saya refinishing

[loiner1965]

can a shin gunto or wooden saya be refinished in black paint and not reduce the value of the piece etc....i have done this to one of mine 20 years ago and the finish was perfect....i am a professionel paint refinsher by trade....

[Hermes]

On the shin gunto i would say yes, it would hurt the value, on a plain wooden saya i would say no, but a picture would help.

[loiner1965]

no pics as yet but i was just thinking out loud as i seen many gunto sayas with paint missing....surely if you repainted it the right colour then would it not be classed as a restoration similar to an ito rewrap etc

[John A Stuart]

Steve, For gunto, no retouching. If I was to have a saya finished in some modern lacquer not urushi or at least cashew I would send it out to be re-finished properly or a new one made. John

[loiner1965]

Steve, For gunto, no retouching. If I was to have a saya finished in some modern lacquer not urushi or at least cashew I would send it out to be re-finished properly or a new one made. John

understand what your saying but surely i could refinish in modern laquer as good as if not better than any other refinisher as my experience with paint exceeds 30 years

[John A Stuart]

No doubt Steve, It just isn't traditional and most collectors of Nihonto are purists. There would be no problem using urushi, but, it is very problematic. It is toxic and needs a damp dry. John

[Brian]

Steve,

On a Gunto..collectors want original. A retouched saya will fetch less money.

On an original saya, assuming it is lacquered, they use urushi which isn't the same as paint. Often there are 25 or more layers, polished each time. No paint job will match that. An expert will quickly tell the difference.

 

Brian

[aeguy]

Hi Steve,

 

I've tried using acrylic lacquer over urushi and can tell you this won't work. The finish will never dry. As for substituting cashew lacquer for urushi, I've never tried blending one finish into the other. However, I suspect it wouldn't work very well since, as stated previously, a humid atmosphere is required to cure urushi and cashew lacquer cures quite nicely in a dry atmosphere. I would also think the sheen exhibited by either of these finishes would be different regardess of how either is applied. As for the hazards of working with urushi, please use the follwing link to see what has been written previously on this topic.

 

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=441&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=urushi

 

If after reading this you still elect to use urushi for your restoration, I sincerely wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.

 

Best Regards,