How to Make a Shou Sugi Ban Wall Lizard

I have been wanting to do this project for a long time now, but I have been struggling to find a piece of wood large enough. In my head, I imagined a large wooden gecko looking like it was climbing up the wall of my house. If you follow my blog you will also know I am mad about Shou Sugi Ban. And yes, you got it, the finish was going to be Shou sugi ban.

As a stroke of luck, one of the local people in our town contacted me and said she had a wooden sideboard unit that she wanted to get rid of. It was free I just had to go and pick it up. It turned out to be the perfect size for this project. I got home and took the unit apart so I could upcycle the top for this project.

What is Shou Sugi Ban?

Shou sugi ban, also known as yakisugi, is a traditional Japanese wood finishing technique that involves charring the surface of the wood to create a unique and visually striking effect. The term “shou sugi ban” translates to “burnt cedar board” in English.

The process of shou sugi ban typically involves using a propane torch or open flame to char the surface of the wood. The wood is carefully burned until it develops a layer of char, which is then cooled and cleaned. The charred layer is often brushed or scrubbed away to reveal the natural grain patterns of the wood beneath. Finally, the wood is treated with an oil or sealant to preserve its appearance and protect it from the elements.

Shou sugi ban has several benefits beyond its aesthetic appeal. The charring process creates a carbonized layer on the wood that is highly resistant to rot, insects, and fire. It also helps to improve the wood’s durability and longevity. As a result, shou sugi ban is commonly used for exterior siding, decking, and other applications where weather resistance is important.

The technique has gained popularity in modern architecture and design due to its unique look and eco-friendly nature. Shou sugi ban can be applied to various types of wood, although traditional Japanese cedar, known as “sugi,” is commonly used. The process can be adapted to different levels of charring, ranging from a light charring that preserves more of the wood’s original colour to a deeper char that creates a darker, more dramatic effect. While this is the traditional method, over the years people have played around with it and this post will show another great way to use Shou Sugi Ban.

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• Jigsaw
• coarse nylon brush
• wire brush
• Map gas blow torch
• drill
• craftsman restorer
• Nylon brush
• Projector

I am a very creative person but I can not draw to save my life. So I had to cheat and use a projector to blow up my image to a larger size for this project.  I saved the image which I found on the internet to a memory card which I put into the projector and projected the image onto the wall.

I taped a large sheet of Kraft paper onto the wall and using a marker pen I traced around the outline.

Once I have the outline of my gecko on paper It is time to add it to the wood. You can tape the paper template to your wood but I find it better to use spray adhesive. This stops the template from moving while you are cutting around the image.

For a project this size I think a jigsaw would be the most suitable way to cut it out. For smaller projects, you can use a scroll saw. Before I started cutting around the outline I used a drill and a large drill bit to add holes in areas I believed would be difficult to cut.

I am not the most skilled person using a jigsaw so these holes help you turn the saw in hard-to-reach areas. This was particularly useful when cutting around the hands and feet of the gecko. I cut really slow and it took me nearly an hour to cut out the wooden gecko, with only one causality.

While I was cutting around the hands the wood started to vibrate and the gecko lost a finger. This I think was because I did not clamp the wood to the table. I had no issues with the other hands and feet after I clamped down the wood. I was able to glue the finger back in place and I used duct tape to hold it secure while the glue dried.

If you are not going to give your wooden gecko a Shou sugi ban makeover you will need to sand around the edges to smooth them out. Because I would be burning all the wood it is not necessary for me to do this.

Before you start burning your wood you need to make sure you have a suitable non-flammable surface to work on. I have some sheets of scrap metal that I keep for this purpose. You will also need to wear the appropriate safety gear, respirator, safety glasses and gloves.

I use a small blow torch using disposable map gas bottles. I prefer to use MAP gas as it burns hotter and the wood burns quicker. In the past, I have used propane gas with good results but on larger pieces of wood the quicker you burn the wood the better.

Because propane is not as hot you need to burn the wood longer and on larger projects, this can cause the wood to warp.

I forgot to take a photo of the burnt wood but this is an image from a previous project. You are aiming to get this cracked effect on the surface. While you are burning the wood move the flame around slowly try not to swipe the flame from side to side.

Before you start sanding the surface remove the charred surface with a wire brush. This will prevent a lot of mess with dust flying around. If you can do this step outside in the garden even better. Don't forget to wear your safety gear so you don't inhale all the dust.

Once the charred surface has been removed you can use a drill with a coarse nylon brush to remove more of the burnt surface. The aim is to sand down deep into the wood going down to the light wood.

When using the drill and brush be sure to go with the grain direction of the wood. This will eliminate any ugly brush marks in the wood.

This is where you will start to see all the texture coming into the wood. The wood grain will stay a dark colour and the soft wood in between the wood grain will become lighter. The deeper you sand into the wood to reveal the lighter wood the more vibrate the colours will be. This step can be very time-consuming and can take a few hours to complete.

Alternatively, you can use a craftsman restorer tool, this machine is a total game changer and a project like this can be done in about 10 minutes. So if you plan on doing more Shou sugi ban projects I would highly recommend this machine.

I was not overly impressed with the sanding wheel on the right as it seemed to jump around too much. But the brush and the paint stripper work brilliantly. It is a bit hard to see the texture in this image but the surface feels amazing.

This was the wooden gecko after I had finished sanding the surface. To seal the wood and make the natural wood colours pop, I added two coats of outdoor varnish to the surface.

After I sealed the wood you can see the difference in the colours.

These images show the texture of the surface. This can not be truly appreciated from the photos as they do not do it justice.

I was not 100% sure whether I like the plain wooden gecko so I sanded down the surface and added so green Unicorn spit (dragon’s belly) to the wood. I sprayed the surface with some water and wipe the green unicorn spit across the surface. Once it was dry I sealed it again with outdoor varnish.

Believe it or not, I only added one colour to this wooden gecko, the other colours were created by how deep the wood was sanded.  To see how to colour the Shou sugi ban, you can find the methods I tried and the products I used in this post. 

I used some recycled wood from an old bed to create these abalone effect wall art panels using shou sugi ban. Click here for the tutorial.

The multi-coloured wall art was created using scrap wood joined together.