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Cracked Greenware

Can anyone offer any guidance in repairing a cracked handle on a bone-dry piece? Under normal circumstances, I would not bother to repair a cracked piece. However, the piece in question took upwards of 20 hours to make, and the break is very clean.

Online I have found remedies such as magic water, spooze and paper clay. Any success stories? Any dismal failures or dashed hopes?
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Wayne said…
I have used paperclay with success. I wet down one sheet of tissue and then mixed clay into it until I had a thick slip. Wet the pieces you are joining slightly and add paperclay and presss together. Good luck.
October 20, 2009 at 9:13 PM
Unknown said…
I think magic water works as long as you are delicate with it through the firing process. Once you glaze the piece it should be fine. On the other hand, it is a handle you are speaking of and if you have any intention of this handle being used I don't think magic water would cut it.

@ Wayne- will paper clay work as a fix-it joiner if the main body isn't paperclay?
October 20, 2009 at 11:17 PM
Unknown said…
I used paperclay recently to repair a crack in a handle join where I'd put a handle on a too firm cylinder. Even though it was wrapped well, in drying it cracked the body of the piece and part of where the handle attached. The piece has been bisqued now but not glaze fired. The crack appears to have been repaired. I'll just have to see what happens after glaze firing.

The clay was Zellastone.
October 20, 2009 at 11:27 PM
Kip said…
Paper clay all the way!! I take scraps of my dry clay body, crush it into a powder with a mortar and pestle and then shred an equal volume of toilet paper into the clay. For moisture I add vinegar and then mix well with a stick blender. I've even repaired some cracks in bisque with this stuff - it's amazing!
October 20, 2009 at 11:33 PM
MattyT said…
i would recomend either a defloculated slip or run a tool with a ball point end around the join. sortof burnish the crack with the tool.
October 21, 2009 at 1:28 AM
mary claire said…
Yes, paperclay is absolutely the answer, but apply it gingerly. I have applied too much and too little at a time, you need to know the piece that you are working with. God bless!
October 21, 2009 at 11:30 PM
Kari Weaver said…
I'm going to try the paper clay tomorrow. Since the piece is sculptural, the handle in question is not necessarily functional. I've really got nothing to lose by putting a bit more work into this piece.

Thanks for the advice. I'll post my results.
October 22, 2009 at 9:15 PM
Unknown said…
Wow... Thanks for the paperyclay fix-it recipe, Kip!
October 22, 2009 at 10:42 PM
Anonymous said…
I agree with Wayne. Recently my instructor has been experimenting with paper clay with pretty decent success. She mixes paper (not paper towels as they don't seem to break down enough) like tissue into a slip and adds an equal amount of clay slip of the same clay body the piece is made of. She had a piece last week that had a long crack around the base of a casserole about 1/8" wide at it's worst. She filled in the crack and built up the area. This took patience as she was careful to fill the crack and let each application pretty much dry. She bisqued it and it was fine. She just had to sand it down in that area. Good Luck! BTW she says it works on bisqueware as well. I have a bisqued piece with a short, fine crack I'm going to try it on.
October 24, 2009 at 8:18 PM
Nausheen Bari said…
Can i use synthetic white vinegar with clay to fix cracks?

thanks
January 7, 2012 at 3:11 AM
John Britt said…
Never worked for me. Try the paperclay.
January 7, 2012 at 10:38 AM
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