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Pen Lustre Question On Maki-E Pen


ygv

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I have noticed that one of my maki-e pens has got some issue with its lustre (i knowingly got it so).

 

 

My questions are:

 

1. is there a way to restore the lost shine? It seems (i tried on a tiny part) that if you use a moist lint free cloth with water the pen leaves a little colour on it so i refrained from cleaning further.

 

2. What may have caused this loss of lustre and how should one clean maki-e pens and prevent this from happening?

 

 

It seems like there are salt stains similar to the ones on a car whereas the colours in large parts are dull and stainy (like salt stains as i said).

post-147769-0-63510500-1551984209_thumb.jpg

post-147769-0-10711800-1551985555_thumb.jpg

Edited by John-XXII

Namiki Yukari Maki-e Zodiac Horse 1st edition, by Masaru Hayashi 林胜 | Namiki Yukari Royale Vermillon Urushi No. 20 | Pelikan M1000 | Montblanc WE 2004 Franz Kafka LE | Montblanc POA 2018 Homage to Ludwig II LE 4810 | Montblanc POA Joseph II 2012 LE 4810 | Montblanc 146 75th Anniversary SE | Montblanc Meisterstück Great Masters James Purdey & Sons SE | Montblanc 118232 Heritage Collection Rouge et Noir Spider Metamorphosis SE Coral | Montblanc 10575 Meisterstück Gold 149 | Montblanc 114229 Meisterstück Platinum 149 | Montblanc 111043 John F. Kennedy LE 1917 Rollerball | Montblanc 116258 The Beatles SE Ballpoint | Montblanc 114723 Heritage Collection Rouge et Noir SE Rollerball | Montblanc Meisterstück Platinum-Coated Classique Ballpoint |

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I've buffed urushi pens with all purpose (green, i think?) buffing compound on a buffing wheel -- it's all shiny afterward! That said, do it at your own risk, I've only ever done it with cheaper pens that had smooth surfaces (no raised maki-e parts etc).

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I've buffed urushi. Result is great. Urushi is incredibly strong.

 

WARNING!

This must be done in gradation of buffing compound.

First try Simichrome or plastic polish.

If that does not work, move on to something stronger. You will need a buffing wheel or a Dremel tool with buffing wheel. They come in different strengths and can be used with different buffing compounds.

 

Find a crappy old pen with urushi on the barrel or cap and practice first. It will come out okay.

stan

Formerly Ryojusen Pens
The oldest and largest buyer and seller of vintage Japanese pens in America.


Member: Pen Collectors of America & Fuente, THE Japanese Pen Collectors Club

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The urushi to weak to sunlight or halogen lamp in the store. that is the main reason to whiten the urushi or get cloudy. I recommend don't do anything by yourself and send the pen back. I believe it is a pilot, pilot provides life guarantee. I had the same situation and the pen returned like new.

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If it got cloudy in the store it had to be there a looooong time. Not what would be considered out of the box.

Go for it. Buff the sucka.

stan

Formerly Ryojusen Pens
The oldest and largest buyer and seller of vintage Japanese pens in America.


Member: Pen Collectors of America & Fuente, THE Japanese Pen Collectors Club

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Please take following into consideration:

 

There are two basic urushi technique

 

1 NURITATE (not polished)

With nuritate-nuri the final layer is brushed on and hardened without polishing

Nuritate was invented for cheap products to imitate polished surfaces without polishing.

The oil (mostly Camphore) was added to produce the typical shine

 

High quality nuritate is made with pure urushi and the surface becomes very hard.

 

Medium quality and old nuritate is executed with "shûai-urushi", urushi mixed with oil.

Urushi mixed with oil cannot be polished.

 

Medium quality and Old Nuritate-nuri mixed with oil can be cleaned with warm water and soap.

High quality nuritate-nuri (pure urushi) is resisstant to any acid and lyes and can be cleaned with hot water and soap or even Acetone

 

Old urushi mostly contains oil.

Today we use a special plastic foil "Saran" to cover the container the urushi is stored in.

Befor this foil was invented paper with urushi was used to seal the containers and as a result the urushi lost moisture/water over the years and became to sticky to be brushed without thinning.

 

Urushi lacquerer don't use fresh urushi, today I use urushi that was tapped 20 years ago)

I don't exactly know when Saran-Foil was invented but probably not befor 1970

 

2 ROIRO (polished)

Roiro-nuri is the traditional urushi technique and includes also Maki-e.

Pure urushi or pigmented urushi, mixed with pigments is brushed, then ground and polished.

