Dawn McElhinney, age 15, of Austin, Texas, for her question:
HOW IS LACQUERWARE MADE?
Lacquerware is a .beautiful oriental product made by applying many coats of a certain varnish to such articles as trays, boxes, vases and furniture.
The true lacquer used in lacquerware of China and Japan comes from the sap of the lacquer tree, which grows in China. But the shellac and nitrocellulose compositions made in Europe and North America and in wide use these days are also called lacquer.
The Japanese learned the process of lacquering from China, probably in the A.D. 500s. The treasure of the Shoshoin in Nara, Japan, found in 756, has early examples of Chinese lacquerware.
Apiece of Japanese lacquerware has a foundation of wood, sometimes as thin as a sheet of paper, with perhaps 35 thin coats of black lacquer. Each coat is dried and highly polished before the next one is applied.
Then pictures are drawn on the lacquerware with powders of various colors. They are finally protected with a coat of transparent lacquer.
Good lacquerware articles are works of art. They are so durable that they show no wear for hundreds of years. A collection of lacquerware recovered from a sunken ship was exhibited in Vienna in 1878. Eighteen months of exposure to sea water had failed to even slightly damage the lacquer.
Lacquer made with resin is called "true spirit" varnish. The resin is usually mixed with turpentine. The turpentine evaporates when it is exposed to air, leaving only the coating of resin on the material.
When a cellulose compound is used to make lacquer, the compound is usually dissolved in butyl alcohol or butyl acetate. The butyl compounds also evaporate when exposed to air. When lac is used to make lacquer, the evaporating solution used is ethyl alcohol.
In the Orient, a natural lacquer is obtained from the sap of the lacquer tree. The Japanese and Chinese tap the trees and collect the sap. Then they stain the sap and dry it by heat. This makes a dark brown liquid as thick as syrup. The liquid is diluted and sometimes colored before it is used as lacquer.
Modern lacquers are used to finish thousands of materials, including metals, paper, wood and fabrics.
The paper industry uses both clear and colored lacquers to finish packages, labels and book covers.
In the furniture industry, lacquers are especially useful in retaining the color of blond furniture. They also give a waterproof finish to many pieces of furniture.
In the automobile industry, lacquers are used to give_a high gloss to some automobile finishes.
Acrylic resin lacquers make an excellent coating for polished metal such as brass and chromium.