Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Lets Japan ! . . .
Steve Mackay
>Had to take a #4 carugated bottom off an Old Boy up in Il. More of the japaning is gone than I thought. I remember it was kicked about a couple months ago but I cant pull it up with this Devil Machine. Did anyone ever find a supplier for the paint/material ?
Re: Lets Japan ! . . .
Guy A - In Ohio
>Steve
I have used a product called Black Japanning Pontypool
from Liberty on The Hudson . . . it worked well for me!
Guy
http://www.libertyonthehudson.com/
It's called Rustoleum
jim reed @ tallahassee
>Stanley woulda used it if it had been around. I like the satin finish black.
Why?
Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
>I recognize that some people like using pretty tools, and if that's the case for you, go to it.
They function about as well either way - my No. 8 hasn't seen any Japanning at all for all the years I've owned it, and it planes just fine.
Re: It's called Rustoleum
Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI
>I noticed that the cast iron LN #102 that I picked up this weekend is apparently powder coated. It is a very dull black finish, and I think since it is baked on it should look good for a very long time. It is probably the most durable finish a plane has ever seen. If it were Rustoleum I would not have bothered to haul it home I think. It is fine I guess to paint a 100 year old plane black and make all the old guys that used it turn over in their graves if that is what a person wants to do, but for some reason it just don't seem right. Japanning is easy and educational, and I think probably much more durable than the Rustoleum. I japanned a #606 and cleaned it up quite a bit to use, and it will become one of my favorite planes.
Re: Why?
Steve Mackay
>LOL ! You're right ! Just get a tingle when they look pretty also. I think its a retired ARMY thing.
Exactly my thoughts !
Steve Mackay
Thats the one! Thanks much !
Steve Mackay
Did you bake your's ?
Steve Mackay
Re: Did you bake your's ?
Edward in Vancouver
>Now, this may sound sacreligous, but I have had success with plain old tremclad and a household oven. Haven't tried it on tools yet, but tried it on die cast aluminum kitchen gadgets. Spray it on, wait till it dries, and pop it in a 300 degree oven for around 30 mins. When cold, it'll take a file to make a mark in the paint.
Although I'm just a beginner, my planes, a beat-up #78 and a an even more beat-up Record #6 (had to turn a new knob and re-tap the base larger to accept a Stanley threaded rod and nut for the handle)look, well, beat-up. But they can make shavings, and make a grin on my face when I'm making shavings though....
Re: Did you bake your's ?
Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI
>There were good instructions on-line at one point, but I think they ended up dissappearing. There used to be a site that I think was called rustytool.com or something like that, with the Liberty paint company contact info. I bought a gallon of japanning from them and split it up among several galoots. Their japanning worked fine for me, someone else reported wrinkles; I suspect they may have put it on too thick or not read the baking directions or something. I have japanned 3 or 4 planes now and get good results each time. I bake them in our kitchen oven which is a gas stove with no problems. The planes are allowed to dry for 3 days or so after all the japanning is applied before baking. There is an article here soemwhere about japanning but I remember it being pretty sketchy at best, and it would be good I think to have a detailed article on japanning. Japanning was originally practiced by the Japanese for a shiny black finish on wood.
Was it the same process?
Bill Houghton, HOT Summer in Sebastopol, CA
>I thought the Japanese used urushi lacquer.
How would one bake a wooden object at 300 degrees?
Re: Why?
david.marcus.brown
>Japanning, or some kind of finish is a good rust preventative. It's easy to wipe down the sides and sole of the plane but the inside where the japanning is (should be) is harder to get at and therefore more likely to rust.
And down the path we go !
Steve Mackay
An article *LINK*
Dan Donaldson
>Here is a WC article about japanning tools
Japanning tools.
And the light shines !
Steve Mackay
Re: Was it the same process?
Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI
>When I first searched for info on japanning I read through a lot of stuff, including recipes from a very old book which I have copies of somewhere in this mess. I am pretty sure the gloss black finish that was used in Japan was baked on to get that deep rich gloss that they were famous for. I am pretty sure you could bake wooden pieces, you would simply have to know how to do it. The process of course would be different from japanning a plane ;)