# Lacquering natural stones



## dmccurtis (May 15, 2011)

I've got a few natural stones that need lacquering, an aoto in particular. I know natural lacquers like cashew are used in Japan, but I don't have anything of the sort. I do have a water based Varathane; does anyone think there would be any problem using that instead? I don't want to order a natural lacquer that I'm not going to use much of.


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## maxim (May 15, 2011)

I use shellac it works fine for me, on Aoto i will take 4 to 5 layers of shellac to be on safe side


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## dmccurtis (May 15, 2011)

Thanks Maxim. I definitely plan on giving my aoto multiple coats, there are a couple of crumbly bits on the side that make me a bit nervous. It actually has goma, which I'd never seen on an aoto. They don't seem to make the stone any scratchier, I know that can be an issue on finer stones. Have you ever seen one like that?


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## mainaman (May 15, 2011)

if you are in USA you can get cashew here:
http://www.hyper-cafe.com/html/Category-11-0.html

they have all kinds of colors available


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## JBroida (May 15, 2011)

i always like clear... that way i can see the stone through it and cracks arent hidden if i want to sell it


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## dmccurtis (May 15, 2011)

Thanks for the link mainaman, but I'm in Canada, so ordering would be expensive. No one thinks Varathane would be an issue though? I can't think of a reason why it would be, but I've only ever heard people refer to using lacquer or shellac. I can get lacquer no problem, though not cashew, but I really don't need a quart of it, which is the smallest container I've found.


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## mainaman (May 15, 2011)

JBroida said:


> i always like clear... that way i can see the stone through it and cracks arent hidden if i want to sell it


 
Me too, I got a clear one from them.

@ dmccurtis : check with them about the shipping theuy might be willing to send first class which then will be less than 10 USD.


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## heirkb (May 16, 2011)

Anyone have tips for applying tissue paper when sealing? I'm sealing a stone now with some tissue paper and hope it works out fine. Last time I did it, I put down a coat of the sealant, put the tissue paper on, rubbed on a dab more sealant to make sure the paper was sticking, let it dry, and then coated with sealant 4 more times (no tissue). The tissue later just broke off of my stone. Do you guys have a way of reinforcing cracks with tissue that has worked well for you?


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## mainaman (May 16, 2011)

Cashew only will do no need to add tissue paper.
If you really want to reinforce use washi paper, I used this one
http://www.mulberrypaperandmore.com/japanese-ethereal-paper-white.aspx


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## heirkb (May 16, 2011)

Thanks. I'll do just the cashew for now. It's for my new Atago, which has 2-3 cracks running parallel to the stone surface and I really wouldn't want this stone to fall apart. I may pick up some of the washi paper later on.


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## Darkhoek (May 16, 2011)

heirkb said:


> Anyone have tips for applying tissue paper when sealing? I'm sealing a stone now with some tissue paper and hope it works out fine. Last time I did it, I put down a coat of the sealant, put the tissue paper on, rubbed on a dab more sealant to make sure the paper was sticking, let it dry, and then coated with sealant 4 more times (no tissue). The tissue later just broke off of my stone. Do you guys have a way of reinforcing cracks with tissue that has worked well for you?


 
I got some waterbased lacquer from 330mate. A small bottle of sticky stuff that I thinned with water. It dries to a clear coat. On my Aoto I used some fiber paper (i had it for cleaning skis  ) and used one layer of lacquer, let it dry and applied the fiber paper with another tqo layers. Works perfect.

DarkHOeK


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