LACE LEATHER: See Leather.
LACE, TO CLEAN GOLD AND SILVER: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.
LACES, WASHING AND COLORING OF: See Laundry Preparations.
LACQUERS
(See also Enamels, Glazes, Paints, Varnishes, and Waterproofing.)
Lac And The Art Of Lacquering.
The art of lacquering includes various steps, which are divulged as little as possible. Without them nothing but a varnish of good quality would be realized. Thus in Tonkin, where the abundant {438} production is the object of an important trade with the Chinese, it is so used only for varnishing, while in China the same product from the same sources contributes to most artistic applications.
When the Annamites propose to lacquer an object, a box, for example, they first stop up the holes and crevices, covering all the imperfections with a coating of diluted lac, by means of a flat, close, short brush. Then they cover the whole with a thick coating of lac and white clay. This clay, oily to the touch, is found at the bottom of certain lakes in Tonkin; it is dried, pulverized, and sifted with a piece of fine silk before being embodied with the lac. This operation is designed to conceal the inequalities of the wood and produce a uniform surface which, when completely dry, is rendered smooth with pumice stone.
If the object has portions cut or sunk the clayey mixture is not applied, for it would make the details clammy, but in its place a single, uniform layer of pure lac.
In any case, after the pumicing, a third coating, now pure lac, is passed over the piece, which at this time has a mouse-gray color. This layer, known under the name of sou lot, colors the piece a brilliant black. As the lac possesses the remarkable property of not drying in dry air, the object is left in a damp place. When perfectly dried the piece is varnished, and the desired color imparted by a single operation. If the metallic applications are excepted, the lac is colored only black, brown, or red.