Budget Ceramic Repairs

We're often asked whether a budget repair or a premium repair is more appropriate for a damaged item. This can be a difficult choice to make, so we provide some further points for consideration when deciding which sort of repair to go for.

A budget repair generally involves reassembling the item, realigning, gluing and filling any chips, sanding down and hand painting to best match the original finish. This does not involve spray painting and may often not produce an invisible, seamless repair.

We often advise against budget repairs on very high gloss and mainly white gloss items because both are hard to replicate with hand painting. Some items have too many missing pieces or too many fragments to be appropriate for a budget repair - whilst a budget repair can handle some missing pieces that simply require filling it is less likely that items with missing pieces such as ears or fingers would be appropriate for a budget repair as they would need to be reconstructed. Some types of material such as plastics or types of clay can be difficult to restore.

The choice also depends on the feelings of the person for whom the item is being repaired—whether they are prepared to accept imperfections or want the item as perfect as possible. Alternatively some people prefer to see the history of the item and feel that such imperfections create a unique story for the item—and that may depend on the circumstances of how the damage occurred.

It is also important to consider the original or replacement cost of the item. Doing a budget repair on an expensive item may reduce its value considerably whereas a premium repair has more chance of retaining the value of the item. Some items that people wish to have repaired are mass produced and a replacement item can be found online at a cheaper price than even a budget repair would cost. Sometimes replacing an item is simply not appropriate when a deep sentimental attachment exists with the original piece.