Following the iron brush

Dry lacquer is a very ancient method for making objects. It has been known in Japan (dakkatsu kanshitsu), China (tuodai), and Burma (man-phnaja). In the making of dry lacquer objects lacquer is used as an adhesive resin. Dry lacquer is a very close relative of and shares theoretical background with “papier maché” and fiber reinforced plastics. The term “MODERN” is quite empty at times as you could see.
The essence of dry lacquer can be summed up in one sentence: during the making of objects one puts layers of paper or textile imbibed with lacquer-based adhesive onto or into a suitable, positive or negative form/mould, and removes this form after the drying of the layers. Thanks to the multilayered, fiber-reinforced structure, the objects produced in this way are light but very tough. No coincidence that this method was used frequently for the production of large and/or complex shapes, mainly large scale sculptures: the weight of a dry lacquer object is only a fraction of a solid wood, stone or metal object of the same size. This method was utilized frequently for the manufacture of masks for theatrical and ceremonial purposes (bugaku, gigaku etc.). But this method is well suited for the making of everyday objects too: trays, boxes, jewellery, vessels have been and can be made by it.

There are two main methods of making dry lacquer: one is “form destroying” the other is “form keeping”. In the form destroying process the layers are worked onto an unfired clay form, and the form will be washed and scraped away at the end of the process. The serious drawback of this method: every piece will require a new form. But this method can be used for the production of complex, undercut shapes, for shapes you can not free from a conventional form.

The form keeping method is well suited for “serial production” (e.g. for the manufacture of a bowl set), but the shape of the object and thus the form should be carefully engineered, otherwise the removal of the object from the mould would prove impossible. I do not want to immerse myself into the depths of pattern making, so ask you, dear reader to look up some texts about casting and pattern making for yourself. The form should be made from smooth and waterproof materials, e.g. metal, fired ceramics, glass, stone to withstand the water-soaking necessary during the removal process, and to part with the object easily. The forms should be treated with a release agent prior to use. Paste, or ash mixed with water are traditional release agents.

Choosing the proper reinforcing material is one of the most important aspects of successful dry lacquer making. This material could be paper or natural textiles. Both have its advantages and shortcomings. Paper is cheap and easily available, but not especially strong, and not the easiest task to follow tight bends and curves with it. Cotton, linen and silk are the best materials. Cotton is flexible and stretches easily, so it can be worked into tight curves and bends. Silk and linen do not stretch, so are a little harder to work with, but the resulting structures are very strong. The weave of the cloth also affects workability: open weave cloths follows bends more easily.

Besides the mould and the reinforcing material, you will need a suitable adhesive. Clear raw lacquer is the simplest and best adhesive: extremely strong and fully waterproof. The main drawback is its high price. To keep required amounts of it lower, artisans mix fillers, paste, glue, animal blood etc. to lacquer. In Japan, the nori-urushi mixture (already mentioned in the lacquering tutorial viewtopic.php?f=63&t=1565 ) is the most used adhesive.

Let’s get started! The paper or textile must be covered on booth side with the glue and laid onto the form carefully to avoid folds, wrinkles and creases. Any joints will weaken the structure of the object, so for best results, made the reinforcing material from one piece if possible. It is nearly impossible to pre-treat very thin and open weave materials, such as gauze, with adhesive. In these instances you should place the material dry, and apply the adhesive with a stiff brush or by hand and fingers. You can not put on as many layers as you wish: a thickness of 3~5 millimeters is the maximum you can put successfully on in one go, as a thicker layer will not cure properly. Then let it dry for 24~72 hours.


If the object is dry, but the walls are not thick enough, after a light sanding of the surface you can put on more layers. If your object reached the required thickness, then you can remove it from the mould. First you should cut every superfluous piece and part of the reinforcing material with a sharp knife or scissors. Then the object must be immersed into lukewarm water. Water will seep in-between the form and the object, dissolve the paste or ash and the object will be freed. Then the object should be dried, and then lacquered with raw lacquer.



After the drying of this lacquer coat the surface must be sanded lightly and the object should be covered with modeling paste. Japanese use a mixture of roasted sawdust, rice paste, and raw lacquer for coarser modeling (this is called ‘sómi’ in Japanese). In other countries the craftsmen use what they can get: Burmese lacquerers use the ashes of burnt cow dung, or sawdust from teakwood. In China they use sawdust, animal and plant fibers (silk floss, flax).


After drying the object can be worked by sanding and carving. From this point on the process of surface preparation and lacquering is the same as for ordinary objects: Coating with sabi, sanding, layers of lacquer, polishing etc.

And some more images:
The foot of this bowl was made as a separate piece and put in place with nori-urushi.



In the end you will get something like this:

Great stuff, János

I've been a bit absent from the forum lately ( got some crazy German bloke here ...some of you may know him ) but will try to catch up on reading the various posts and this one in particular.

thanks again,

ford

Yeah.. been a bit busy myself lately.. looking forward to reading this great tut when I've got more time.. Cheers Janos

A good turorial Janós.

You show, what i am working at the moment. I try to create a bigger bowl. I will show it when the last layer is has dryed.

I guess you can read thoughts

Well done.

Frank

Many thanks, Janos. I see what you meant when you said it was similar to the papier-mâché technique.

Really excellent tutorial Janos.. thanks, I really am appreciating your contributions

Hello,

Thank you for your kind words!

Dear Frank, no “houdinizing” here. I would like to see your bowl when finished.

Dear Freda, yes, these are very closely related processes. Papier maché appeared in Europe in the XVIIth century, and its source/motivation was almost surely Oriental. It was used to simulate carvings, and for making smaller decorative and utilitarian objects, similar to those imported from the Orient in large numbers at that time. The development of European varnishes opened new opportunities for its application, as the baked-on finishes were waterproof. At the end of the XIXth century Japanese started to use cardboard and papier maché as substrate for their very cheap lacquered export wares. Full circle…

And something about forms: forms can be made from lacquered wood too.

Any question?

Have a nice day!

János

Thanks Janos for the excellent tutorial. Dry lacquer was also used to do some kawari-kabuto in the past.
I want to ask if it's difficult to separe the form from the object and if You think I can use kashew lacquer, that has a strong adhesive power to make the base object and after use normal urushi to finish it?

Any question?

None at the moment, but my thanks again for more information.

The problem is that I need a hundred hands to try out all the different techniques, materials and tutorials that are posted here. I will, however, get round to lacquer work eventually.

Dear Renato,

If you use a reusable form to produce a simple shape (no sharp edges, corners, crevices) then it will come off the form relatively easily. Some careful “hand work” might be necessary… If you use contemporary form release agents in place of paste, the parting will be very easy. You could find that stuff here: http://www.acmos.de/. I never ever used cashew lacquer. But I think you can use it if the product is thick enough. Oriental lacquer adheres well to a wide range of synthetic resins and plastics, from polyurethane to epoxy. Japanese produce “tourist grade” lacquerware on molded plastic substrates, using sprayed polyurethane varnish as an undercoat.

Dear Freda, I absolutely understand your problem and even share it. I am a cabinetmaker by profession with lots to learn in that field (after two decades I only scratched the surface), I have an “interest” in the making of woodworking tools, and have had this love affair with oriental lacquer… Time is not on my side… and lacquer dries rather slowly )

Have a nice day!

János

Here i am with a picture of the bowl i wrote some days before.

As you can see, seshime lacquer is aplaied.

The base is made of cotton and worked in the way like yours Janós.

height: 9cm
diameter: 14cm
thickness of sides:2mm

Best greetings, Frank