Finally found a source for Urushi and Cashew Urushi!

Yes, indeed! They are not cheap, and their stock understandably goes in and out, but it is the only good source for Cashew in the U.S. that I have found, as well.

As a Shuai replacement, I have found this to be the best (currently out of stock): http://www.hyper-cafe.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=34 - it is transparent red/brown (darker than their color swatch) and darkens a little more as it cures. I would not use it inside a bore due to the lingering noxious scent, but it is great for exterior applications where the fumes entirely dissipate within a week or two.

The true Cashew Thinner is the best, but unobtanium here in the U.S. I believe it was a mixture of MEK, Acetone & Naptha, or thereabouts (yummy!). Toluene or acetone-only will thin it, but you won't get quite as nice of an open-cured surface. Thinning is most often not needed, except for large areas like a whole flute. Fine wet-sanding followed by a rubbing compound will yield the best results in any application.

WOuld you use any of the cashews in a bore, or are they all fairly noxious?

No, not for bore use. I tried it once a long time ago and the slight gasoline scent was still present a couple of years later... not terrible, but a hint of it still lingering. It's also something you don't really want to be breathing in/out during bore work.

Great find! They list it as Cashew Urushi which seems to be misleading though. I don't think there's any urushi in cashew at all. Maybe urushi is becoming a general term for "lacquer".



I agree. Cashew smells for a long time. Smells like burnt car oil while Urushi has sort of a sweet, nutty flavor... for me

i did few flutes with cashew in the bore, and i usually dilute it with turpentine, but acetone sounds interesting.
to be honest, all the people that got the flutes with the cashew inside the bore didnt mind the smell at all

On top of its smell, is cashew toxic? Is it ok for lips to touch on shakuhachi painted with this?

purists will tell you otherwise, but so far to me it dosnt seem to pose any problem.
the fact that urushi is natural substance dosnt makes it healthier

Cashew is used as an inexpensive urushi substitute so it is commonly used on wooden shakuhachi. I haven't heard of anyone being allergic to cashew.

Cashews are in the same family as the "urushi" lacquer tree (Anacardiaceae) so they contain urushiol

(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashew#Habitat_and_growth).

Cashew lacquer is urushi, specifically cashew-urushi. I am guessing that the concentration of urushiol in cashew lacquer is less than the lacquer tree because you cannot use cashew urushi for maki-e as it will not bond to metal. On the same note, urushiol from lacquer trees grown in China AKA Chinese urushi (about $20-$50 per tube) cannot perform maki-e as the trees grown in warmer climates produce less urushiol. Japanese grown lacquer trees which are grown in a colder climate produce the highest concentrations of urushiol, cure and bond the strongest and cost $200 a tube! The more urushiol a lacquer contains the better and safer it actually cures and bonds. This is why maki-e originated in Japan and not China. This is all according to what I have read and learned from an urushi artist/master. More on shakuhachi here