Any way to patch a chipped ceramic butter dish?

[Square Peg]

My wife has a butter dish that she has had longer than she's had me. It's some kind of pottery with a glaze finish. Made in Italy.

Recently, a small piece of the finish chipped off. It's in the middle of the base where the butter sits. The finish is shiny white. The material underneath, now exposed, is a dull grey.

The chip is about the size of a pea and triangular in shape. If I look closely, I can see a series of hairline cracks all across the base.

Is there any way to patch that chip? It doesn't have to be perfect, because it's covered most of the time, but it has to be pretty good. I was also hoping to stop further chipping.

Any ideas appreciated.

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Mon 10 Nov 2008 04:21:45p, Square Peg told us...

You could try appliance touch-up paint. It?s high gloss and very tough. I?m sure it?s also lead free.

[Bob F]

Glue the chip back in with 5 minute epoxy. Before the glue hardens completely, scrape any excess off with your fingernail. (15 minutes?) If you do it right, it'll hardly show. You might want to keep it out of the dishwasher to make the repair last.

[benick]

I would also add that if it is that old perhaps it's time to retire it to the china closet for safe keeping after repairing it....Good luck......

[Square Peg]

Thanks. I wouldn't have thought of that. Looks like I can get it at any hardware store. I even found some instructions that include how to fill in the hairline cracks and the chip:

I wonder how many shades of "white" they have. Since I'll be filling in with multiple coats where the chip it, I can see how well it matches as I go.

I wonder if I should redo the entire base? There's a lip that the lid fits into. I could go to that corner. If the color doesn't match exactly, it will be harder to tell.

[Square Peg]

The chip is lost. I should have mentioned that. I probably had it on a piece of toast.

[Square Peg]

I don't think I can sell that idea. She loves that butter dish. I looked for one similar, but no luck. Maybe I'll upload a photo.

[aemeijers]

What makes you think the glaze on the pottery is lead free? The older the piece, the better the odds that it isn't. Short of paying to have it tested, I'd err on the side of caution, and retire the butter dish to a display shelf.

-- aem sends...

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Mon 10 Nov 2008 06:51:26p, Square Peg told us...

I used this on a white clay tile floor in a previous kitchen. The clay base was a dark red, and there numerous tiny chips throughout the floor. It worked quite well. Also used it on a couple of hairline cracks.

I doubt there will be too many shades of white. They are usually bottled for specific appliance brands, so there may be a few. I would take the butterdish with me when I lookk for the paint.

I don?t think I would do that. Remember, it?s ?touch-up? paint, not really meant for large areas. Not sure how that would perform.

Good luck!

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Mon 10 Nov 2008 07:09:56p, aemeijers told us...

I never said the glaze on the pottery was lead free. I was referring to the touch-up paint.

[aemeijers]

I knew what you you meant, or didn't mean. I should have said, 'never mind the patch, what makes you think...'

-- aem sends...

[Ed Pawlowski]

As a practical matter, nothing is going to work once cracked. You can try to put a think coat of epoxy and a paint to match, but if the clay is cracked, it will eventually get worse. I'd put the cover on it and use it as a display piece rather than risk shattering and total loss. You can also re-glaze and re-fire it, but that is very risky too as the stress cracks can cause failure in the kiln.

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Mon 10 Nov 2008 08:02:48p, aemeijers told us...

There?s always a possibility that a piece of pottery might contain lead, especially an older piece. However, it could be tested if it?s worth it to the owner. If I had such a favorite piece and had a concern, I would probably go that route.

I have three sets of nesting pottery dishes/bowls that were made in Mexico back in the early 1960s. I would not be at all surprised if the clay contains lead. I rarely use them for anything, but I did read somewhere if lead-containing pottery was used for dry foodstuffs like chips, pretzels, etc., it was not particularly dangerous.

[Ed Pawlowski]

True. Most problems came from long exposure of acidic foods, such as a pitcher for orange juice where it is stored for a couple of days.

[Phisherman]

If still have the chipped out piece, use ceramic glue. Check if the glue contains any toxic chemicals.

[Phisherman]

Forgot about that. I know that some blue pottery sold in east TN is radioactive, apparantly from the glaze. Possibly harmful to a fetus. Might have to retire the dish as decoration or use to hold dry food.

[mkirsch1]

Typical female logic... We loves our butter dish so let's us uses it until it breaks and there's no fixes to it. Then we cries and sobs about how much we loves that butter dish and now it's gones forever.

With paint, you'll have to put about 100 coats on to fill the chip. Use the paint to tint a little 5 minute epoxy the right color, and fill it in one step. You can even make samples of the tinted epoxy until you get just the right color to match.

[Lurfys Maw]

Whoa. Did your mum abandon you at an early age or was it some later trauma?

[hrhofmann]

I have had good luck with tinting clear epoxy, experiment a few times to get the right color. Don't use more than 1 part of colorant toabout 10 parts epoxy to keep from weakening the epoxy, and definitely keep out of the dishwasher after repairs are completed.

Bob Hofmann

[Square Peg]

I'm worried about getting a smooth, flat, shiny finish using epoxy.

With the appliance paint, I should get the finish I want. I would still have the problem of filling the chip, but it's a very shallow chip. It may not be perfectly flat, but I'd rather have it be slightly underfilled than have it hugher than the surrounding area.

What type of epoxy are you suggesting? Do you have a method that gets good results?