Sounds like a plan.........

However, thinking about it, I'd suggest a slight modification. I think I'd use polyurethane. And make sure to soak it in. It'd then have a chance to bind all the fibers into a fairly permanent rod. Lacquer isn't necessarily going to add much structurally whereas the "plastic" should. Matter of fact, it does almost a fiberglassing job as a covering when polyurethane is used with glass cloth and even with silkspan.

Good find, btw.