Kintsugi materials, mawata Mawata is a silk based, cotton type material. Regular cotton doesn’t have the natural oils that are necessary to keep it from sticking to the metal. You use it to either apply and spread metal on the lacquer or to slightly buff out metal that is already applied to the piece. A single piece should last a long time. If you make a mistake and get wet lacquer on it then it won’t be usable.