Introduction to Japanese lacquer. Lacquer is the sap of a tree called "urushi" , which grows mainly in China, Korea and Japan. Urushi is also the name given to the lacquering craft in Japan.

After each stage, the lacquered pieces are placed in an airtight wooden cabinet to dry."Urushi" needs at least 70 percent humidity to saturate and start drying, so the cabinet is kept with plenty of moisture to maintain the required level.

There are different types of lacquer obtained from the same sap which vary in quality and are used in the different stages of the lacquering process. Some are mixed with pigments to obtain the coloured lacquers , some are used for making the base mix and some others are chosen for their shininess and are used for the polishing stages only.

These are the basic lacquering stages;
 1    2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11 12 13 14 15 16 17  18


1-  Polished wood.
2-  A thin coating of raw lacquer.
3-  A sheet of hemp cloth is pasted with raw lacquer and starch.
4-  The surface is polished with a coarse grindstone.
5-  A coating of a paste made of raw lacquer and a base powder.
6-  The surface is polished with a coarse grindstone.
7-  Another coating of a paste made of raw lacquer and a finer base powder.
8-  The surface is polished with a coarse grindstone.
9-  Another coating of the previous fine paste.
10-  The surface is polished with a coarse grindstone.
11-  With a thin coating of raw lacquer, the preliminary coatings are completed.
12-  A mixture of lacquer is applied.
13-  The surface is polished with charcoal.
14-  Another mixture of lacquer is applied.
15-  The surface is polished with charcoal.
16-  For the last coating a mixture of lacquer and pigments is applied.
17-  The surface is polished with a fine-grained charcoal.
18-  It is then polished several times and wiped with a clear lacquer, giving a glossy finish.


Each of these stages may be repeted as many times as required.



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