How to clean and repair Japanese Shoji.

How to clean and repair Japanese Shoji.

Shoji this is the name given to the wooden sliding Doors/panels, found mostly in the older style and traditional houses in Japan.

Firstly on a trip to Japan a long time ago now, or so it would seem, I had the opportunity to be able to clean and the repair some broken Shoji’s.

Well, I had never carried out such an interesting request before, so I jumped at the chance to learn something new.

When I looked at the Shoji, I saw that it had been discoloured by nicotine therefore, I set about to wash the wooden structure.

Firstly I removed all the torn rice paper that was discoloured by many years of cigarette smoke.

I filled a bowl with hot water, and started to clean the wooden frame with a brush and cloth.

I was very surprised as to how much grime came off; well it had taken many years to build up suppose.

I cleaned the surface until the water rinsed clear, and then I allowed the timber frame to dry thoroughly over night.

The next day I was keen to try and repair the broken frame struts, I had no tools to hand and began to think that perhaps this might be a too difficult a job.

After very careful thought, I decided to go to the local DIY shop and see what was on offer in my quest to fix the damaged frames.

Well, I found a suitable glue for repairing the wood, and I also needed some masking tape, after finding these items I was now ready to start.

I tired to place all the broken pieces of wood together on a table, once I found where they all belonged.

I started to fix them together in sequence, and because I had no clamps, I did something that I have done many times before; I used masking tape to pull the joints together and left them to dry.

I was delighted when the repaired timbers when dry, left no visible glue line I thought this has to be a good idea.

I finally glued all of the broken pieces back just like a jigsaw puzzle.

Now for learning about the rice paper covering, how could I replace this I asked myself, well back to the DIY shop again and yet another search around and attempting to ask the staff for Shoji paper, a staff member understood what I was looking for and showed me a suitable paper, but how could I attach the paper to the wooden frame? I was at a loss.

I was then shown special glue for this job, the name of the glue is called Nori, this is made from rice, the glue is like a very starchy substance.

Nori glue, is especially used for this job, I was told because it does not stain through the white Shoji paper, and has been used for many years in Japan.

I mixed up the Nori glue with water and was ready to attach the paper to the frame.

I read the instructions or should I say, that I looked at the picture instructions which showed that the paper should be glued whilst the frame is stood in the upright position, after a few failed attempts at this I gave up why! Because the paper kept on rolling down to the floor, in desperation I decided to lay the frame on the table therefore a flat surface.

Now this worked much better, I slowly spread the glue on the thin struts of wood and just like wallpaper, I very slowly rolled out the special rice paper wiping the surface with a clean cloth to apply general pressure for the glue to dry, I had found items to hold down the drying paper over night.

The next day I went to inspect my efforts, and to my delight the paper had dried on perfectly.

I was told that the paper as it dries shrinks very slightly and therefore tightens to the frame, thus pulling out any creases should there be any.

Pleased with my efforts, I proceeded to repair other

Shoji's that needed attention.

After I fitted the doors back into their groves, the doors looked just like new, I felt very proud that I had carried out these repairs, and without any tools and certainly no knowledge on how to repair Shoji’s before.

It just goes to show that with a little imagination and effort, we can all do many tasks that we are not familiar with.

Shoji's are mainly made from Cedar wood; this has a strong tight grain and has a good light appearance.

I have been told, that back in Japanese history, Ninjas if they wanted to enter a house or building without disturbing the occupants, they would spread some oil along the track of the door and this would stop the door from squeaking, now that is very cleaver and the unsuspecting occupant would be none the wiser should they live to tell the tale.

Footnote, 
Sometimes people call it "Rice paper" (since it sounds " Oriental"?), but Shoji paper really has nothing to do with rice.

Traditionally Shoji paper (washi) was made of Japanese mulberry tree called "Kozo" or shrubs called " Mitsumata" and Ganpi".  The paper was scarce and valuable because it was all natural and hand-made.

I hope that you have enjoyed this experience with me? If you have feedback is always welcome.

Thanks,

Andrew.


 

Sanding Machines

Sanding Machines.



These are just some of the various machines I choose to use.

How about this beast!  A Makita Belt sander

Now with the dust bag

Makita Orbital sander

 
 






 

This is an old Bosch machine & still going

Throughout my time as a French polisher, I have used various different hand-operated sanding machines, and have now come to the conclusion, that the low priced machines don't perform well or last very long at all.

In one instance I purchased a cheap orbital sander for a job, and it lasted for about a week, well I took it back to the shop as it was still under guarantee so they offered me another as a replacement.

I can't remember how long that one lasted now, but probably not very long.

Well, if you are like me, when you buy a new machine you expect it to last for years and never go wrong! Don't you.

Like most things in life you get what you pay for, it is much better to purchase an expensive branded sander, as you will benefit from the built-in quality and it should last for many years.

I make my sanders work really hard, and when they go wrong or the outer electric cable starts to wear through, I take them for repairs and overhauling.

