diff --git a/src/render/filament/core/material_manager.cc b/src/render/filament/core/material_manager.cc
index 111a3cb6..f07d1aaa 100644
--- a/src/render/filament/core/material_manager.cc
+++ b/src/render/filament/core/material_manager.cc
@@ -236,7 +236,11 @@ MaterialManager::MaterialKey MaterialManager::PrepareMaterialInstance(
   return key;
 }
 
-filament::MaterialInstance* MaterialManager::GetInstance(MaterialKey key) {
+const filament::MaterialInstance* MaterialManager::GetInstance(MaterialKey key) {
+  if (key == 0) {
+    return GetEngine()->getDefaultMaterial()->getDefaultInstance();
+  }
+
   auto it = instances_.find(key);
   if (it == instances_.end()) {
     return nullptr;
diff --git a/src/render/filament/core/material_manager.h b/src/render/filament/core/material_manager.h
index ab79abfd..5f71eb89 100644
--- a/src/render/filament/core/material_manager.h
+++ b/src/render/filament/core/material_manager.h
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ class MaterialManager {
                                       const Mesh* mesh);
 
   // Returns the MaterialInstance associated with the given key.
-  filament::MaterialInstance* GetInstance(MaterialKey key);
+  const filament::MaterialInstance* GetInstance(MaterialKey key);
 
   ObjectManager* GetObjectManager() const;
   filament::Engine* GetEngine() const;
diff --git a/src/render/filament/core/renderable.cc b/src/render/filament/core/renderable.cc
index 8c975cc9..31aac819 100644
--- a/src/render/filament/core/renderable.cc
+++ b/src/render/filament/core/renderable.cc
@@ -239,6 +239,9 @@ const mjrfMaterial& Renderable::GetMaterial() const { return material_; }
 
 void Renderable::Prepare(std::span<const mjrfRenderRequest*> requests,
                          ReflectionManager* reflection_mgr) {
+  // Ensure the renderable has no material instances set from the previous
+  // frame. This will allow us to recycle material instances if needed.
+  SetMaterialInstance(0);
   // We assume BindMaterialInstance will be called with the same requests in
   // the same order. As such, we'll just store the draw state in a deque rather
   // than trying to perform any kind of matching with the requests.
@@ -388,7 +391,8 @@ MaterialManager::MaterialKey Renderable::SetMaterialInstance(
     MaterialManager::MaterialKey key) {
   MaterialManager::MaterialKey prev = curr_state_.material_key;
   if (key != curr_state_.material_key) {
-    filament::MaterialInstance* instance = material_mgr_->GetInstance(key);
+    const filament::MaterialInstance* instance =
+        material_mgr_->GetInstance(key);
     filament::RenderableManager& rm = GetEngine()->getRenderableManager();
     for (Part& part : parts_) {
       filament::RenderableManager::Instance ri = rm.getInstance(part.entity);