Lacquer and Inlay manufacturing in Thailand and Vietnam

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Manufacture of Lacquer

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Working with consumers, retailers, wholesalers buying high-end handicraft products, we have 15 + years long presence in the region & 40+ years experience in international business, law, and trade.

When you buy true lacquer ware goods, no two will look exactly the same. A wide variation between products is expected and standard in hand-crafted goods.

Should you need identical products, please buy plastic.

The history of lacquer is 6,000 to 7,000 years old. Many credit China as the first while many more now credit Vietnam with having taken the lead in the quality of this craft process.

Millennia ago, artists learned how to harvest the juices coming from a tree of the sumac family that is common to parts of Southeast Asia. Those artist learned how to convert the oleo-resins into a slow drying, natural lacquer which was first and is still used to protect delicate paintings and works of art. Steping the lacquer came later, where early bowls were made in simple reds and blacks. Still later, carving, inlaying, and painting the lacquer was perfected. Today's lustrous products are at the pinnacle of the art world and are a far cry from just coverings for other fine arts.

The factories we source from use hard and soft woods, fiberglass, MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard), and papier-mâché (paper mache) toe support lacquer, both colored and inlayed.

Large objects that will be subjected to noticeable climate changes (humidity and/or temperature) use fiberglass and MDF as the preferred supports both to keep the weight down and durability high. Ceramics and wood are also used but each has its own challenges over time.

To keep costs reasonable and the product base strong, MDF is used for flat, large objects such as table tops, chair backs, and large panels or screens. Fiberglass is most often used in modern furniture designs that must first be molded and shaped by hand.

The process of lacquering is a lengthy one of layering, drying, hand-rubbing, and then layering all over again. The process is month's long as the 16 Steps are applied. Then there is the need to slowly air dry. The process is very long, not complicated, but both labor & time intensive.

Step 1. The under support is fully dried, sanded, and prepared first with a special, natural glue before the first undercoat of black lacquer is applied.

Steps 2-3. When fully dried (a matter of 3-5 days in natural warm air and never direct sunlight) a 2nd Step of a special condensed lacquer paint is applied . While the 2nd Step is wet, a special close weave netting (that looks like but is not cheese cloth or mosquito netting) is applied as a 3rd Step that sets into and dries with the condensed paint.

Steps 4-9. Using a special trowel, the under support is then plastered with six (6) coats of a special condensed mixture of rock powder and black lacquer paint. Each coat is allowed to air dry for 3 to 5 full days. No artificial drying is ever used. After each coat is dry, the entire under support is hand rubbed with a special sand paper made in part from the cartilaginous material of squid.

When the last coat is fully dry, the entire under support (board, chair leg, table top, etc.) is then wet-ground. This consists of hand rubbing under constantly sprayed water. The same special sand paper is used. After several days of this process, the entire surface becomes smooth and starts to shine.

Steps gold or sliver are often used. When gold or silver highlights are needed or just wanted (as in the finer Thai screens), a gold or silver foil is hand rubbed many times over the black-covered under supports until the the under supports appear to be solid gold or silver. Depending on the size of the final object, this can be a many weeks-long process. This time consuming process insures a firm bond between the foil and under support that will not work loose.

To create the design, whether in paint alone or with inlays of Mother of Pearl and/or egg shell, a to-scale, full size drawing is made. This is used as a template from which an exact copy of the design is hand drawn onto the under support using both pencil and chalk.

Inlays - When inlays are used (mother of pearl or egg shell), a sketch of the design is made on the hard, smooth surface, and a special glue is applied over the sketch. In square millimeters at a time, first the glue and then the inlay is applied. When furniture is being entirely inlaid with egg shell, the entire surface is covered with glue a few square inches at a time and then immediately followed with hand placed and shaped (dried and sometimes fired) egg shell.

Each inlay material is first sawed or cut to the specific shape used in each design. When applied, final changes in shape are cut or sand-papered as each piece is hand pieced and glued to the under support. There is no rushing this or any of the many other lacquer processing steps.

Paint - Designs are painted on by the steady hand of master artists, who do not use a magnifying glass but do hold needle thin brushes to obtain the exacting detail.

Steps 10-12. After the inlay material and paint is fully applied, three additional coats of special black lacquer is applied. Each Step must air dry for at least three days before being carefully hand rubbed in flowing water. This process allows the inlay materials to be seen in their natural colors, and the board surface to shine as if it is a mirror.

Steps 13-16. After painting and over-lacquering is completed, three coats of clear finish are applied. As before, each coat is allowed to dry before the entire lacquered object is hand rubbed in flowing water. This keeps the lacquer panel hard, with lasting color and lasting shine.

The result is a magnificent hand-crafted object of beauty, both of design and function, that with proper care will last generations.

These are hand-crafted object of beauty using Mother of Pearl and egg shell inlay, crackle glaze or smooth, and simple or complex designs. Each will have an expected and normal variation from others as they are not molded plastic but true lacquer ware following a many millennia old process that has not materially changed in all that time.