What to paint plane handles with

[Petesky58]

Could anyone tell me what you paint wooden plane handles with to bring them back to the original colour

 

[JobandKnock]

Personally not a fan of glossy lacquered handles on user planes as I find they make my hands sweat, but if they were just lacquered or varnished originslly you could try boiled linseed oil instead

 

[Petesky58]

Thanks for your reply my friend

 

[skeetstar]

I've used blo, and it's fine, paul sellers uses shellac, i think.

 

[Petesky58]

Thanks for your reply

 

[rob1693]

If using blo make sure they're beech and not rosewood i made that mistake and it made rosewood go a nasty black colour

 

[Petesky58]

Thanks rob

 

[thetyreman]

I prefer de-waxed shellac, usually 2 or 3 layers.

 

[Petesky58]

Thanks for your reply

 

[Dr W]

Each to their own but personally I prefer the feel of wood, rather than shellac/varnish against my palm. I use an old fashioned beeswax & turps furniture polish - partly because I hate the smell of BLO and partly because my brother makes the beeswax polish (Cambridge Traditional Products), so I always have a ready supply! Also good for the sole.

 

[Petesky58]

Thanks for your reply my friend

 

[kinverkid]

I'm also a fan of the wood feel and give the handles and sometimes the whole plane and anything within an arms reach, while I've got the rag in my hand, a rub over with a beeswax and mineral oil paste. It also has a little shellac added but that's because I use the same formula for chopping boards and use left-overs in the workshop.

 

[Petesky58]

Thanks for your reply cheers

 

[sploo]

De-waxed shellac is my preference (though I do prefer BLO for saw handles for some reason). If you have more modern plane handles (lighter wood rather than rosewood) then you can make a shellac mix with a little bit of leather dye mixed in (e.g. Fiebing's Leather Dye, Dark Brown)

 

[Petesky58]

Thanks sploo

 

[thetyreman]

only thing to watch is beeswax can be a little soft and leave fingerprints, I prefer hardwaxes like peacock wax or alphie shine, both of them completely non toxic and smell great.

 

[Petesky58]

Thanks for your reply