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Jeff
8th December 2000, 02:31 PM
Anyone out there have advice on ebonizing fluid? I need a recipe and any other hints regarding this technique. thanks. Jeff

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"Turning wood into treasures"

ubeaut
9th December 2000, 10:08 AM
Ebonizing is generally regard as making the surface of the timber jet black. This can be done in a number of ways from using lamp black stain or dye to a chemical treatment with Tannic Aid and Ferous Sulphate

All will depend on the timber used. The easiest and quickest way is to use a black dye initially then either a black stain over the top or in the polish.

We have a water dye (Green Black) (http://www.ubeaut.com.au/dye.html) that when mixed with a bit of red will dye most timbers a dark to light grey depending on the wood. The dye allows the grain to still show through. A coat of black wiping stain thinly applied over this should provide the desired effect.

If the stain is going over endgrain I suggest a very watered down coat of sanding sealer over the dye before application of the stain. This should give even colour distribution.

Hope this helps.

Cheers - Neil http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/smile.gif

PS. Just realized our water dye isn't going to help you Jeff. Any water or analine dye should do the job for you. Just so long as it gets the initial colour into the timber prior to the final stain. This will stop the grain from being blanketed and lost by the the application of the wiping stain.


[This message has been edited by ubeaut (edited 09 December 2000).]

[This message has been edited by ubeaut (edited 10 December 2000).]

Lofty
9th December 2000, 09:31 PM
There have been a couple of ebonising articles in the Australian woodworker over the past few years. Not sure which one's. If anyone's interested I'll look them up on Monday when I get back to work

regards

Lofty

Jeff
10th December 2000, 04:48 AM
I guess what I really am looking for is a recipe for home-made ebonizing fluid. I once saw one that said to put rusted nails into a jar of liquid. I don't recall the liquid, it was either vinigar or ammonia as I recall but it could have been something else. I found a product that is working for this particular project but I would like to find that recipe if possible. Jeff

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"Turning wood into treasures"

DonN
10th December 2000, 06:31 AM
Jeff
Some steel wool in a cup of white vinegar. Place the steel wool (about the size of a steel wool pad you wife uses in the kitchin) in a glass jar with a lid, pour on the cup of vinegar and leave till the steel wool has dissolved. Paint on to you work with a paint brush. This mixture will not work on all woods. Keep the lid on the jar when not in use.
Hope this will help you
DonN

ubeaut
10th December 2000, 08:20 AM
Jeff - What you want is called Liquid Nightmare (rusty nail brew) here is the recipe.

Half fill a glass jar or earthenware pot with old nails and bits of metal, cover this with a mixture of 50% Pure Cider Vinegar & 50% Water. Leave loosely covered for a couple of weeks then strain and bottle.

In the US you should be able to obtain Logwood Extract {not available in Oz) mix it up as per instructions and apply this to the timber first. When the Liquid Nightmare is applied over this it will give a positive black.

This should make it work on all timbers. If you can't get the Logwood Extract use Tannic acid instead. This is mixed at the rate of 5% tannic acid to 95% hot water. Use it hot. And as with any hot chemicals http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/eek.gif DO NOT BREETHE THE FUMES http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/mad.gif It is toxic if taken or inhaled.

DonN - the Tannic acid should make your brew work on all timbers. There's no guarantee of this but I think the Liquid nightmare recipe above works as a stronger colourant than the steel wool version. But having not tried the latter I am not sure. Give them both a go and see for yourself.

WARNING - As with any application to timber involving water, be sure to pre wet the surface with warm water to raise the grain. Allow to dry then fine sand and repeat the process. This will save some pretty major headaches later on. Always use extreme care when using any chemicals and this includes Liquid Nichtmare which is also a chemical dye.

By the way there is quite an interesting story as to where the liquid nightmare originally came from involving urine and woodies - but not now.

Cheers - Neil http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/biggrin.gif

Hope this adds a whole new dimension to your finishing.

Jeff
18th December 2000, 12:29 PM
thanks for all the great info, the liquid nightmare is what i had been looking for. will give it a go soon. Jeff

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"Turning wood into treasures"

Barry_White
18th April 2005, 03:24 PM
Just to add to this post, a way of making shellac coloured is to add ochre powder to it, any colour you like.

As a patternmaker we used to paint the patterns with shellac and coloured the shellac with the ochre, Red for machined surfaces, Black for off the mould surfaces and Yellow for what is called the core prints. These were where any hole in the casting where a section was added to the pattern to support the internal sand core to create the inside shape of the casting.

We used to use so much shellac the boss used to buy it by the potatoe bag full.

I once painted our lounge room floor around the perimeter of the carpet square with shellac coloured black. Looked a treat. Those were days long before Estopol and epoxy finishes which kind of shows my age.

Tony Morton
18th April 2005, 10:17 PM
Hi Guys
This is a old post revived another method is steel wool in shellac makes almost Japanned finish.
Cheers Tony

rsser
19th April 2005, 08:33 AM
Have heard of black Liquid shoe polish being used; never tried it myself.

Two methods I've tried: blacken with a torch (but this can texturise as well by burning the soft grain away), and ditto with a finish of normal shellac. The second method turned English ash black. You can see the textured effect.

QuarterSawn
29th August 2006, 04:32 PM
As mentioned by Neil, any dye or stain will allow the timber's grain to show through, thereby it appears to be a black variety of wood. Maple or sycamore stained black is a pretty good substitute for ebony.
However, an ebonized finish is normally one that is opaque; you can't see the actual grain. Such finishes were applied to pianos, clocks, furniture etc.
To produce an ebony finish you'll still want to stain the wood black before applying the opaque black finish. This assists in the depth of blackness and prevents the pale wood showing through in the event of wear, abrasion or damage to the opaque surface.
Traditionally, the opaque finish was simply lamp black dispersed in shellac, but these days, black oxide pigment takes the place of lamp black. An old 78 RPM record broken into bits and disolved in meths makes a good black varnish too.
As with white, there are thousands of different shades of black, but the most pleasing for furniture and household and tactile objects is a "warm" black: that is to say, a black with a little red added to it.
A lot of commercial black colours are "cold" blacks (in some cases, just extremely concentrated blue), with a palourless appearence.