Hi,
where can I buy Urushi lacquer in USA?
Best regards
G Moura
Forget about it! No one will sell it in the USA. It causes allergic
reactions in everyone exposed to it. If you have never broken out
from being exposed to poison ivy, or poison oak, or poison sumac, or
even mango trees or cashew vines, this stuff will cause you to break
out. Why? Because no one is truly immune to urushiol. If you get it
on you, you will break out with painful swollen lesions.
Hi G,
I purchase urushi online from Japan:
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/jlacque
It is expensive but very high quality and excellent, fast service.
They don’t speak English, though they have an English version of the
website. The rash can indeed be bad – be sure to take necessary
precautions – wear good gloves, long sleeves, etc.
Abigail
It appears you can get it from this Japanese import/export company:
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/c
Towards the bottom of the website, under “Other Goods” there are two
products, one “Black Urushi”, the other "SESHIME URUSHI"Japanese
lacquer (Large 100g / Small 50g) raw lacquer.
It appears you can contact the company via email, and they take
Paypal. I have no idea how much these products cost, how much
shipping will be on a couple of tubes (yikes!), or whether or not
it’s even allowed in the country.
I did read that un-cured (and sometimes cured ) Urushi is to be
handled carefully, as it can cause severe dermatitis; so wear nitrile
or latex gloves at all times when handling it.
Hope this helps,
Sandra b