Preparation or Material for Lacquering or Covering Surfaces.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 11th June, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 15th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 15th Apr., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Preparation or Material for Lacquering or Covering Surfaces.
I, DAVID MARCUS of 40 Charterhouse Square in the City of London,
Merchant do hereby declare the nature of this invention (which has been com-
municated to me from abroad by The Japan Curio Company of Yokohama, Japan)
to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object to provide a lacquering preparation or material
for covering surfaces which presents many advantages over ordinary varnishes or
lacquers as hitherto used. According to this invention the sap or juice procurable
from the Rhus vernicifera, a tree or plant which grows in Japan, is withdrawn from
the tree or plant and is subjected to treatment to render it into a condition to be
applied as a lacquer or surface covering material. It is subjected to a boiling
process and also to a process of clarification or filtering to render it sufficiently
fluid and clear to be applied to the surfaces to be lacquered or covered.
Dated this 11th day of June 1892
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Preparation or Material for Lacquering or Covering Surfaces.
I, DAVID MARCUS of 40 Charterhouse Square in the City of London,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (which has been com-
municated to me from abroad by The Japan Curio Company, of Yokohama, Japan)
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:―
This invention has for its object to provide a lacquering preparation or material
for covering surface which presents many advantages over ordinary varnishes or
lacquers as hitherto used.
According to this invention the sap or juice procurable from the Rhus vernicifera,
a tree or plant which grows in Japan, is withdrawn from the tree or plant and is
subjected to treatment to render it into a condition to be applied as a lacquer or
surface covering material. It is subjected to a boiling process and also to a process
of clarification or filtering to render it sufficiently fluid and clear to be applied to
the surfaces to be lacquered or covered.
In order that the invention may be clearly understood I will describe more in
detail the manner in which it may be carried out in practice.
The resin called lac or lacquer is extracted by tapping from the aforesaid lacquer
tree it having different names according to the period of the year at which it is
tapped and the quality of the lac. Thus lac tapped from about May 15th to
June 10th is called in Japanese Hatsugama and consists of about 75% of resin
and 25% of water. The lac tapped from about June 10th to August 31st is called
Natsumono or Sakarimono, this is of better quality than is the Hatsugama and
contains about 80% of resin and 20% of water, while the lac tapped in September
is named Doyo Sugi or Osohen. The raw lac when first drawn, and before it has
been prepared and mixed, is a thick resinous fluid of little or no value for lacquering
purposes. Different qualities have to be mixed together and other ingredients
added to make it fit for use.
In order to make lac which I call Roiro lac it is necessary to mix the above
Damed Natsumono 80% to 85%, Togishiru 10 to 15% and Yenabura about 5%.

page_text: The exact percentage will vary according to the skill and experience of the
workman. Togishiru is the sediment remaining from the grinding of knives or
other steel or iron articles and consequently contains a large proportion of iron.
Yenhabura or Yenabura is an oil extracted from a seed called in Japan Hengoma
and resembling a coriander seed in appearance.
These ingredients are vigorously stirred together which may be effected in a
mixing machine which may be of the ordinary kind. The stirring is continued for
several hours until they have become thoroughly churned up together. After this
churning the mixture is poured into a vat, kettle or other suitable vessel which is
heated preferably by a charcoal fire underneath the vessel and the mixture is
constantly stirred for about 8 hours until the color gradually changes from dark
cream to deep black, evaporation taking place during the process. It is very
important to get rid of water from the mixture and to ensure further evaporation
the mixture is next poured into a pot with a liner containing boiling water and
cotton wool or like material shredded into it and thoroughly stirred up with it.
The cotton wool or like material absorbs water and oil but requires to be after-
wards cleared from the mixture. This clearing may be conveniently accomplished
by putting the mixture into a hemp bag and subjecting the bag to the action of a
press, whereby the mixture is forced through the material of the bag leaving shreds
of wool grit and any other foreign particles behind. Other modes of clearing by
filtering the mixture can also be employed, for example it may be done
through paper, especially the Japanese Yoshino paper or through woven wire
work. The preparation thus obtained I call Roiro. It has a thick creamy con-
sistency and can be applied to a surface (preferably in a warm room) in any
suitable way such as by the finger, by wood paddles, or by a brush. If any cake or
skin forms on the top before application, the mixture requires stirring and further
straining or filtering before it can be applied smoothly. In applying the mixture
care should be taken to make it even and smooth, and dust should be removed with
a knife or a brush.
When applied the mixture is glutinous and sticky and would, so remain for a
long period unless it is carefully dried. The drying has to be done in a damp
atmosphere and preferably by hanging the substance lacquered with the lacquered
surface downwards in a box or covered place over a number of pieces of wetted
straw, or it can be quickly accomplished by placing it in a steaming room having a
temperature of about seventy degrees Fahrenheit.
A
After the surface has become dry a polish or lustre can be given to it by rubbing
down all inequalities with charcoal or whetstone and then coating the surface with
raw lacquer applied with some substance such as cotton wool so that the lacquer
may be thin. The raw lacquer should be immediately wiped with soft paper.
second coating of raw lacquer should then be added and this new surface allowed
to dry. If the applications of raw lacquer alone do not give sufficient lustre the
lustre can be improved by polishing with the hand, using a soft powder or oil,
Tsunoko or buck's horn powder is suitable for the purpose.
The surface of the substance to be lacquered can be prepared in a variety of
ways to improve the appearance of the lacquer and to make the application more
easy and cheap by sizing or polishing or making a groundwork of raw lacquer and
rice pasted on cloth and placed on the surface of the substance to be lacquered
before the lacquer is applied. The surface also may be painted with a mixture of
the juice of the unripe fruit of persimmon and lamp-black to be followed by
4 or 5 coatings of the juice without lampblack, or with a mixture of glue and
lampblack to be followed by a coating of glue without lamp black. Also if very
high quality of lacquer is desired the lacquering process can be repeated frequently
say as often as twenty times, each coating being rubbed and polished before the
application of the next coating. The Nashiji or gold dust ground I obtain by
scattering gold dust on the lacquered surface before the lacquer is dry and pressing
it with paper.
Many inferior qualities of Roiro lacquer can be obtained by altering the

page_text: quantities of the ingredients or using lacquer of different qualities. Thus for
10 lbs. of a lacquer called Johana I use 6 lbs. of Natsumono and 2 lbs. of Osohen
with Togishiru and Yenabura. To make a lacquer called Chuhana I use equal
quantities of Yenabura and Hatsukama and add Togishiru.
Red or vermilion lacquer requires to be made by mixing ingredients with the lac
different from those employed in making Roiro and the above named varieties.
I obtain vermilion lacquer by taking for about 30 lbs., 6 lbs. of Natsumono
2 lbs. of Osohen 22 of Yenabura of the skin of dried plums and about
double the above quantities or 20 lbs. of vermilion. The vermilion lacquer
must be mixed and applied in the same manner as the Roiro lacquer is mixed and
applied. Green and yellow and other coloured lacquers can be obtained by using
colouring matters other than vermilion in the same proportion.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what 1
claim is :-
:-
1. Roiro lac and the varieties above named prepared substantially as herein-
before described.
2. Roiro lacquering and the varieties above named prepared and applied sub-
stantially as hereinbefore described.
1002
DAVID MARCUS.