Simply put it’s a Japanese woodburning technique. Originating in Japan, Shou Sugi Ban is a particularly striking method of preserving wood by charring it with fire. Originally called “Yakisugi” in Japanese for charring cedar, Shou Sugi Ban is an ancient Japanese technique consisting of charring cedar boards, burnishing the burnt results with sandpaper and wire brushes and then sealing the charred surface with natural oils such as Pure Tung Oil.
I've done Shou Sugi Ban many times before but always a deep char as mentioned above. I wanted to try a surface char and then dye stain and wipe off. Then afterwards shellac it. I've seen this done before and wanted to try it. Originally Shou Sugi Ban was done on cedar but has excellent results on Pine, Spruce, and Fir. You can do it on many woods, even hardwood, with mixed results. White Oak takes it well. If you aren't sure, you just need to do some scrap tests before doing your final piece.
The Process
I setup a weed torch. Normally I used a hand held bottle. Also I put the hose out and had a fire extinguisher nearby. The burn will be on a pine 2 x 4.
Next I did my first burn. I lightly passed the torch over the surface until I got the results I was after with this technique. Then quickly did a fine water spray over the surface to control the burn. Then I did again while it was wet. Sprayed again. Then I wiped off and let dry.
Next I gave a cloth wipe over with some orange tan acrylic latex. You can use pretty much anything. I didn’t have an actual color dye so did this. Let it sit for 30 – 60 sec. Then wipe off.
Next I did one light pass over on surface with 220 grit sandpaper and wiped clean.
The Results
Finally, I did one coat of blonde shellac. The results were glass smooth and looked like I French polished it. The grain popped unreal. Absolutely stunning!
I experimented with this several years ago this using Transtint dye. I completely charred the surface until is was uniformly black, then used a wire brush or wire wheel which removes the early wood wood more aggressively than the late wood of the growth rings. I stopped when the early wood was just slightly charred but the late wood was still nice and black and applied the dye. The dye mostly soaked into the early wood. IIRC, I did not sand it at any point. I cannot remember if I sprayed shellac or poly over it. I think that I still have the practice piece in my scrap bin somewhere.
Edit to add: I think that I used a piece of quarter sawn Doug fir with vertical grain for my experiment. This gave a really cool effect. I will have to see if I still have it laying around somewhere.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
I found one of the practice pieces but it was not one that I had dyed or applied any finish to. You can see that the charred late wood has a little sheen even without a finish on it. I love the effect when using vertical grain wood.
I decided to apply some Transtint dye that was already mixed up just to show the effect of the dye. I flooded it pretty liberally and then wiped away any excess. I tried a little amber on the right side but it does not show up as well as the red.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
Pottz ive seen some where the wood is totally black almost.
Usually this is how it's done. You char the heck out of it until it's black, wire or nylon brush all the burnt black away, clean it, and finish it.
Lazyman I decided to apply some Transtint dye that was already mixed up just to show the effect of the dye. I flooded it pretty liberally and then wiped away any excess. I tried a little amber on the right side but it does not show up as well as the red.
That's just awesome. Very similar to what I did.
SplinterGroup Very cool Rick! I think this is the easiest way to get an old/weathered look. Great that you show the paint step, that is something I'd like to try 👍
i like the effect lazy did but ricks has it's place as well. you have a wide range of effect. definitely wanna practice before applying to a project. i really love that dark char look !
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
i like the effect lazy did but ricks has it's place as well. you have a wide range of effect. definitely wanna practice before applying to a project. i really love that dark char look !
Yeah... what I did here was a surface char as an experiment. In the past I've always done a deep char as I did with my Moulding Plane Storage Box. Here's the Lid insert done deep char. Zoom in and check it out.
yeah thats a nice look. they all have a place i think based on the project. lots of way to take this technique. i might try it out on my swap project im doing this year if time allows ?
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
The type and even quality of the wood seems to make a difference. I think that the traditional approach taken by the Japanese created a jet black patina and they may not have always applied a finish to it. In pictures that I have seen, the surface is completely burnt making it s pretty impervious to insects and rot. It also acts as fire retardant when used as siding.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
