THE BURMADE WAY
Smoothing & Polishing
THE FOUNDATION
This critical stage is a patient sequence: coat → cure → level → repeat. For our bamboo and wood pieces, this workflow sends each item to the curing cellar five times to build a dense, jet-black, and perfectly flat body ready for engraving.
Foundation & Form
The initial undercoat of raw lacquer sap is applied, followed by a three-day cure. We then use an L-shaped lacquer knife to scrape, level, and polish the surface in thin, repeated passes. We cycle through a light knife polish, a clean wipe, and an inspection under raking light until the base is dead flat. Finally, we de-gloss the surface with a fine abrasive brick to create a micro-tooth for the next layer.
The Alchemy of Thayoe
A fine micro-filler known as Thayoe is applied to close all pores. This proprietary blend consists of bone powder, ash, soft clay sourced from beneath the Ayeyarwady River, and filter-treated aged Grain Rice Flour becomes remarkably strong and sticky when mixed with the sap. This layer cures for another three days before final leveling.
The Burmade Touch
Each coat cures in a warm, humid, dust-controlled chamber (Yun Dike). We dedicate extra passes to focus on rims, lips, and corners for ultimate chip resistance. We shield edges to avoid over-thinning and meticulously log pass counts to ensure every batch hits the same uncompromising standard of flatness.
