Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

I have the unfortunate honor of being an expert on managing urushi reactions.  Sadly, I have learned my lessons the hard way.

If all you are getting is the itchy soul patch problem your problems are relativly minor. 

I highly recommend using a product that has helped me out a lot:  Tecnu- Oak n Ivy.  (In NY you can get this at most CVS outlets.) It is a cleanser that dissolves poison ivy and, apparently, Urushi oils.  I am very sensitive to urushi and I find washing my hands and wiping my chin with Tecnu after playing a new flute helps tremendously. 

Do this for a couple of weeks and by then the urushi on your newly lacquered flute should have cured enough not to bother you any more.

Unfortunately, the only things that are going to render the urushi inert are time and the presence of moisture. I don't think the application of heat to the process is useful or good for the shakuhachi.

If you keep the flute--when it's not being played--in a closed, fairly close-fitting container (like a long box or a heavy mailing tube with the ends sealed, or perhaps a piece of 3 or 4 inch pvc with end caps) and put a dampened sponge inside with the shakuhachi, you will speed the process as much as possible.

Some people wrap a dampened cloth around the shakuhachi to apply the moisture, but this makes me a bit nervous: It's what you do to a cracked flute to close the cracks, so it may be too much moisture applied too quickly.




eB

Seth wrote:

Why do you think that just waiting a few weeks will not help?

If you live(d) in a location with a rather high relative humidity, the urushi might cure in a few weeks time. In that case, all you had to do was wait a few weeks, but it isn't the passage of a few weeks that cured the urushi--it was the exposure to the humidity.

Since I'm not in a place with the necessary level of humidity, a few weeks or even a few years will not change the urushiol into cured lacquer. It behooves me to do what I can  to goose the process along.

Following Ed's suggestion, I have kept the flute in a plastic document tube for the past week with a cello Dampit in each end of the bore. If I can resist the call of the new flute for another week, it might make the difference.

rpowers wrote:

I'm still hoping that some experienced lacquerer can suggest a way to help convert this irritating agent into an inert protective finish.

Hi Rich,
Is this a two piece? I often cure two piece 1.8s in a small Sterlite container with a small cup of water in it. Urushi needs about 60-70% humidity to cure. You can use an ice chest too. As a suggestion, you can try making a liquified concoction of Tecnu or Calagel and swabbing the flute out then rinsing with water. I often rinse out a newly cured urushi flute (one month) with Palmolive anti bacterial dishwashing soap. No one has ever gotten the rash.

Good luck, Perry