Namiki Urushi Laquer Repair - Can they be Re-Varnished?

[patrick_y]

I've been traveling in Japan lately, and whenever I travel in Japan, I love to go fountain pen shopping!  I'm fortunate to own a Namiki Emperor Chinkin fountain pen and during this trip I met a Namiki Yukari-Royale Frog fountain pen and decided that I liked it very much and the pen "frog-leaped" itself into my possession after I surrendered my credit card.  Well, upon getting back to my hotel, I realized that there was a defect on the pen.  Somehow, at the top of the pen, the black lacquer area had matted - when it is supposed to have a polished finish.  I don't know how this happened - I know that Namiki's Urushi lacquer is fairly resistant to the elements - but it does degrade in the presence of UV light.  Well...  Surely a big fountain pen store, being an authorized Namiki dealer for many years, would know how to store, display, and care for their inventory?  

 

Thus, the beloved Namiki Yukari Royale Frog pen had to go back to the store where they refunded me immediately.  I was very sad to give up my new pen!  

 

I went to another store and they had a Namiki Emperor Carp On Waterfall pen that had a lot of "dried out" looking and matte parts - the staff told me that it had been sitting in the display case under bright lights for years.  When you unscrewed the cap, the part of the Maki-E painting protected by the cap was much brighter and more polished than the part not protected by the cap.  

 

I would say, in my less than expert opinion, that both of these Namiki pens needed to be "re-varnished" or had a new coating of transparent lacquer applied to them.  Is this something that Namiki can do?  The brochure states that the pens should be kept in an area not exposed to light and kept in a fairly humid space.  Quoting the brochure: "Lacquer is susceptible to UV rays, found in sunlight and fluorescent light, and loses its luster if it is exposed to them over time.  Normally, lacquer's luster can be restored, but its original condition may not be fully recovered if the damage is severe.  Over time, as lacquer continues to absorb and release moisture, its luster will be lost more quickly in dry environments.  Therefore, it is recommended to keep lacquer products in moist conditions, such as inside a wooden box.  General care: occasionally wipe the pen gently with a soft dry cloth, such as gauze.  For more stubborn marks wipe gently with a damp cloth and dry immediately.  Mother of pear inlay and egg shell can be harmed by exposure to acid and may be altered or dissolved by contact with an acid.  Please avoid contact with acid.  Should the pen become stained with ink, sweat, etc, wipe immediately with a damp cloth."  

 

So, can these Namiki pens be re-varnished if they get sun-burnt?  What does Namiki's lifetime warranty cover?  Considering I've met two Namiki pens that were probably not properly stored - does this mean that they're fragile?  Or does it just mean that many stores don't know how to care for them over long periods of time?  

Notice the area that is normally covered by the cap has more vibrant color than the rest of the body of the pen.  The clip on the cap also looks "sunburnt" or "dried-out."  Is this repairable?  

 

 

It was a beautiful pen - just unfortunately it had sat in a display case under bright lights for years.  Which makes sense since this pen was probably discontinued around ten years ago or so?  

 

My Yukari Royale Frog had a matte portion on the top of the cap.  Don't know how it happened.  But was wondering if this was repair-able.  I ended up returning the pen since the store didn't want to ship the repaired pen to USA from Japan.  

 

It was a beautiful pen!  Just the top tip of the cap had a strange matte spot just above the base of the clip.  

[Doc Dan]

Such a shame, for those are beautiful pens. 

[Nikolaos]

there can be small imperfections on urushi over time.  The frog pen issue is really minor and I think if you were to use a silver polishing cloth just a little bit, it would shine again.   I don't think the carp pen can be re-lacquered though.  

[stan]

It may be possible to remove a thin layer of oxidation from the pen. I did this on one of my pens years ago and it turned out fine. Urushi is highly durable and polishing should not damage the overall finish. BUT, you must be careful with the type of polish and how hard you rub. Polishing lightly multiple times is better than vigorous polishing.

 

Don't get your hopes up too high. Try it and see. 

 

You cannot relacquer a pen. At least not affordably. And you do not have the experience or resources. There are restorers in Japan who work on museum quality artwork that may be able to bring the pen back close to original. The only touch the most culturally and historically significant and priceless works of art. Find them on the internet, send them a note with photographs, and see what they say.

[Number99]

There is a fountain pen repair store in Japan that works with urushi-lacquerware workshops to restore maki-e fountain pens.

Unfortunately, we could not find any repair stores that stated that they undertake restorations from overseas.

Although not a fountain pen, the explanation is given that even regular urushi products may cost the same or more than the cost of purchasing a new one.

 

Also, this is not about fountain pens, the article states that many maki-e works in overseas museums have been self-restored or are in collections where wax or oil has been used, which makes restoration difficult.

 

Maki-e Museum, private website. (Article in Japanese.)

https://makie-museum.com/care.html

 

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Number99
Correction of mistranslation.

[MartinPauli]

With every urushi or maki-e pen, the so-called "uwazuri" is carried out at the end after the "dozuri" pre-polishing. The pen is rubbed with transparent urushi and completely wiped with a special paper and hardened/dried for 24 hours in the "urushimuro" climate chamber. For everyday items, the process is recommenden tob e repeated 5 to 7 times.

