natural, organic, cast, iron, Health, Industries, equipment, kitchen, accessories, containers, textiles, storage, wooden, dish, knives, tea, coffee, filter, mug, cup, utensil, graters, mortar, ceramic, logic, clean, sponge, brush, chopsticks, bowls, plate, glass, stemware, pitchers, recycled, bottle, jar, shakers, bath, soap, body, balm, wool, hat, mitten, sock, glove, bag, fragrance, incense, hippie, candle, beeswax, votive, scissor, baskets, posters, kid, toy, pet, catnip, pest, soil, compost, fertilizer, mycorrhiza, maxicrop, metanatural, juice, living, soil, pottery, black, gold, windbell, bird, bath, bird, feeder, furniture, hammock, iron, pesticide, mosquito, trap, watering, tool, can, shovel, rake, hoe, down, earth, distributor, eugene, oregon, dte

Natural Lacquer

Lacquer is sap from the lacquer tree and is a totally natural liquid. Synthetic paints are produced by synthetically composing molecules, however, it is difficult to simulate lacquer sap's complex structure. Central Asia was the original home of the lacquer tree. The lacquer tree is a deciduous plant belonging to the cashew family and is about 10 meters in height. The leaves turn a beautiful crimson in autumn and the trunk is grayish white. When the trunk is slashed with a knife, a grayish yellow milk-like liquid oozes out from between the bark and the wood. This sap is "crude lacquer."

Lacquer is gathered from lacquer trees which are over 10 years of age and are over 10 cm in diameter. From the begining of summer to the end of fall, a cut is made on the tree from where one drop of lacquer can be gathered. The method of making a cut differs somewhat, depending on the locality. Generally in Japan, five to ten horizontal cuts are made in parallel and the sap oozing out is scrapped and collected. Sap is gathered from tens and hundreds of lacquers trees. Once the sap is gone from a lacquer tree, it is hewed down and a new tree is planted.

The lacquer sap contains urushiol (C21H32O2) and gun. The higher the urushiol content, the greater the hardness after the lacquer is applied. In most cases you will find 50 percent urushiol and 20 percent gum in Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai lacquer, Japanese lacquer contains from 70 to 80 percent urushiol and 7 percent gum.

The lacquer juice collected from the tree is called crude lacquer. Crude lacquer is used as the priming for lacquerware. "Kurome" is the name given to the process by which the moisture contained in crude lacquer is evaporated by heating at 35° to 45° C. The resulting lacquer is called "Kurome lacquer." Depending on use, Kurome lacquer is mixed with pigment or oil to produce colored glossy lacquer for the top layer of lacquerware.

Lacquer does not dry from evaporation of moisture or solvent but possesses the quality of hardening through oxidation of urushiol. Once applied to the utensil, lacquer is dried in high-humidity environment where it hardens by drawing out oxygen from the humidity. In most cases, the lacquer is dried by being placed in a high-humidity closet called "urushi-buro" (lacquer bath). It takes from 12 to 24 hours for the final coating to dry and it is kept rotating to prevent it from dripping.

Lacquer is semi-translucent light brown. Black lacquer is made by adding iron. Colored lacquers such as red, yellow, green, and blue are made by mixing them with color additives. Since lacquer itself is not translucent, white lacquer turns out to be beige-ish white. Also, as time goes by, lacquer becomes harder, drier, and the color appears brighter. That is why the color appears different on objects which have been dry for a day compaired to an object that has been drying for half a year.

Lacquer Tips

• When the scent of fresh lacquer is too potent, place it in the shade with a lot of breeze. It can also be placed in a rice bin for 2 to 3 days.
• When washing the lacquer ware, do not leave in hot water for a long period. Wash with luke warm water and rinse thoroughly. Quickly wipe off the moisture with a used and dry cotton cloth.
• Do not use in microwave or oven. Also, do not leave under direct sunlight for a long period.
• Natural lacquer ware is always "alive." The more it is used, the more beautiful and lustrous it will become.

Down to Earth natural products for the home and garden