What the thread establishes
The answer.
The thread establishes that the coarser round powder (marufun), once polished or burnished, produces a more wear-resistant final surface than the finest powder (keshifun) applied as a top layer. For keshifun to show its characteristic soft, pearlescent reflectivity, the underlying ground must be perfectly level, the adhesive lacquer coat must be applied at the thinnest workable thickness and kept free of any foreign matter, and the coat should be allowed to reach a uniform partial-cure tack before the powder is sprinkled. An alternative technique is to thin a gilding-grade lacquer with turpentine, camphor, or ethanol to produce an ultra-thin film, let the solvent flash off, and apply the powder to the resulting tacky surface. For the specific repairs shown, the practitioner beveled crack edges, used raw lacquer or wheat-flour lacquer for adhesion, filled with sabi putty, applied iron-oxide lacquer as the powder bed, and finished with #1 marufun—polishing the glazed teacup and burnishing the porous teapot lid to avoid staining the glaze with abrasive residue.
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What goes wrongGold powder applied as a final decorative layer appears flat, matte, or dull rather than showing the expected metallic or pearlescent luster. Unpolished marufun in particular reads as a lifeless brown with no reflective quality. The practitioner in the thread reports that despite following basic instructions, the keshifun consistently looks lackluster.
What recovers itVerify that the substrate beneath the powder is free of scratches, ridges, or depressions. Re-apply the adhesive lacquer at the minimum thickness that will hold the powder, ensuring no dust or debris is trapped in the film. Allow that coat to cure to an even, uniform tack—neither still wet nor fully set—before sprinkling. If the problem persists, switch to a solvent-thinned gilding lacquer to achieve a thinner, cleaner adhesive film, and apply the powder once the solvent has evaporated and the surface is tacky.