Thread: Best method for japanning

So that's the first coat of oil? In the pic it looks a little brown, but that can be deceptive under the lighting.

Btw, you know that Girius has the files and abrasives for you?

Yeah just the first coat, so I shouldn't be seeing much in the way of colour yet.

Accidentally inhaling some of the fumes from the plane when removing it from the oven gave me a headspin, so I'm guessing that even the tiny scraps of Japan (or whatever it is in there) ain't terribly good for the health. Could be paint stripper residue stuck in there - who knows. Not really something I want to be coating my oven, anyway.

There's no way of removing what's in there either - I thought I did a very thorough job but there must have been something where I can't reach or see. The tote is entirely hollow so there's a good amount of metal that simply can't be got to.

As far as appearance goes, I confess it's not promising. The grey iron seems to have taken on a subtle "fish scale" pattern. I imagine that would become less evidents with more coats though.

Faced with the hassle of doing this five more times (it's very time consuming to apply and remove all of the oil given the complexity of the casting shape) that asphaltum and spar varnish mix is looking tempting...

Yeah, I'll hopefully be off to pick up those files tomorrow. Keen to do some more saw restoration after discovering that aluminium foil with a tiny bit of polish gets a really rusty sawplate REALLY shiny REALLY fast. It's amazing. Apparently the heat from scrubbing catalyses a reaction between the aluminium and the rust, whereby the aluminium steals the extra oxygen atom from the iron oxide (breaking it down) to form aluminium oxide. So it's chemical rust removal together with polish.

Buy a cheap mini-oven and do it outside. When you've finished cooking the plane wipe it out with Ammonia (and the residual smell will probably diminish over subsequent coatings anyway), and then you'll have one of the best appliances ever for a kitchen. Your wife will love you forever, and all past transgressions, plus some future ones, will be forgiven.

Easy peasy.

Nah I suspect she'd see through that one.

Here's a picture of what happens to the iron:

2013-05-11 16.15.23.jpg

Can you see the strange pattern it leaves?

Anyway, that's quite enough of that. Now you can't say I'm not willing to suffer for science. I really couldn't be a%%ed spending hours oiling, cleaning and cooking this thing. Painting it will be far more entertaining.

Might be a better idea on a plane with fewer nooks and crannies though, like a regular bench plane?

es I see it. I wonder if that's because of the polish with aluminium? The Metalheads might be able to shed some light on that. Did you wash it down with anything to get rid of any residual? Perhaps White Spirit or similar? Again, maybe a question for the Metalheads. It doesn't look particularly unattractive though, and certainly nowhere near as boring as Black Japan......

I cleaned it fastidiously with both mineral turpentine (white spirit, whatever) and with methylated spirits (denatured alcohol).

Another issue was the pooling of oil in the space between the sole of the plane and the tray. I was very careful to rub off as much oil as possible - I assume this issue arose because heating the oil makes it more viscous and inclined to pool at the bottom. Unfortunately it is a huge pain to remove (which is the point).

Could be the start of a new fad - snakeskin pattern planes

Originally Posted by snafuspyramid

I assume this issue arose because heating the oil makes it more viscous and inclined to pool at the bottom. Unfortunately it is a huge pain to remove (which is the point).

Yes, the oil would definitely be less viscous when hot.

But you'll be flattening the sole won't you? I understand that it would pool up around the side too, but standing it on a grill/trivet/wire thingy would stop that.

Sounds like it's a fairly hard coating then?

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Buy a cheap mini-oven and do it outside.

You can pick up an oven from the side of the road and hook it up in the garage/backyard if you're really keen.

I helped an ol' fella who worked for us who was a baker by trade to set up to do bread, sausage rolls etc in his garage in a couple of nice but discarded ovens.

Cheers,
Paul

I just had a go at Derek's method with asphaltum powder from a forum member and marine spar varnish. I just seem to end up with a grainy mess - it seems to me that the asphaltum isn't powdered finely enough.

My trusty can of Motospray Subframe Black Semi Gloss enamel is beckoning, although if I can find this stuff not in spray form that would be preferred - easier to use a brush for all those cavities rather than spray.

Originally Posted by snafuspyramid

My trusty can of Motospray Subframe Black Semi Gloss enamel is beckoning, although if I can find this stuff not in spray form that would be preferred - easier to use a brush for all those cavities rather than spray.

Puncture the spray can. If you turn it upside down and spray (old hint for spray cans after you finish using them) you can probably lose all the propellant. That's assuming you're after a quiet life. Otherwise ...
Paul

Sounds like you didn't dissolve your asphaltum enough.
See this article from a 1927 Popular Science edition.
Popular Science - Google Books