Japanning is the shiny, durable black finish found on many older tools and metal items. Despite the name, the coating was developed in Europe during the 1600’s to mimic the hard, glossy black lacquer used on Japanese furniture and craftwork, which were all the rage among Europe’s upper classes at the time. OK, then.
By the mid-1800’s, this was a common finish for metal hand tools, and most made before WWII are Japanned. After the war, manufacturers switched over to modern enamel paints for the cost savings.
I’ve restored a few tools that were in such a state that the original Japanning had to come off. I spray painted them, but the results don’t equal the deep black color, toughness, and gloss you get with Japanning. Since I basically have no life, I decided it was time to do something about that and make my own.
I’m using one of many recipes out there. This one worked in the video, so I picked it. No one really knows exactly what the various manufacturers used — The ingredients, proportions, and processes were closely-guarded corporate secrets. This one uses materials that would have been available back in the day: Turpentine, boiled linseed oil, asphaltum powder, and lampblack powder for extra blackness. Asphaltum is a naturally-occurring petroleum compound similar to bitumen, often referred to by its commercial name, Gilsonite.
Asphaltum powder. It gets everywhere. Lampblack is even worse.
Here’s the recipe I used. Wearing white is not recommended during any of this.
- 50% turpentine
- 30% asphaltum powder
- 20% boiled linseed oil
- A few pinches of lampblack
The percentages are by weight; I used a kitchen scale. First, measure out the turpentine. I started with about half a salsa jar’s worth. Then I portioned in the asphaltum powder and stirred for a few minutes. Next, I measured out the boiled linseed oil and stirred it in. Finally, I tossed in a few pinches of lampblack and stirred some more. This is the initial mix — It’s not critical to get the percentages exact, just reasonably close.
The resulting mixture may seem on the thin side, but it will thicken up. Cover it and let it sit overnight/24 hours.
Next day. It has thickened up some, but it’s still too runny. So I mixed in some more asphaltum and let it sit for another day. Shit, too thick now. Add some turpentine and a little linseed oil, stir and wait again. OK, that’s got the consistency up to somewhere between maple syrup and cake batter. Nice, that’s about what we want, according to the process I’m following.
The final proportions of my mixture aren’t the exact ones in the recipe — It’s intended as a starting point. From there, you go by the viscosity until it looks/feels right.
This stuff will last forever, as long as it’s in a sealed container. I’m using a Taco Bell salsa jar. We’ll see. It can be thinned if it sits for a few years and sets up some. No matter what, I think I probably have a lifetime supply.
As dark as Mitch McConnell’s soul. McConnell says, “Nice try amateur, but you’re not even close.”
Success! Where’d I put that beer?
I first ran a test piece:
- Place on a rack in a room temperature oven.
- Set the time to 1 hour and the temperature to 200 degrees F.
- Turn the oven on.
- After an hour, let it cool to room temperature in the oven.
- Repeat the above steps at 300 degrees.
- Repeat again at 400 degrees.
For a second coat, just repeat it all again.
The sample came out real nice — A smooth, glossy, hard coating. This is looking good.
I abused it with a hammer, and it’s tough stuff. I had to hit it pretty damn hard to get that chip in the photo. And this on the same day it was applied. That’s impressive. It will continue to cure and get even harder over time. I believe I am ready to proceed.
Now for a real-world application.
I decided to go with my trusty No. 4 smoothing plane. I fixed this one up earlier this year and had spray painted it, but the paint is already chipping off, seemingly without the slightest provocation.
I stripped everything back to bare metal as best as I could. Paint stripper, scraping, rinsing, repeating, wire brushing, wire wheeling, various Dremel attachments, etc. Fun. What was left of that old Japanning was tenacious. A media blaster would have taken care of it in ten minutes. I don’t have a media blaster, so this took me maybe four hours all together. On Christmas Eve, 2020. Yes, I truly have no life.
Before applying the Japanning, get the piece as clean as humanly possible. Wipe with turpentine, followed by acetone. Keep at it with the acetone until you can’t stand it any more, then bake for a half hour at 150 degrees to boil off any volatiles.
Once the piece is cleaned, don’t touch any surfaces that will be painted — The oils in your skin can leave spots where the coating won’t fill in. Latex gloves would be helpful here. Of course, I have no such gloves.
I used a lighter coat on the vertical surfaces to keep it from running down the sides and pooling. I will be putting two coats on this. You can paint surfaces that will be upside down during baking. Again, use a lighter coat and it won’t drip. Oh, and use a decent brush. Any hairs that bake into the finish are there forever.
Also, try to keep dust and contamination to a minimum. Note the impeccable cleanliness of my painting station:
No problem if some of it gets on surfaces where you don’t want it to be; It’ll sand off after it’s cured.
I’m using a toaster oven out in the garage for the baking. If you’re single, you can use the oven in your kitchen, but the smell is.. not pleasant. I'm married, and wish to remain that way. So I got a toaster oven.
And here we are after two coats, right out of said toaster oven and still warm to the touch. For my first try, I think this turned out great. The sheen and color are as near perfect as I could have hoped, and even while not fully cured, it’s hard enough that you can’t scratch it with a fingernail. Try that with ordinary paint. It worked!
Paraphrasing Samwell Tarly, “I watched the video and followed the instructions.” Now where’s that beer?
For reference, here’s what I started with, those many months ago.
Nearly every old plane I’ve seen seems to have paint spatter on it. I think it’s a requirement or something.
And here it is today. Much better.
Looking good and ready for work.
I’m really stoked with how this came out. This has the durability, deep black color, and gloss of the original finish. I’m calling it a success. Hmm, I wonder if more lampblack would improve it..
The obligatory shavings shot.
There are some who say that old tools should be preserved with as much of the patina as possible. For some tools, this is true. I have several that have enough of the factory finish left to make them worth preserving as they are, with just a cleanup and sharpening.
But not this one, it was just too far gone. Heh. I like to think that in some distant future, scholars will argue over whether the finish on this ancient plane is original or not. Hey, it’s not all that far-fetched — Hell, it’s well into its second century of service already.
Happy holidays, and stay safe, everyone!
ER
