jappaning

[Albert Wagner]

This is my first post here. I am a neander newbie. I have been cleaning up a Stanley #4 type 9 that I got off of ebay. I wasn't too concerned as to its collector value so I soaked the frog and bed in Citristrip stripping gel. The orange colored gel did turn black and appeared to have removed/softened the "jappaning". After washing off the gel, I used a steel pick and brass brush to get into the corners and around the cast-in lettering, etc. But...when I finished, there was still a thin, but definitely black, covering where jappaning should be and bright metal where the pieces had been machined. So, what did I do? And what is left? I have the feeling that my plane had been painted black over the original jappaning and that all I removed was that black paint. Is jappaning really this tough that it resists paint stripper? I was prepared to use black Rust-oleum Appliance Epoxy to replace the jappaning, but now I wonder if I should just give it a coat of clear shellac.

[Anchor Sarslow]

I am going out on a limb here and take a shot at this.

I found the same thing when doing electrolysis so here is what I recall from my metrology stuff and a bit of Chem.

The black (barring actual leftover japanning) is either an oxide of manganeese, embedded carbon brought to the surface by the oxide removal process of iron OR it may be a different iron oxide than the rust you are used to seeing.

If I remember right, there are 2 basic iron oxides. one is reddish and the other is black.I forget the numbers.. Iron 2 or iron 3 come to mind.. Fe2 or Fe3 red and or black is associated with that iron. the black type is much less prevelant and one can change to the other in certain circumstances. I dont remember exactly.. I am thinking it is likely manganees though.. or maybe nickel.. You will have to scrub the crap out of it to get it off.. be very vigorous with a brass brush the size of a tooth brush.

again..there is a little speculation in my description. but a hefty scrub has been working for me.

Lastly, I would re-jappan the thing.

Anchor

[Nick Clayton]

Hi Albert,

I have posted a few links you might enjoy. I also found that adding a thicker aftermarket iron (the pick is yours; Hock, Lie-Nielsen, Lee Valley, Clifton...) made a world of difference.

http://www.theturnersshop.com/woodwork/no5/No5_1.html
http://www.shavings.net/SCARY.HTM
http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html

[Albert Wagner]

Good links Nick.

Anchor, I've done a lot of reading since posting and I think you are right. It's a beautiful black finish that is very thin but very hard. Every pit and bump is visible. I would love to know how to do it on purpose. Most of the rust converters available online claim to be able to do it. Most of those use phosphoric acid and a few use tannin.

[Terry Bigelow]

I tried stripper (not the citric type) too on a Bedrock 606 that had almost no japanning left and was left with the same results. I used a spray-on satin enamel and I love the way it turned out. Definitely not original I know, but I like the look. This one was a MESS before I got a hold of it:

[Ken Werner]

Terry, nice rehab job. I have to agree with you, a simple and good quality paint job is for a user more than adequate, both functionally and esthetically. Did you make new wood parts or did you refinish what it came with? I see a split on the original knob.

Ken

[Albert Wagner]

Ken's right, Terry. It looks like new. How did you refinish the handle so that the grain is so visible? Mine just looks black.

[Clint Jones]

Ken's right, Terry. It looks like new. How did you refinish the handle so that the grain is so visible? Mine just looks black.

The handles on Terry's plane look like they were purchased from the best things.

If you want your handles to look close to original I would suggest sanding them all the way down with a ROS and sand them all the way down to 300 grit. Finish with satin spray poly. Here is a handle I repaired and refinished. My picture doesnt do it justice it is a deep red with all sorts of grain showing.
http://i22.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/d0/39/2136_1.JPG

[Terry Bigelow]

The handles on Terry's plane look like they were purchased from the best things.
Good eye, Clint! But no, they're actually from Highland Hardware here in Atlanta. I do believe, however, they are the same ones as The Best Things sells($25 for the pair). I fix the one's that are fixable and replace those which are not. The pair on that 606 were all split up and had dry-rot so I had no choice.

[Albert Wagner]

Thanks, Clint. I sanded mine down to wood using 220. The grain looked nice. But then I applied a mix of BLO and Spar Urethane and it went dark again. I am in the process of taking that off now and will sand to some 350 I have. Then I will try your spray.