A pressie from my son/ex-father-in-law

[jimi43]

I would love to try the japping method but cant find any suppliers around at all. Can anyone point me in the direction of a supplier in the UK please.

Hi DM

PM me your address and I will pop some in the post for you. I have a kilo of asphaltum so plenty to pass around. The yacht varnish should be simple to find given your location..any chandlery will have it...I only have a small tin of that. Ebay also has suppliers of small tins if you get stuck...THIS IS THE GUY I BUY FROM...HE HAS SMALLER TINS JUST ASK HIM

Jimi

 

[Vann]

Thanks Jim, Derek. I think you're right Derek. No point being too precious about a beaten-up plane. The only thing is I've yet to decide whether to repair the existing tote, or put it aside for a while and try making a new one. Derek, I have orange shellac flakes - will they darken the rosewood too much?

Either way, it'll have to be a summer project (that's December/January down here) as that'll give me a chance to get some other projects finished first.

Thanks all for your advice.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[dickm]

Great tip about japanning. Is the method limited to black, or can other (obviously dark) colours be achieved?

 

[jimi43]

Great tip about japanning. Is the method limited to black, or can other (obviously dark) colours be achieved?

It's Henry Ford I'm afraid. It's basically refined asphalt finely powdered.

Jim

 

[dickm]

Thanks. Does the asphalt just act as a filler? If that was all, then something inert and of the appropriate colour would possibly work. Or does it actually need to dissolve in the varnish, which would restrict the range of options that might be useable.

 

[jimi43]

It's Henry Ford I'm afraid. It's basically refined asphalt finely powdered.

Jim

Thanks. Does the asphalt just act as a filler? If that was all, then something inert and of the appropriate colour would possibly work. Or does it actually need to dissolve in the varnish, which would restrict the range of options that might be useable.

I think Dick that the asphaltum being extremely fine...melts into the varnish...it certainly seems to.

Being an oil based powder, it gives a blue/black oiliness to the finish...very similar to Japanning and this is the key to the authentic look of the finish.

As oil only comes in black...my guess is that coloured pigments of other bases would not work the same way. It comes out like the gloss asphalt that you see on the edge of driveways etc...

Jim