figurine can be strong, it may not have the same strength as it did before the break. Handle the figurine with care to prevent further damage.

Are there professional services for ceramic figurine repairs?

Yes, there are professional ceramic restoration services available for valuable or antique figurines. These experts can provide meticulous repairs to maintain authenticity and value.

Can I repair figurines made from materials other than ceramics using the same method?

The method described here is primarily for ceramic figurines. Different materials may require different types of adhesives and repair techniques.

Can I use a clear adhesive for transparent or translucent ceramic figurines?

Yes, for transparent or translucent figurines, consider using a clear epoxy or adhesive to minimize the visibility of the repair.

Conclusion

In conclusion, repairing broken ceramic figurines is a task that can be accomplished with careful attention to detail and the right materials. By following the steps outlined in the guide and using appropriate adhesives, you can mend cracks and fractures, restoring the figurine to its former beauty. While the repaired figurine may not be as robust as it was before the break, it can still be a cherished piece in your collection or a sentimental item with its charm intact.

Remember that patience is key when working on ceramic figurine repairs, and it’s essential to handle the figurine with care to prevent further damage. For valuable or antique figurines, or for complex repairs, seeking professional restoration services may be advisable to maintain their authenticity and value.

In essence, with the right tools, techniques, and a steady hand, you can breathe new life into broken ceramic figurines, allowing them to continue delighting you for years to come.

by William Jon
Hello, I'm William Jon. I'm a ceramic researcher, ceramic artist, writer, and professional blogger since 2010. I studied at the NYS college of ceramics at Alfred University in the USA about ceramic. I'm a professional ceramicist. Now I'm researching the ceramic products in Wilson Ceramic Laboratory (WCL) and reviewing them to assist online customers.

1 thought on “How to Fix Broken Ceramic Figurines Step by Step Guide”

  1. I have a valuable planter with a witch on it, it has a very small chip on the nose, it’s not deep, it may just be a chip in the paint n glaze n not actually into the ceramic, I need tp repair n make it unnoticeable. What’s the best wat to do that???

    Reply

Leave a Comment