Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

KTM9 Self-Crosslink Clear Coat (Grafted Coating Inc.  800-477-4437), a water-based clear coat works very well.  It doesn't cause any irritation.  It has virtually no smell.  It dries to the touch in about 20 minutes with no special curing requirements.  It also mixes very well with pigment  from Luthiers Mercantile International (www.lmii.com).  It's not suitable for use with 'ji' though.  Being water-based, brushes wash up with soap and water.  It also dries hard with little degradation due to moisture contact after curing.  There have been no long term tests to date with it, but flutes I have with it in the bore are holding up well.
Some people use Cashew, but it has a lingering smell that is bothersome to many.

Thanks, Jeff!

I have been experimenting with different finishes, pure tung oil (smells like bacon!) tung oil finish(varnish, not bacony, but odd smell none the less) wipe on polyurethane (scrapes off easily).

I was also looking at some water based laquers (can also pigment them)from stewmac, but your suggestion I will follow up on! Did you apply the finish yourself?

Last edited by Taldaran (2009-05-01 15:47:27)

Jeff Cairns wrote:

KTM9 Self-Crosslink Clear Coat (Grafted Coating Inc.  800-477-4437), a water-based clear coat works very well.  It doesn't cause any irritation.  It has virtually no smell.  It dries to the touch in about 20 minutes with no special curing requirements.  It also mixes very well with pigment  from Luthiers Mercantile International (www.lmii.com).  It's not suitable for use with 'ji' though.  Being water-based, brushes wash up with soap and water.  It also dries hard with little degradation due to moisture contact after curing.  There have been no long term tests to date with it, but flutes I have with it in the bore are holding up well.
Some people use Cashew, but it has a lingering smell that is bothersome to many.

A similar formulation, by Minwax, is also available: Polycrylic. A water based acrylic/urethane that comes in satin, semi-gloss and gloss finishes. It's available at Home Depot and Lowes, and is somewhat cheaper than KTM9, 15-17 bucks per quart. I have used it extensively for furniture and trim finishing, and it's quite a tough finish; fast-drying and easy to apply (strain it and do NOT shake it for best results). Worth trying, I think.

purehappiness wrote:

I guess the real question is what can you use that won't hurt you. Since you most likely will be breathing in fumes of some sort or the other too. Perhaps, urushi or cashew are the only viable products to use. For safety reasons that is. It is a tough call.

The water based stuff won't hurt you after it is well cured (24-48 hours, even though it's dry to the touch well before that). Inhalation of the volatile drying agents is not recommended, however.

Last edited by edosan (2009-05-02 22:27:35)