Originally Posted by
Stanley Covington
Its called "fukiurushi" 拭き漆 meaning "wiped lacquer." I think the Japanese term "Urushi" meaning lacquer is more understood in western countries now, to differentiate natural lacquer from the hydrocarbon-based lacquer sold in the West, which was developed in imitation of natural Chinese and Japanese urushi.
The raw urushi sap is refined, and then mineral pigments are added to make the red, green, black etc tones of lacquer. The fukiurushi finishing process uses the refined urushi product before pigments are added.
Application is easy. Wipe on wipe off. Repeat. The humidity has to be right for the urushi to harden properly. Too dry and it fails.
Most people are very allergic to wet urushi, with rash and itching being the minimum reaction, and death being the extreme. My wife cannot tolerate even the smell of uncured urushi, so I never use it at home, and have always resisted using it for public spaces in hotel projects unless the panel can be removed and repaired remotely.
The children of urushi craftsmen put a bit of the raw stuff in their kid's baths to help them develop a resistance to it.
Urushi is very resistant to water degradation. It loves water. Such lacquerware has been found floating whole and undegraded sealed in Chinese tombs for thousands of years. Fukiurushi, however, is not as complete a skin as typical lacquerware employs. It doesn't like sunlight. It can be polished with W/D sandpaper and polishing compounds just like automotive lacquer.
Fukurushi is much easier to apply and cure than the more serious forms of urushi finishes and the dust is easier to deal with.
Stan
This was interesting. I just lacquered my kid today - after I gave the baby some peanut butter drops.
Happy to read your shares Mr. C.
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