Comments on: Japanning

By: joshua howe

joshua howe — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:28:20 +0000

hi, I am an sculptor with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. I would like to commit on this post.

Homer // Nov 25, 2008 at 8:07 pm

I recently became interested, and could not find the granular asphaltum. A relative found, in an art supply store, a small can of liquid asphaltum and delivered it to me.
I have not seen the liquid asphaltum mentioned. The brief label on the can mentions it being used to prevent scratches on etched plates. The material appears to be black tar and relatively thin.
I cleaned an old hammer head (electroylsis) and applied a thin coat of the asphaltum with a fine camel hair brush. After baking it at 350 degrees for about 105 minutes, I had what I believe to be a very good result. It was hard and shiny but not as shiny as high gloss enamal.
I would like to know if anyone has had experience with this stuff. The plane that I will try first is not that special but still I would hate to ruin it.

In my college years I took a printmaking class and we would apply this liquid material to a flat piece of metal. We brushed it on evenly and let it sit over night. Once it was dry we would take an etching tool and scratch or illustration into the surface. After finishing the drawing we then would soak the piece in acid which would etch the metal. Then we used paint thinner/lacquer to remove the tar. whip your metal plate with ink and lightly buff the unetched area until it was free of ink. This is called a litho print. My spelling and my memory of the process maybe off a bit. Hope this helps.

By: dodson canoe

dodson canoe — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 05:39:23 +0000

we use industrial floor scrubber(round type) with
wd40 to clean old tools. just like 3m pads

By: Japaning Page Updated With New Links | Lord Nibbo’s Blog

Japaning Page Updated With New Links | Lord Nibbo’s Blog — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:07:02 +0000

[...] good guides on “How to do it” Click Here and Click [...]

By: Home made Japaning | Lord Nibbo’s Blog

Home made Japaning | Lord Nibbo’s Blog — Fri, 14 May 2010 18:50:39 +0000

[...] Another good guide on “How to do it” Click Here [...]

By: Monty

Monty — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:27:42 +0000

I used scotch-brite pads and WD-40 along with a little elbow grease. For the soles of the places I generally stuck some surplus adhesive-backed sandpaper from Klingspor down on my table saw wing and cleaned/flattened the soles that way.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:41:36 +0000

Thanks for the article. Very well done. Your plane looks great! How did you get the sides and bottom so clean and shiny?

By: Homer

Homer — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 03:59:16 +0000

I did it. The result appears to fit the bill.
The plane is a Ohio Tool Company unit with a #20 on the metal base. It was recovered in an old barn where it was exposed to high moisture for an unknown long length of time. The 20″ long wooden (beech?) base is beyond restoration to a serviceable condition. The blade and all metal except approx. 1 sq. in. near the worst wood is in excellent condition. That 1 sq. in. is not noticeable after the japanning. While analyzing the wood to decide what to do, I found a Ohio Tool Co. emblem stamped into the wood. An identical emblem appears on the metal blade.

The japanning effort resulted in a tremendous education. The finish is great and obviously over kill for the subject unit. I now will explore, with other items, adjusting the finish to match the unit. Thanks for your interest and help.

By: Monty

Monty — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:09:35 +0000

I have no experience with asphaltum other than what I described above. The stuff you described sounds a lot like what I made, and the hard semi-gloss finish sounds about right. Let us know how it works out for you!

By: Homer

Homer — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 01:07:50 +0000

By: Monty

Monty — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:41:49 +0000

The link you’re referring to was to an old thread on the WoodNet forums. Old threads there expire after one year, and as far as I know there is no archive.