Relacquering Men

[NigelSponge]

Does anyone know of a good way to relacquer ones men? My men is still pretty new and the lacquer seems to be chipping off a bit too quickly. So if there are any home made remedies or bogu lacquer to buy, please inform me, thanks in advance.

[xvikingx]

Check out some of the online bogu shops. I think some of them sell lacquer. Or maybe that was indigo dye??? You can definitely get it from Japan.

Where did you get your men?

[Kingofmyrrh]

Watch out if you get hold of actual Japanese lacquer (urushi). That stuff is seriously toxic!

[xvikingx]

Oh yeah, and there is that minor detail....

[Paburo]

one question though... not sure if it has been asked before.

if it's so toxic (that urushi laquer thing) then isn't it dangerous if it peels off and gets in contact with your face/nostrils/mouth?

i'm considering relacquering my men as well (i'm both broke and my current old one is a mitsuboshi, so it's worth a revamping), but i just don't want to use anything toxic or the like. be it urushi or industrial paint or anything.

my dojo mate gave me this mini bottle of car paint. i wonder if that's usable or might be highly toxic as well??

thanks in advance! cheers :D

[NigelSponge]

Got my bogu from Ebogu, but i dont thnk i'd wanna go through all the trouble of sending it in to get relacquered, if there isnt something quick and realatively cheap, ill just deal with it. That toxic part sounds kinda scary :P

[MikeW]

Urushi is not typically fatally toxic (unless you're drinking it). It can cause skin rashes and allergic reactions though. But it is only in the liquid form that it has 'toxic' properties. Urushi, unlike paint, forms a cross-linked polymer when it dries. This changes the chemical properties similar to polyacrylamide (whick also is toxic when in liquid form but non-toxic once it has polymerized).

So don't worry about any small bits of lacquer that come off your men, that stuff is already polymerized and non-toxic.