Let's talk japanning

[jerry nazard]

I have been kicking around the subject of japanning recently, looking at several suggested formulas, and hoping to experiment on a nice little No. 3 that I recently picked up. Derek C. has posted his elixir of asphaltum mixed with spar varnish, and I was about to give that a try until an afternoon visit to the hardware store.

While poking around the paint department, I noticed a can of Sampson Asphalt Roof Coating that had been opened. There was a patch of dried coating on the top of the can. It did not look like paint, it looked like japanning. It also seemed pretty darned scratch resistant.

I have a test sample drying for further testing before I try it on a plane.

Any comments?

-Jerry

[Jim Koepke]

I have been kicking around the subject of japanning recently, looking at several suggested formulas, and hoping to experiment on a nice little No. 3 that I recently picked up. Derek C. has posted his elixir of asphaltum mixed with spar varnish, and I was about to give that a try until an afternoon visit to the hardware store.

While poking around the paint department, I noticed a can of Sampson Asphalt Roof Coating that had been opened. There was a patch of dried coating on the top of the can. It did not look like paint, it looked like japanning. It also seemed pretty darned scratch resistant.

I have a test sample drying for further testing before I try it on a plane.

Any comments?

-Jerry

Here is one source of information that was posted a few days ago:

http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=handtools&file=articles_117.shtml

I would be interested in the results of your roof coating test.
I thought those types of things would stay flexible.
If possible, you might want to contact the maker to see if there are any dryers that can be added.

A side note: A used plane of mine was painted with rustoleum about a week ago. It was given a few coats and set aside to dry. The coating was staying soft, so during some hot weather I set it inside our green house. The temp control is not set up at this time, so it can be made to get some high temps, 110°F+, just by closing the doors. The coating became quite hard in just one day.

I saw a piece on baking cookies in a car sitting in the sun, why not bake our repainted planes there?

jim

[jerry nazard]

Jim,

Thanks for the link: good stuff! I'm at this point focusing my interest on a cold type application that I can "bake on" in direct sunlight. To this point, I have used RustOleum black enamel or ??? engine enamel, applied outside to a plane in direct sunlight. For planes that have most of their japanning intact, after cleaning I wipe the surface with blond shellac and leave it at that.

I am hoping that the asphalt roof coating might provide a durable and attractive finish. I'll visit the hardware store tomorrow where testing is underway. Adding some japan dryer was discussed this afternoon. We'll see.

-Jerry

PS: This little #3 (type 8) that I'm messing with promises to be a winner. It's still really "rough around the edges", but with only a cleanup and Hock blade, it performs like a top. I am doing a lot of Stickley and this plane is going to be fed a diet of white oak!