Does every Jnat need to be sealed? And where the heck is all the cashew lacquer?!

I have several unsealed Jnats, running from coarser to finer and hard. Should I seal all of them on the sides? What about the bottom? Is rice paper also necessary? I know a lot of people use shelac or clear nail polish, but because I'm a traditionalist in most things, where can I find cashew lacquer; I've read hyper cafe, but the site isn't working.

The stones I have/getting delivered soon are:
Ikarashi
Thai white binsui
Red aoto
A mystery stone that I think is a takashima
Khao men
Ohira suita
Okuda suita
Ohira uchigumori
Shoubudani asagi awesado
Tsuchima (already sealed)

Thanks!

The Khao men is already sealed!

Good to hear. Haven't received it yet, along with the Thai binsui. They're being shipped.

Nanikawa has tubes of urushi lacquer (don't know if they ship to the US yet). Anyone sealed Jnats with urushi? Heard it's a headache, but if I can't find any cashew than I might just go for it.

http://www.namikawa-ltd.com/product-list/11

Why not use a clear automotive lacquer? It's easy to apply and waterproof.

PalmRoyale said:

Why not use a clear automotive lacquer? It's easy to apply and waterproof.

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I like complicating my life by being an unnecessary traditionalist in some things. Also, I see my Jnats as my babies, and I want to give them the best and what makes them feel at home, even if the end result with something cheaper is the same. :urweird:

If you're in the USA check out TeaDogu for Cashew, Eric is a good guy.
http://www.teadogu.com/cashewlacquer.html

tjangula said:

If you're in the USA check out TeaDogu for Cashew, Eric is a good guy.
http://www.teadogu.com/cashewlacquer.html

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Awesome, thanks! Does you know if there's a need for the base he also sells?

Don't think so if you're just sealing jnats. You can use artist grade turpentine instead of the thinner too. Check out Keith's (Tomo Nagura) video:
[video=youtube;fKeRRZcXNIs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKeRRZcXNIs[/video]

I'm in the process of sealing myself and this is what I'm doing based on the recommendations of others here as well.

I don't think the white Binsui and the Ikarashi should need sealing

tjangula said:

Don't think so if you're just sealing jnats. You can use artist grade turpentine instead of the thinner too. Check out Keith's (Tomo Nagura) video:
[video=youtube;fKeRRZcXNIs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKeRRZcXNIs[/video]

I'm in the process of sealing myself and this is what I'm doing based on the recommendations of others here as well.

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Are you sealing all your jnats, or just some? I don't think it would hurt to seal all of them, but maybe it's a waste of resources sealing some of them that don't really need it, given the price of the lacquer.

I'm gonna do all of them just for consistency. The Kouzaki Okabana Aoto I got from Watanabe would need it for sure, but the Nakayama Kiita and Ozuko Asagi probably not.

EDIT
Apparently the lacquer goes a long way so I'm not too concerned about running out.

Smashmasta said:

I like complicating my life by being an unnecessary traditionalist in some things. Also, I see my Jnats as my babies, and I want to give them the best and what makes them feel at home, even if the end result with something cheaper is the same. :urweird:

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I usually go for the easiest option if it yields good results :biggrin: I already bought a spray can for my Ohira Suita (it's at customs right now so hopefully I should get it somewhere this week ).

Actually Tanner picked up enough to cover ever j-nat in Canada. His search was long and hard but he's very persistent. HA

To say that a little goes a long way is an understatement. I'd go as far as to say that unless you're dealer, few individuals would finish a can in their lifetime. I think I used about 3.0 ml on a stone and tomo large nagura, with three coats and still have some left in the syringe. It gets thinned down so much. Stinky stuff, that stinks for a long time too, keep that in mind.

that's what I think its so funny that Tanner has now shifted the global market trade on cashew Lacquer.

According to Miles, the Thai Binsuis dont need lacquering. I dont lacquer all my stones and prefer how they look unlacquered. I usually ask the vendor if he recommends lacquering. Ikarashi also doesnt need lacquering. The rest of your stones should be lacquered. May I ask from where you are getting all these stones?

I use shellac which was recommended by Andrey V. and a few other jnat experts here on the forum. Its easy to get, cheap, completely natural (even safe for consumption) and works well.

bennyprofane said:

According to Miles, the Thai Binsuis dont need lacquering. I dont lacquer all my stones and prefer how they look unlacquered. I usually ask the vendor if he recommends lacquering. Ikarashi also doesnt need lacquering. The rest of your stones should be lacquered. May I ask from where you are getting all these stones?

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I'm getting them from all over.

Khao men and Binsui From Miles in Hawaii
Tsuchima and mystery stone from Morihei
Red from Jon at JKI
Ikarashi and shoubudani awesado from maxim at JNS
Uchigumori from Japanese-Whetstones
Ohira suita from aframestokyo
Okudo suita from metalmaster

For ppl using the cashew.. which number colour are we using.. I was in a hardware store the other day and there's so many colirs

ynot1985 said:

For ppl using the cashew.. which number colour are we using.. I was in a hardware store the other day and there's so many colirs

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That sounds synthetic cuz there aren't any hardware stores carrying cashew lacquer that I know of, haha. The natural cashew lacquer I just bought was the clear one which I think is the Keith used in his videos. It still has a orange tint to it tho. Sorry can't help with the other stuff.

