Ceramic and Porcelain Repairs – London | What are porcelain fillers?

Here is a draft article explaining porcelain fillers for ceramic repairs:

Repairing Ceramics with Porcelain Fillers

When ceramic items like vases, tiles, or figurines get damaged from chips, cracks, or missing pieces, professional-grade porcelain fillers offer an effective repair solution. Here’s an overview of how these fillers work and when they are the best choice:

What are Porcelain Fillers?

Porcelain fillers consist of ultra-fine porcelain powders mixed with a liquid carrier and hardener. They can be thought of as “liquid porcelain” that can be brushed into cracks or holes and cure solid. When dry, they create a strong porcelain patch indistinguishable from the original material.

Advantages Over Other Fillers

Porcelain fillers bond extremely well to the original ceramic piece and match the color, texture, and properties nearly identically after firing. This gives a seamless, factory-quality repair. They hold shape well when drying and won’t shrink or sink on curing.

Application Process

The area to fill is cleaned and roughened to improve adhesion. The filler is mixed to a paint-like consistency and applied in layers as needed, allowing drying between layers. Once fully dry, the repaired area is sanded smooth and painted to match surrounding color and patterns. A final firing at around 1400°F fuses the filler to the ceramic.

Ideal Uses

Porcelain fillers excel at filling chips, cracks, holes, and missing sections in ceramic wares. They are the best option when color matching to the original ceramic is crucial. Porcelain fillers can also recreate intricate sculptural features like small facial details, flower petals, textured patterns, etc.

Downsides

The main downsides are the skill required to evenly fill damaged areas and properly blend reglued broken sections. Firing equipment is also needed. Cost may be higher than simpler fillers.

Overall, porcelain fillers are a great choice when a near perfect color match and durable repair are needed. With practice and firing equipment, they can make damaged ceramics look flawless again.

Let me know if you would like me to modify or expand on any part of this explanation of repairing ceramics with professional porcelain fillers. I can provide more details on preparation, blending, firing, or costs.