lisciatura

Lisciatura is the process of smoothing a surface by removing irregularities and achieving a uniform finish. In Italian technical usage, the term refers both to the action and to the resulting smooth surface, and it is applied in several crafts such as woodworking, metalworking, stone and ceramic finishing, and finishing of surfaces prior to painting or sealing.

Etymology: The word derives from the verb lisciare, to smooth or flatten, itself from Latin roots meaning smooth. In many crafts lisciatura distinguishes the finishing operation from rough shaping.

Methods and aims: In woodworking, lisciatura involves planing, scraping, sanding, and polishing to remove tool marks and to create flatness and gloss. In metalworking and manufacturing, it refers to achieving a defect-free surface through grinding and polishing; in stone and marble finishing, lisciatura denotes grinding and polishing to reveal a uniform grain and depth of color. In ceramics and tiles, it may describe surface preparation before glazing. The process typically uses progressively finer abrasives and may be accompanied by lubrication and cleaning between steps.

Tools and quality: Planes, scrapers, rasps, sanding blocks, orbital or belt grinders, polishing wheels, and abrasive compounds are commonly used. Surface finishing quality is often described by roughness metrics (for example Ra) and by visual criteria such as gloss level or mirror-like smoothness.