# Ebonizing Wood



## Gill (26 Apr 2006)

I've heard that if you place steel screws and/or wire wool in white vinegar and leave it for a few days, you'll get a solution which has an ebonizing effect when brushed onto woods with a high tannin content.

Has anyone ever tried this?

Gill


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## Alf (26 Apr 2006)

Yes


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## Adam (26 Apr 2006)

No never tried it as I've never heard that so I'd be interested in hearing more, nudge nudge Alice?

Adam


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## Neil (26 Apr 2006)

Gill, this might be of some help - you would have to subscribe to get the full article, but it looks to me as though there is enough information in the summary anyway.

HTH,

Neil


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## Alf (26 Apr 2006)

I never said _I'd_ tried it, just that someone had. :wink: 

As it happens, I have. I tried it on oak and it was, well, okay I suppose. Took an age to get going in the jar IIRC, before a wipe on had any effect. Trouble is it was a while ago and I've forgotten the details. Perhaps that says it all? I wasn't sufficiently impressed to do it again or bother remembering what I'd done. :-k Jim Thompson on The Porch is a great proponent of it, _le PDF ici_.

Cheers, Alf


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## Chris Knight (26 Apr 2006)

Gill it is a bit of a pain to do it this way. I recommend you use Terry's excellent Chestnut ebonising lacquer instead. Use a top coat of acrylic for more shine.


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## Gill (26 Apr 2006)

Thanks for the advice (and warnings)  .

I'll give it a bash and if it doesn't work I shall try the Chestnut product. Incidentally, does the Chestnut ebonizer only work on tannin-rich woods?

Gill


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## Chris Knight (26 Apr 2006)

Gill,
It works on any wood - its basically a matt black finish. I have mixed up real ebony and stuff made from sycamore and ebonised using it and it's very hard to see any difference when the gloss is adjusted to match (Spray with gloss lacquer, then flatten with wirewool or webrax if needed)


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## Terry Smart (26 Apr 2006)

Hi Gill

The Ebonising Lacquer will work on any timber - it's a hardwearing tinted lacquer, it doesn't react with the wood, it covers it with a black lacquer. 
The finish is satin, as Chris says for a brighter shine use the Acrylic Gloss Lacquer over the top.


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## jasonB (26 Apr 2006)

I've also used Chestnut's spray. Being a tinted liquid you still get the patern of the grain showing through, just spray a bit more on if you want it really dark.

I made the display casefor this model from a mixture of tulipwood (poplar) and MDF for the top, all sprayed with the lacquer then given a coat of wax after a rubdown with a Scotchbrite pad. I also used it on the feet of the chess table in my avitar as the ebony had a few too many brown streaks for my liking.

Jason


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## PaulK (26 Apr 2006)

Jason,

Do you hand craft or carve the models shown on your photobucket page or are they assembled kits?

Whichever way you make them they look really good, I'm especially interested in the Japanese busts.

Sorry for veering off of the post subject


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## jasonB (27 Apr 2006)

They are all kits in either resin or white metal, if you look towards the end of the album there are pics of an unassembled kit. Most of the full figures are 120mm tall, the trumpeter is 200mm to top of head and the busts are generally 1/8th scale.

I'm quite keen on the samurai as you can probably tell by the number of them  

Jason


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## Gill (12 May 2006)

I thought you might like to see what can be achieved with the vinegar-solution ebonizing technique.

The project isn't yet finished - more coats of Danish oil need to be applied before the components are glued together. 

I've cut a rather familiar segmentation pattern out of ash in which the male dancer's hair and tie have been ebonized. Before I applied the ebonizing solution, I painted the wood with the dregs of a cold pot of tea and left it for a couple of minutes to soak in. The other stains I used were Liberon Teak and Liberon Tudor Oak.







Gill


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## Paul Chapman (12 May 2006)

That's very nice work, Gill =D> 

Paul


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