Kintsugi Repair Kit - Japanese Urushi Lacquer from Japan, Kintsukuroi

I'm new to the art of Kintsugi, but I'm so glad I spent the extra money to get the "real deal" of authentic materials, rather than doing epoxy with gold paint. My cat broke a valuable antique Imari rose jar, so I wanted to put it back together with quality materials the piece deserves. The instructions were complete and easy to follow with helpful extra advice. Watching the coordinating YouTube video helped a lot, too. The kit is complete, including spatula, paint and powder brushes, lint-free cloth, masking tape, and even the silk ball. There is enough material in the kit to do many more repairs. Very satisfied.

I found this kit fairly easy to use after watching the you tube video several times.I repaired one clay chalice where I had all of the broken pieces with a result very much as expected. The flour/water/lacquer paste is a bit tough to handle and takes some getting used to. I ended up removing my gloves and while I fortunately did not have the allergic reaction, the urushi does stain terribly and had to be removed with turpentine. The other piece I am working on is giving me a bit more trouble because some of the broken pieces are missing unlike the video where there is only a chip missing. The tonoko/water/urushi mixture is quite fragile and broke off while sanding and I have redone it several times.I have ordered some more urushi from Amazon but had to order tonoko from another source as it doesn't seem to be available on Amazon. All in all the kit is well worth the price for a DIY item, which I was able to complete without taking a class and I still have enough of my kit left over to complete other repairs.

Ok kit, mediocre Engrish instructions. I cannot recommend this at all if you are any bit sensitive to poison ivy.I worked with well fitting nitrile gloves (the included gloves are a joke) the entire time and managed to get a little bit on my hands somehow during cleanup, and the entire inside of my arms/neck/and part of my upper leg are now covered with a poison ivy rash.The kit did not come with wheat flour for crack repair which feels a bit cheap for the price of the kit (~100 dollars). The included dish is very small (is it a practice dish or is it something you're supposed to mix with?) and you will have to sacrifice one of your own plates for it.I unfortunately did not do my due diligence prior to working with this kit, but hopefully you will. If you are a beginner at this, I highly suggest actually taking a class, or use food safe glue and paint the gold yourself with the more modern technique.BEWARE.

I bought this kit to try out Kintsugi for the first time. It shipped very quickly and arrived in NYC within one week of ordering. The items were packaged well and none had any damage. Using some web resources I I was able to successfully repair a broken cup and now it looks beautiful with its delicate tracery of gold. There is enough material to repair at least a dozen projects.The only drawback was that the directions did not go into much detail about the actual process. If you have someone teaching you, then you will be set. For those who are trying to learn this on their own I would recommend the following link that describes the process in detail and includes many good Youtube links.[...]

The written directions are lacking, BUT the product is fantastic and there are very good directions given on YouTube by the company. I emailed with a question (about my results) and received a prompt and very clear response. I was then able to improve my work!Do pay attention about wearing gloves and long sleeves when working with the product ... I did get a rash (the resin is from a plant related to poison ivy), but that was totally my fault! After fully dry and the metal powder added no risk remains.

While I still admire the Kintsugi process, I have to say that this product should be avoided at all costs. As one reviewer said: Urushi laquer is derived from urushiol which is according to Wikipedia "is an oily organic allergen found in plants of the family Anacardiaceae, especially Toxicodendron spp. (e.g., poison oak, Lacquer Tree, poison ivy, poison sumac) and also in mangos," There is little to no warning about this and, in fact, on their product info page on this very web site it says "Urushi is a natural material and does not contain toxic chemical additives!" That's because it's toxic all by it's natural self! As a result, I have a severe case of contact dermatitis because while I wore gloves most of the time, it did get the urushi on my hands. My hands touched other parts of my body and, well, enough said. To me, it's not worth the risk.

While fun to play with, the fact that urushiol can, and will, lead to severe contact dermatitis in a lot of people and the fact that "Getting it right" is a long process, makes this a kind of neutral review. If you want to mend a bowl, use food grade superglue, hands down. If you want to arts and craft, use this, but be aware that you're likely *not* going to end up with a mended bowl. It might look nice, but it won't be anywhere near as sturdy as before unless you have a humidore with the perfect temperature and humidity levels for urushi-based laquers to set properly at your disposal.

This was a great kit for the small repairs I needed to make. I had a couple questions and got an immediate response from customer service. Super fast international shipping. All the materials were clearly labeled and the youtube video provided really great additional directions. I was completely happy with the purchase. It's perfect if you are thinking about trying out this repair technique or would like a really unique way to salvage broken ceramics.