A few years back I was working on a project and became discouraged when I mis-mixed a batch of lacquer, flour and water with disastrous results. I was attempting to fill in joints after cementing the parts and the mixture was spread all over the bottom and the sides.

I have a couple of questions:
a) is this hopeless and should I start over?
b) If still viable what is the best way to clean?
c) I seem to remember you saying that lacquer has a limited shelf life. Is the material I have had since 2016 still viable for anything or do I need to replenish?

A, No, it isn’t hopeless, it will just take time to clean up. Starting over would mean scraping off the mugiurushi which never works well.

B. Hardwood charcoal that has had the tip soaked in water will usually take most materials off of a ceramic surface with some consideration given to the firing temperature of the body. The higher the firing temperature the more likelihood of success, the lower fired bodies tend to be softer than the charcoal. Store bought briquettes won’t work.

C. The shelf life of lacquer is usually about 12 months, I have only gotten 16 months at the longest. There are enzymes in the lacquer that die and render it useless.