The polishing process "Uwazuri" is very time consuming

 

After the surface is polished with charcoal (sumi) pure transparent urushi is rubbed into the surface andd completely wiped off, then cured for 24 hours in the "furo". This process is repeated several times. Then polished with oil, polishing powder (migako) and finger or paalm of thee hand. Then, rubbing in urushi is again repeated several times and polished again with oil and migako, then cleaned and polished with migako only.

 

Uwazuri closes micro pores, produces an extremely hard surface and saturates pigmented urushi

This sealing surface should not be buffed away.

 

In the Negoro Temple Wakayama (Negoro-dera 1087 - 1585) everything, profane and religious - have been lacquered black with a final coat of red lacquer. Over the years of use the red layer was worn of and released the black under coat. This aesthetic concept is called "Yô no bi" beauty through use.

 

Some years ago I had the chance to inspect and study original Negoro-Mono at the London Gallery Roppongi Tokyo. Touched with a white cloth the cloth will show traces of red color. The reason is that at that time very much oil was used to thin the lacquer

 

I hope this helps to understand more about urushi lacquer

 

Have a great weekend

 

Martin

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Id be in contact with Pilot and having that Pen sent back to Japan to be fixed under warranty. I wouldnt mess around with a DIY job and voiding your warranty at the same time - because of a he-said do this which isnt going to help your case. Good luck.

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Thank you for the fantastic responses thus far gents.

Namiki Yukari Maki-e Zodiac Horse 1st edition, by Masaru Hayashi 林胜 | Namiki Yukari Royale Vermillon Urushi No. 20 | Pelikan M1000 | Montblanc WE 2004 Franz Kafka LE | Montblanc POA 2018 Homage to Ludwig II LE 4810 | Montblanc POA Joseph II 2012 LE 4810 | Montblanc 146 75th Anniversary SE | Montblanc Meisterstück Great Masters James Purdey & Sons SE | Montblanc 118232 Heritage Collection Rouge et Noir Spider Metamorphosis SE Coral | Montblanc 10575 Meisterstück Gold 149 | Montblanc 114229 Meisterstück Platinum 149 | Montblanc 111043 John F. Kennedy LE 1917 Rollerball | Montblanc 116258 The Beatles SE Ballpoint | Montblanc 114723 Heritage Collection Rouge et Noir SE Rollerball | Montblanc Meisterstück Platinum-Coated Classique Ballpoint |

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Please take following into consideration:

 

There are two basic urushi technique

 

1 NURITATE (not polished)

With nuritate-nuri the final layer is brushed on and hardened without polishing

Nuritate was invented for cheap products to imitate polished surfaces without polishing.

The oil (mostly Camphore) was added to produce the typical shine

 

High quality nuritate is made with pure urushi and the surface becomes very hard.

 

Medium quality and old nuritate is executed with "shûai-urushi", urushi mixed with oil.

Urushi mixed with oil cannot be polished.

 

Medium quality and Old Nuritate-nuri mixed with oil can be cleaned with warm water and soap.

High quality nuritate-nuri (pure urushi) is resisstant to any acid and lyes and can be cleaned with hot water and soap or even Acetone

 

Old urushi mostly contains oil.

Today we use a special plastic foil "Saran" to cover the container the urushi is stored in.

Befor this foil was invented paper with urushi was used to seal the containers and as a result the urushi lost moisture/water over the years and became to sticky to be brushed without thinning.

 

Urushi lacquerer don't use fresh urushi, today I use urushi that was tapped 20 years ago)

I don't exactly know when Saran-Foil was invented but probably not befor 1970

 

2 ROIRO (polished)

Roiro-nuri is the traditional urushi technique and includes also Maki-e.

Pure urushi or pigmented urushi, mixed with pigments is brushed, then ground and polished.

The polishing process "Uwazuri" is very time consuming

 

After the surface is polished with charcoal (sumi) pure transparent urushi is rubbed into the surface andd completely wiped off, then cured for 24 hours in the "furo". This process is repeated several times. Then polished with oil, polishing powder (migako) and finger or paalm of thee hand. Then, rubbing in urushi is again repeated several times and polished again with oil and migako, then cleaned and polished with migako only.

 

Uwazuri closes micro pores, produces an extremely hard surface and saturates pigmented urushi

This sealing surface should not be buffed away.

 

In the Negoro Temple Wakayama (Negoro-dera 1087 - 1585) everything, profane and religious - have been lacquered black with a final coat of red lacquer. Over the years of use the red layer was worn of and released the black under coat. This aesthetic concept is called "Yô no bi" beauty through use.