Then polishing is done by a fine polishing powder "Migako" rapeseed oil and the fingers. The lacquer is then polished dry with Migako and the finders to a high gloss. The application of the transparent lacquer fills the micropores of the pre-polish and enables the fine polishing known with Urushi.

If the work has been carried out carefully, the Urushi film on the surface is extremely hard and resistant to all known acids and alkalis as well as high temperatures. Uwazuri over mother-of-pearl and eggshell also protects against acids and alkalis.

Cleaning with warm soapy water is unproblematic, as is cleaning with acetone as long as the surface has not been damaged.

The storage of ebonite objects with urushi is completely unproblematic, no specific humidity is required. Lacquer objects made on a wooden core should be stored in a stable climate. The "Kiribako" Pawloniabox, in which such objects are stored, protect the lacquer objects very well from climate changes. Keep in mind that Japan has extreme temperatures, high temperaatures and humidity in summer and dry and cold winter months

As mentioned, the lacquer is sensitive to UV light. But remember, in Japan all everyday items were sealed or decorated with urushi. Soup bowls, chopsticks, sword scabbards, armor, palanquins, etc. In ancient China, even the wooden planks of ships were lacquered to protect them from fouling. So, don't go crazy. Simply use the fountain pen, store it in a cloth sleeve after use and clean it from time to time with warm soapy water

On the vintage market you can find the finest Maki-e fountain pens that were made over 100 years ago and are in excellent condition.

It is strange that one part of your Frog fountain pen became dull and this cannot really happen as the lacquer is as hard as glass. It is either a contamination by glue or an adhesive, try to clean the spot with acetone. If the area has become dull due to wear, it could be refreshed with Migako and rapeseed oil.

[Number99]

10 hours ago, MartinPauli said:

But remember, in Japan all everyday items were sealed or decorated with urushi. Soup bowls, chopsticks, sword scabbards, armor, palanquins, etc.

We understand that urushi lacquer works are to be used for a long period of time with repeated restoration.

 

In Japan, there are many urushi workshops that offer restoration services, but for writing instruments, it is not easy to find a urushi workshop that claims to accept restoration orders without the mediation of a fountain pen repair store.

 

Is it possible that another barrier to this is the inability to repair base parts of fountain pens or perform other specialized work such as removing and assembling parts that interfere with paint restoration, such as clips?

 

For example, do you think they would accept a request to disassemble a fountain pen into its component parts in advance and only repair the painted parts?

 

There may be other reasons they won't take on…

 

I think this should be done by pen makers…

 

I believe that one of the reasons for the difficulties in restoring urushi fountain pens is that the route from the fountain pen repair store to the urushi workshop where the paint restoration is done has not been constructed.

 

I know this is a topic that goes against the purpose of your post, but I would like to hear an expert's opinion on it.

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Number99

[MartinPauli]

The problem with urushi pens made in Japan is that several different people or studios are involved in the manufacture. One studio specializes in priming and middle layers, another studio in roiro finish and the third is the Maki-e artist. Each studio has its own closely guarded secrets and recipes, which makes it difficult to determent the quality of the lacquer used, pure, thinned, mixed with chemicals..... There is a lot of experimentation in the industry with lacquer that the manufacturers are often unaware of. In this respect, it is ideal if the lacquer artist who carried out the Maki-e work do the repair or touch-up

 

[Number99]

2 hours ago, MartinPauli said:

The problem with urushi pens made in Japan is that several different people or studios are involved in the manufacture. One studio specializes in priming and middle layers, another studio in roiro finish and the third is the Maki-e artist. Each studio has its own closely guarded secrets and recipes, which makes it difficult to determent the quality of the lacquer used, pure, thinned, mixed with chemicals..... There is a lot of experimentation in the industry with lacquer that the manufacturers are often unaware of. In this respect, it is ideal if the lacquer artist who carried out the Maki-e work do the repair or touch-up

 

Thank you Meister.

On the website of a fountain pen repair store that undertakes the restoration of maki-e fountain pens, the owner explained that a maki-e artist with a doctorate degree is in charge of restoring the paint. I understood that there are different restoration methods depending on the finish.

 

Other lacquerware workshops that restore general lacquerware are probably nushi-ya, as they have the skills to restore maki-e.

 

I have browsed through the links in the other threads to the informative articles on your workshop website.

Please teach me again if I have a chance.

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Number99

[XYZZY]

 

On 11/4/2023 at 8:42 AM, MartinPauli said:

It is strange that one part of your Frog fountain pen became dull and this cannot really happen as the lacquer is as hard as glass

 

So then what might have happened?  My admittedly poor understanding of urushi is that ultraviolet light is its kryptonite, and that loss of sheen _is_ the symptom of that.  The OP's hypothesis of UV damage seems consistent with that. 

 

I do have to wonder whether the lack of repairs is somewhat related to the concept of wabi-sabi:  perhaps the damage is relatively common but it is accepted as normal and not something to be fixed.

