# help wanted: how to lacquer stones?



## panda (Mar 22, 2016)

would anyone be willing to write a guide on how to lacquer a stone?
recommended products (such as from amazon) and a step by step instruction with photos and/or video would be much appreciated.


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## jklip13 (Mar 22, 2016)

step 1. wash and scrub the stone with with a bristled brush to remove any dust or sand
step 2. determine if there are any cracks that need to be sealed with epoxy
step 3. allow the stone to dry completely (24 hours in an open area)
step 4. cover the sharpening surface of the stone with clear tape and trim the edges (so as not to get lacquer on the top surface)
step 5. seal any worrying cracks with epoxy and allow to dry
step 6. Spray a thin layer on the stone with a waterproof clear lacquer or sealer (mat or gloss, your choice)
step 7. allow for the stone to absorb it and repeat until the stone no longer absorbs the product
step 8. allow to dry in a ventilated area
step 9. remove the tape from the surface and re-lap the surface of the stone


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## psfred (Mar 22, 2016)

Paint everything but the surface you intend to use with Bullseye shellac. Will take three or four coats to show a coating on the surface. I treated my synthetic aoto this way because it has a reputation for cracking (it's the blue one). Will work as well as lacquer, the point is to prevent water from getting into the stone and sealing cracks to prevent them from spreading.

Peter


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## GeneH (Mar 23, 2016)

psfred said:


> ..... the point is to prevent water from getting into the stone and sealing cracks to prevent them from spreading. Peter



This is where you guys lose me. They are waterstones, right? So we either soak them or keep the top surface wet. How does sealing the sides and bottom keep water from getting into the stone then? I'm assuming the stone will be used for an hour or more at a time, and I seem to have to keep wetting the surface because it dries.


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## psfred (Mar 23, 2016)

Lacquering only applies to natural stones and a few synthetic ones, notably the synthetic aotos that have a tendency to crack when soaked and then dried.

Natural stones are almost never soaked. They are also almost always non-uniform, and often (if not always) have incipient or actual cracks and layers of various materials. Soaking them, as opposed to splashing a very small amount of water on them, can cause them to swell, and if they do, cracks will grow and the stone can fall apart. It has been traditional Japanese practice to lacquer everything but the working surface, and typically thinner stones are not finished on the back side, leaving the very hard "skin" (loaded with iron oxides in many cases) intact to help hold the stone together. Nice rectangular stones finished on all four sides of decent size are quite uncommon and are priced accordingly (as in upwards of a couple thousand dollars). 

The synthetics that cause trouble usually have powdered natural stone in their makeup, and seem to suffer from significant size changes when soaked, so you either soak them perpetually or lacquer them to prevent water absorption except on the working surface. Otherwise the stress from the outside shrinking while the interior is swollen cracks the surface, and the cracks get larger each cycle until the stone falls into chunks. Natural aotos do the same thing I think.

Some stones don't need lacquer -- my two Chinese Guangxi stones are extremely hard and do not absorb water to speak of, so there is no need to prevent them from getting soaked. Nearly all synthetic stones either do not grow and shrink much, or are splash and go type stones that are never soaked, so the issue doesn't arise.

Peter


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