I got a special marine grade spray-on lacquer for boats. Which *hilariously* dripped round to the sharpening face of the Aiiwatani I was sealing the bottom and sides of. I am comforted by the effort it took to sand off that the back and sides are very well sealed but it's a
Pointed lesson in the importance of painters tape and possibly buying a paint on solution.

I also ordered the clear and got the 48 which Hyper Cafe lists as neo-clear (semi transparent). I think 51 is the transparent one from Keith's video.

Hyper Cafe (and some other sources) state that the clear ones are stronger because of no pigment, but some members here have said they haven't noticed a difference. I'd think for stones it'd not make as much of a difference since the main point is waterproofing (?), and the strength is an added bonus (?)... probably matters more if you're doing the ceramic/gold stuff.


EDIT
here's a pic:

Thanks tanner.. was at Tokyo hands and can only find 48.. now I want a 51 just to see what transparent is .. sigh

tjangula said:

I also ordered the clear and got the 48 which Hyper Cafe lists as neo-clear (semi transparent). I think 51 is the transparent one from Keith's video.

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Could you post a picture of a stone with #48 on it? I just read on a guitar forum that #51 is darker than #48.

From my experience, yes, the clearer the better. Clearer is purer and should be stronger. It's also a lot easier to work with, drying more evenly and quickly. On the other hand, it's more expensive in my experience.

Yes, coloured cashew lacquer is available. Black is often used on Tsushima and, I think, is a good fit for usual aoto - both blah-looking stones, so no big deal. However, like tattoos, you'll probably live to regret coloured lacquer. The clear isn't completely colourless anyway, although some natural brownishness can look good too, I think.

bennyprofane said:

Could you post a picture of a stone with #48 on it? I just read on a guitar forum that #51 is darker than #48.

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I can show it on some naguras since on the stones it's harder to tell because of their own color… I'd say in general it gives stones a wet look, but maybe slightly darker. You can also then compare to the video.

Before


After three coats of 48 neo-clear


Here's from Keith's video for comparison (if you look closely you can see 51 on the can at some point during the video)

My third layer is orettt much cured, so I'll be posting the finished results sometime in my gallery, but maybpot the originals too

tjangula said:

My third layer is orettt much cured, so I'll be posting the finished results sometime in my gallery, but maybpot the originals too

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Hi Tanner,

Did you have any method for how dry the stone was before you applied the first lacquer? Like, did you let the stone dry for a certain period after the last time you used it? Or maybe you were only doing newly purchased stones?

I plan to lacquer a stone that was wet tonight, and just thinking about how many days to let it dry first!

Cheers,
Blair

tjangula said:

My third layer is orettt much cured, so I'll be posting the finished results sometime in my gallery, but maybpot the originals too

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Just curious.. why do you lacquer the naguras? Do they blow apart down the line.. I bought a set a while ago but didn't really give a thought to that.

Thank you, Tanner. Yes you can see he is using #51 in the video but if you can confirm the photos you posted, his does look darker and not clearer, no? The stuff also looks pretty dark in his videos so #48 might be the better alternative.

BlueSteel said:

Hi Tanner,

Did you have any method for how dry the stone was before you applied the first lacquer? Like, did you let the stone dry for a certain period after the last time you used it? Or maybe you were only doing newly purchased stones?

I plan to lacquer a stone that was wet tonight, and just thinking about how many days to let it dry first!

Cheers,
Blair

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Hey Blair, I started with dry stones so am not sure how long you should wait. Right now it's also about 20°C inside with <23% RH, so I'd think it's pretty dry here too. I'm gonna rinse off my choseras and lacquer them up to prevent the binder from leaching out the sides and bottom, I'd probably give mine at least a couple days after just a quick rinse given the indoor climate here.

niwaki-boy said:

Just curious.. why do you lacquer the naguras? Do they blow apart down the line.. I bought a set a while ago but didn't really give a thought to that.

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I've heard and seen pictures of botan nagura that split in half because there's a line of sand in them, plus it also helps preserve the stamps I think.

bennyprofane said:

Thank you, Tanner. Yes you can see he is using #51 in the video but if you can confirm the photos you posted, his does look darker and not clearer, no? The stuff also looks pretty dark in his videos so #48 might be the better alternative.

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I agree that the 51 is darker than the 48 (also the 51 pic from the video was only 2 coats but i had 3 of 48). I'd say both are clear, inasmuch as you can still clearly see the stamps and one doesn't cloud them out more than the other. It's just that the color tone is a bit different. If you look on the koma you can see where I was kinda sloppy and had some run down the side so it is a bit darker there (one in the background is two tone color so looks even darker, but if you see my original picture you can see what I'm talking about)