 

Some years ago I had the chance to inspect and study original Negoro-Mono at the London Gallery Roppongi Tokyo. Touched with a white cloth the cloth will show traces of red color. The reason is that at that time very much oil was used to thin the lacquer

 

I hope this helps to understand more about urushi lacquer

 

Have a great weekend

 

Martin

Martin this is a fantastic response and shows the depth of knowledge you have. Do you happen to know which category do my pens fall?

Edited by John-XXII

Namiki Yukari Maki-e Zodiac Horse 1st edition, by Masaru Hayashi 林胜 | Namiki Yukari Royale Vermillon Urushi No. 20 | Pelikan M1000 | Montblanc WE 2004 Franz Kafka LE | Montblanc POA 2018 Homage to Ludwig II LE 4810 | Montblanc POA Joseph II 2012 LE 4810 | Montblanc 146 75th Anniversary SE | Montblanc Meisterstück Great Masters James Purdey & Sons SE | Montblanc 118232 Heritage Collection Rouge et Noir Spider Metamorphosis SE Coral | Montblanc 10575 Meisterstück Gold 149 | Montblanc 114229 Meisterstück Platinum 149 | Montblanc 111043 John F. Kennedy LE 1917 Rollerball | Montblanc 116258 The Beatles SE Ballpoint | Montblanc 114723 Heritage Collection Rouge et Noir SE Rollerball | Montblanc Meisterstück Platinum-Coated Classique Ballpoint |

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Thank you. I personally wouldn't dare to try to restore a maki-e pen myself.

All the Japanese pen companies work with specialized lacquer artists.

I am making my pens completely myself but in Japan there are those who make the basic pen, which is handed to another company specialized on the base lacquer which is again handed over to the specialist for final coat or Maki-e, Chinkin.. and all of them have their own secrets which they don't share.

 

In Japanese lacquer industry for laarge numbeers urushi is also mixed with chemicals and sprayed on the product. Cheaper range 10% Urushi to 90% Chemicals called "Urushi", higher quality range 20% Urushi to 80% Chemicals called "Double Urushi".

 

In an earlier post I explained, that in Japan there is an important aesthetic concept called "Yô no bi" beauty through use. I personally believe, that a fine gold watch or Maki-e Pen well used by a gentleman is more beautyful than a new one.

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Thank you. I personally wouldn't dare to try to restore a maki-e pen myself.

All the Japanese pen companies work with specialized lacquer artists.

I am making my pens completely myself but in Japan there are those who make the basic pen, which is handed to another company specialized on the base lacquer which is again handed over to the specialist for final coat or Maki-e, Chinkin.. and all of them have their own secrets which they don't share.

 

In Japanese lacquer industry for laarge numbeers urushi is also mixed with chemicals and sprayed on the product. Cheaper range 10% Urushi to 90% Chemicals called "Urushi", higher quality range 20% Urushi to 80% Chemicals called "Double Urushi".

 

In an earlier post I explained, that in Japan there is an important aesthetic concept called "Yô no bi" beauty through use. I personally believe, that a fine gold watch or Maki-e Pen well used by a gentleman is more beautyful than a new one.

I see your point so patina developing is inevitable as it is on watches (especially pre-ceramic era and when dial markers were made of tritium or other materials susceptible to aging).

Namiki Yukari Maki-e Zodiac Horse 1st edition, by Masaru Hayashi 林胜 | Namiki Yukari Royale Vermillon Urushi No. 20 | Pelikan M1000 | Montblanc WE 2004 Franz Kafka LE | Montblanc POA 2018 Homage to Ludwig II LE 4810 | Montblanc POA Joseph II 2012 LE 4810 | Montblanc 146 75th Anniversary SE | Montblanc Meisterstück Great Masters James Purdey & Sons SE | Montblanc 118232 Heritage Collection Rouge et Noir Spider Metamorphosis SE Coral | Montblanc 10575 Meisterstück Gold 149 | Montblanc 114229 Meisterstück Platinum 149 | Montblanc 111043 John F. Kennedy LE 1917 Rollerball | Montblanc 116258 The Beatles SE Ballpoint | Montblanc 114723 Heritage Collection Rouge et Noir SE Rollerball | Montblanc Meisterstück Platinum-Coated Classique Ballpoint |

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I think it is a question of personal taste but a new thing is new as long it is not used.

In Japan they know lacquer used for daily life and collector's treasures carefully stored in wooden boxes "kiribako"only touched withz glowes when inspected once a whilee

Maki-e pens made by a Living National Treasure "Ningen-kokuhô" are extremely expensive and are not used for writing

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  • 4 years later...

I bought the same pen and have the same problem, have you found a solution? or did you return it?

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