 

I do have to wonder about the lifetime warranty.  I have some Namiki Emperor pens.  I can only imagine that if the pen were damaged by UV light that it would not be covered, regardless of whether the official corporate response was that it was normal wear and tear, or abuse, II can only imagine it would be denied as a warranty claim.  But if that happens while in possession of the dealer then that seems a gray area.  Ideally the dealer would accept responsibility, even if Namiki would not.

[patrick_y]

On 11/3/2023 at 1:01 AM, Doc Dan said:

Such a shame, for those are beautiful pens. 

Indeed.  I would've bought the Carp had it been in good condition.  

[patrick_y]

On 11/3/2023 at 8:50 AM, Nikolaos said:

there can be small imperfections on urushi over time.  The frog pen issue is really minor and I think if you were to use a silver polishing cloth just a little bit, it would shine again.   I don't think the carp pen can be re-lacquered though.  

Good to know.  I ended up finding another Frog.  But good to know.  I was afraid that the chemicals in silver polish might affect the pen's lacquer.  So I didn't want to try that - especially if I screwed up, then I wouldn't be able to return the pen to the store.  

[patrick_y]

On 11/3/2023 at 4:03 PM, stan said:

It may be possible to remove a thin layer of oxidation from the pen. I did this on one of my pens years ago and it turned out fine. Urushi is highly durable and polishing should not damage the overall finish. BUT, you must be careful with the type of polish and how hard you rub. Polishing lightly multiple times is better than vigorous polishing.

 

Don't get your hopes up too high. Try it and see. 

 

You cannot relacquer a pen. At least not affordably. And you do not have the experience or resources. There are restorers in Japan who work on museum quality artwork that may be able to bring the pen back close to original. The only touch the most culturally and historically significant and priceless works of art. Find them on the internet, send them a note with photographs, and see what they say.

Thank you for the advice. I'm not that invested as I didn't buy the pen.  However, if I could have the pen repaired with minimal cost and risk to me, I would consider buying the pen.  Otherwise, c'est la vie.  

[patrick_y]

On 11/3/2023 at 7:41 PM, Number99 said:

There is a fountain pen repair store in Japan that works with urushi-lacquerware workshops to restore maki-e fountain pens.

Unfortunately, we could not find any repair stores that stated that they undertake restorations from overseas.

Although not a fountain pen, the explanation is given that even regular urushi products may cost the same or more than the cost of purchasing a new one.

 

Also, this is not about fountain pens, the article states that many maki-e works in overseas museums have been self-restored or are in collections where wax or oil has been used, which makes restoration difficult.

 

Maki-e Museum, private website. (Article in Japanese.)

https://makie-museum.com/care.html

 

 

Thanks!  I wished we had someone's email within Namiki whom I can send my photos to and inquire about a repair process.  Unfortunately the Namiki and Pilot website do not have such an option - at least not in English.  

[patrick_y]

On 11/8/2023 at 2:37 PM, XYZZY said:

 

 

So then what might have happened?  My admittedly poor understanding of urushi is that ultraviolet light is its kryptonite, and that loss of sheen _is_ the symptom of that.  The OP's hypothesis of UV damage seems consistent with that. 

 

I do have to wonder whether the lack of repairs is somewhat related to the concept of wabi-sabi:  perhaps the damage is relatively common but it is accepted as normal and not something to be fixed.

 

I do have to wonder about the lifetime warranty.  I have some Namiki Emperor pens.  I can only imagine that if the pen were damaged by UV light that it would not be covered, regardless of whether the official corporate response was that it was normal wear and tear, or abuse, II can only imagine it would be denied as a warranty claim.  But if that happens while in possession of the dealer then that seems a gray area.  Ideally the dealer would accept responsibility, even if Namiki would not.

I too am curious about the Namiki warranty, what it entails, and so forth.  I'll go dig out one of my boxes and see if there's any way to contact them.  No contact information on the Namiki website oddly.

[Doc Dan]

I was being tempted by some Pilots with that lacquer finish, but I think I'll hold off and see.

[Number99]

20 hours ago, patrick_y said:

Unfortunately the Namiki and Pilot website do not have such an option - at least not in English.  

I am not sure if you will get an appropriate answer, but perhaps this is the right place.

https://pilotpen.us/CustomerService

 

https://pilotpen.us/

 

Or is it a non-US address?There is a "contact" link somewhere on each regional website.

https://www.pilot.co.jp/company/english/global/

 

Edited November 12, 2023 by Number99

[patrick_y]

On 11/12/2023 at 10:28 AM, Number99 said:

I am not sure if you will get an appropriate answer, but perhaps this is the right place.

https://pilotpen.us/CustomerService

 

https://pilotpen.us/

 

Or is it a non-US address?There is a "contact" link somewhere on each regional website.

https://www.pilot.co.jp/company/english/global/

 

Thank you!  I only went to the Pilot Global website!  I might try giving Pilot US a message sometime!  

[patrick_y]

On 11/11/2023 at 6:00 PM, Doc Dan said:

I was being tempted by some Pilots with that lacquer finish, but I think I'll hold off and see.

 

Bad things happy to beautiful things!