# Step by Step G-URUSHI



## PBD539 (May 4, 2010)

To my knowledge Capt. G from BD, is the creator of this process. After all it bears his name!! I know Capt. G uses laquer paint more so than just pigmented finish. For this tutorial I used only pigmented finish.

1. I put down a thin coat of finish on the blank where i would be placing the abalone. Since the bottom side of the shell is abrasive, I do not want this in contact with the blank. After the finish dries, super glue >dime sized pieces to the finished surface. In the place of super glue, you can wait till the undercoat firs up and just place them directly into the finish, however, the pieces will float & move around; usually bunching on one side. Therefore, Super Glue!

2. Mix a batch of pigmented epoxy and apply; making sure to get it under all the pieces. Make sure all surfaces are coated & just let the excess drip off. If it aint drippin' you aint added enough! 
For this step I used Purple Pigment.

3. After the previous coat dries, mix another color & apply the same way. Letting the excess drip off. 
After the purple, I used metallic pearl (pictured) then a final coat of Metallic Turquoise (not pictured)

4. After the final coat, I like to let everything cure for 1 day extra before sanding. Starting with 80-100 grit, begin sanding. I use a piece of pegboard, cut to just under the width I need sanded, as a base for my sand paper. I will sand with this corse paper till all the sharp edges are rounded uniform. Next move to 150-200 grit and sand till you like the results. Typically I sand till there is little to no pigment over the abalone shell. Finish with 500 grit just to smooth everything out. 
At this point you will notice there are still high & low points, thats ok!
After cleaning up all the dust (everywhere), take DNA and clean your creation good.

5. Apply clear finish to the low spots and let dry. Repeat this process till everything is just about level. Then take your 200 grit and sand everything uniform, finishing with 500 grit.

6. Clean up your dust again. Use DNA to clean the rod. Add a nice thin coat of clear finish. After this coat has dried, you can add trim bands or whatever. Then finish with a final coat or two. 

This is a very long process but the end result is worth it! It also adds up to a few extra ounces of weight to to the rod. For this reason I usualy apply this only to heavier rods, (surf, boat, & bait soakers)

Thanks
Shawn


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## patfatdaddy (May 29, 2004)

Interesting. Where did you get the abalone? I have a sheet of abalone that I bought on ebay. It is pretty thick and I was thinking about breaking it in pieces and try to do more or less the same thing but of course it wouldn't have the same effect. Then again I wouldn't have to sand it down as much. May try it out.
There are some really good rod builders in the World that come up with some cool ideas and I appreciate them sharing their ideas with the rest of us.
Pat


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## jaycook (Sep 13, 2007)

Since this might be the first reference to this type of application on this forum, it might be helpful to point out how dangerous it is to sand abalone. Breathing the dust is very, very, very bad for your lungs. It causes a nasty disease called silicosis. You can google around with that and see plenty of references. But if anybody plans to give this a try, you need to be wearing at least a respirator that seals to your face, not the little paper ones. Here is just one reference to the problem:

http://www.getcrafty.com/craft-facts/beadedjewelry/abalonechipswithholes.html

Also, you can search around on bloodydecks.com rod building forum about the dangers. This has been discussed many times there.

By the way, nice job on the G-urushi, And the tutorial.


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## jaycook (Sep 13, 2007)

Forgot to add something. If you don't care about your own health, please don't expose your family and/or pets to the dust.


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## DPFISHERMAN (Jun 6, 2011)

Thanks for all the great information guys... And Jay Thanks for looking out for our health.


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## jaycook (Sep 13, 2007)

I'm just putting the information out there for whoever might want to know. If it's bad information, I would like the moderator to delete my post.


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## patfatdaddy (May 29, 2004)

Thanks Jay, I would have just started sanding with a paper mask on and never thought about it.
Pat


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## PBD539 (May 4, 2010)

Thanks Jay you are absolutely correct about the dust. I forgot to include that in my post, so I am glad you did!


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## DPFISHERMAN (Jun 6, 2011)

Jay, I was sincere about my thanks for looking out for our health. Great information as most of us would just jump in and not think about it. Sorry if my thanks sounded wrong in any way.


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