I haven't done any alcohol test on the early black alumium 201s, and haven't had my hands on a 301 yet either. I think most if not all black 221s are shellac. I'm not sure if there are any strict defenition on what japanning is, but I sort of call all the shiny black machines with gold decals jappaning. I don't think any European piece of furniture or sewing machine that close to Japanese urushi lacquer.