Makes of sanders, which I like to use, are both Bosch and Makita, I have found them to be extremely reliable, and they also have very powerful motors that seem to go on forever.

What I also like about them, is that they both have dust collection attachments and this is a must if you are working in an environment where dust could become a problem.

Safety points:

You should always wear suitable goggles and a dust mask whilst sanding, otherwise, the fine wood dust particles will fly into your eyes and nose etc. Causing discomfort, plus harm to your lungs etc.

If you are carrying out large amounts of sanding, you might consider purchasing a pair of Synthetic leather Gloves with neoprene palm, pads to reduce vibration.

These are made by DeWalt.

This will cut down on repetitive strain syndrome, and make for greater comfort.

Always read all the manufactures instructions prior to the use of your new product.

Take care whilst using your machine.

Feedback is always welcome.

Have you ever sanded through the veneer?

Have you ever sanded through the Wood veneer?

Well, I think that we have all done this at some point, well how can you rectify this problem?

Firstly, if you see that the colour usually around the edges, of your item starts to change in any way, then you have started to go through the veneer.

If this has happened then you must stop sanding immediately otherwise you will make a bad situation even worse.

colours such as let's say the wood is Teak! Then I would mix a little Yellow Ochre and just a hint of Orange Chrome mix these with French polish or lacquer should you wish. How to rectify this problem, what I do is to make up a colour match as near as  possible to the veneer, using either Ochre

Using a very fine pointed brush, apply several thin layers of colour trying to match and follow the grain.

You must leave each layer to dry, if you don't you will find that all you will do is build up a too thick a coat of colour and the patch will look unsightly.

The best way is to just be patient and the results will show for themselves.

You can also use Spirit colours to do this job, and I do often use these colours, as and when they are needed, as you don't get the painted look that often occurs with Ochre powders.

Spirit colours can be mixed with Methylated spirits and French polish to bind them.

When you come to polish over the newly coloured area, you must be very careful not to wipe off all your hard work when applying another rubber or coat of finish.

It is much better that you apply a thin polish layer and leave this to dry before attempting to polish over too quickly.

I have seen many people trying to touch up patches using brushes overfilled with colour, and end up with a sticky mess that has to come off and then have to start again, due to not applying thin enough layers and not using just the tip of the brush as it was intended to be used.

I would suggest that you try out these methods on an obsolete piece of wood that matches as near as possible first, this way you will save yourself a great deal of time and headache later on when you have done this for real.

Yellow Ochre is a powder colour, made from Earth rock crushed very finely.

Orange Chrome is a very bright colour likewise made from Earth rock.

Ochre colours are used if you need a dull colour, however; Chrome colours are used when you need to achieve a bright shade.

They can be purchased from any good Wood finishing suppliers or Art shops.

I hope that this will be of some help to you? If so your feedback will be most welcome.

Doors! Could they these be any worse?

Doors!  Could these be any worse?  Before works and with a patched repair.

Now for the inside, also in a poor condition.

All finished, now that's better!

"Seeing is believing".

My latest project

Hi!  This is my latest completed project.

Let the pictures do the talking?

Look at this poor condition!

In the very beginning, they looked like this!

Then after removing the old finish!

I just had to have myself in the final photo.  

Thank you, to Father for giving me the opportunity to work on these doors, it has been very hard work but also a pleasure.

No compromise on quality. "When only the best will do"

How to bleach Wood

Welcome,


Today, I want to tell you about how you can bleach wood.

This assumes that the wood has been stripped and prepared first.

Apply Rustins Wood lightener, which contains two bottles, use bottle (A) first using a Reed brush for this purpose, coat over the surface and leave to work for Ten minutes to dry into the surface.

.

Then apply bottle (B) in the same way, but you must now leave this to work for at least two hours, after this time you should now see that the wood colour has significantly changed to a much lighter shade.

Now you must wash over the surface, using one teaspoon full of white vinegar to one litre of water, use gloves or you will smell like vinegar for some time.

When thoroughly dry, you can proceed to the finishing process.

Never over sand a bleached surface, as you will cut straight through the thinly bleached surface so easily. 
 

Safety points:

Protect your eyes with goggles, and hands with gloves.

Always read the instructions on the pack.

Never mix these two bleaches together, as this then becomes very dangerous, as the mixture becomes extremely hot!

Once again, I hope this will be of use to you? If so let me know.

Why not visit my website (Now closed)

Welcome!


If you would like to see some more of my work, then why not visit my

On there you will find even more information about me, and see some very interesting photographs of items that I have French polished.
I hope that you will be kind enough to give me some feedback. 
This will help me to improve both my website and this blog.
Should you need any further assistance, or have any questions regarding French polishing.
Please leave a comment and I will do my best to reply.

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55)Portugal                                         Obrigado
56)Romania                                        Multumesc
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60)South Africa                                  Asante
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63)Spain                                              Gracias
64)Sweden                                           Tack 
65)Switzerland                                     Danke
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Regards,
Andrew.

Looks better now!