Difference Between a Buff Polished and Glossy Finish(Lacquer) Chess Set

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Difference Between a Buff Polished and Glossy
Finish(Lacquer) Chess Set
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Theres a new excitement or rather a confusion
among chess enthusiasts on whether one should go
for a buff polished chess set or lacquer chess
set. But many of us actually didnt know what a
buff or lacquer chess set is? Theres a long
post on chess.com regarding this and every one
has their own opinion on this. Its quite
difficult to tell and make the decision on to
whether to get a lacquer or matte finish chess
set. Let find out in detail the difference along
with the pictures. But first, lets discuss why
and who bought this concept of lacquer/buff
polish chess set?
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Wheel Buffing
Applying Luster
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Im following chess industry since 2013, though I
joined chess.com in the year 2016. Some of the
chess businesses where my frequent visits are CB,
HOS, thechessstore, thechesspiece and chessUSA,
and have collected around 20 chess sets till
then, with the majority of them from chessbazaar,
HOS and eBay auctions. In a one-sentence
definition, the buff polish is a semi-gloss or
silky matte type finish whereas lacquer is a
high-gloss finish. If Im not wrong, it was in
the year 2016 when chessbazaar started the
concept of giving the option of lacquered or
buff(matte) polish chess set.
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It started with the problem of oxidation. The
oxidation of the padauk wood. Its a white dust
that comes from nowhere and builds up in most of
the pieces. If you are a chess collector or
posses a padauk set, you might have faced the
oxidation problem. If you havent encountered
this issue with your Padauk set, it is because
the wood log used in your set is seasoned.
(Chessbazaar advertise Padauk as Bud Rosewood,
HoS advertise as Blood Rosewood) Padauk is not
an Indian wood. Its origin is from African or
other sub-tropical countries like Sri Lanka. It
has a lot of moisture in it. When the Padauk log
reaches Amritsar in India (chess manufacturing
hub in the world), it reacts to the local dry
atmosphere. Amritsar is situated in Northern part
of India, very dry very warm in summers (goes
up to 115 F/46 C) and very cold in winters (32
F/0 C). Richard Walt did some research with his
chess pieces and have applied lacquer to his
Padauk chess pieces, which mainly solved the
problem.
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Which final finish should you choose? From my
personal experience, if youre buying a Padauk
chess set its a must. The set looks absolutely
stunning with high gloss finish specially if
youre planning to keep it as a décor as well.
The biggest drawback of the high gloss finish is
that it may cause a distraction in focusing on
the game. If youre buying chess set for
analysis or some serious playing its a strict
no. In fact, a wood as beautiful as Padauk should
not be chosen for either analysis or serious
playing. PS No offence to Padauk lovers out
there.
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The below image shows the difference between a
gloss and buff polish finish.
Buff Finish on the left
Lacquer on the left
Buff Finish on the right
Lacquer on the right
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• Disclaimer Thanks to chessbazaar for providing
  me with the pictures.
• I have also interviewed chessbazaar and here are
  the QA.
• When did you start the lacquer process?
• CB We started the lacquer process in 2016. The
  main purpose is that some of our customers want a
  glossy finish rather than a simple matte. The
  other issue is with the oxidation of Bud
  Rosewood. It resolves that.
• What kind of lacquer you use?
• CB We use clear lacquer for the glossy finish.
  We have a proper machines and material to do this
  process.

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• Which finish is better? A lacquer or matte?
• CB Preferences are subjective. Mostly it
  depends on the liking of a person. Some like
  glossy and some matte, even on Bud rosewood sets.
• Can you show us the video of the difference
  between matte and glossy finish?
• CB Its in process. We will upload it on our
  YouTube channel as soon as we will able to create
  it.
• What causes oxidation in Padauk?
• CB There can be many reasons. We tied up with a
  research institute in India and they are still
  researching on this issue. We, however, highly
  recommend our customers to get a lacquer as a
  finish when buying a Bud Rosewood(Padauk) sets.

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Conclusion
Matte finish is actually a semi-glossy finish,
which is done by rubbing the chess pieces on a
high moving buff wheel. They apply luster and
Coccus lacca polish(an organic polish) to make
the sets beautiful. If youre buying a Padauk
set, the lacquer is a must, you can also go for
lacquer polish on Ebonized pieces since the
natural shine may go by the passage of time. For
ebony or other natural woods other than Padauk,
matte polish will be a more natural
choice. Source- https//www.chessequipments.com
/buff-polished-and-glossy-finish-lacquer-chess-set
/
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