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+-- Thread: Ebonizing Poplar (/showthread.php?tid=7334342)
RE: Ebonizing Poplar - Danny in Houston - 11-02-2017
(11-02-2017, 06:29 PM)kurt18947 Wrote: "Iron staining, or ebonizing, generally uses a reaction between iron oxide and the natural tannins in wood to create a natural- looking black"
I didn't know that Poplar had significant amounts of tannins in it. I guess it does.
I guess you didn't read the part about adding tannins? Suggest you go read the B. Boggs article.
RE: Ebonizing Poplar - Steve N - 11-04-2017
The method is what had been used traditionally to make inexpensive woods ebonized, it does have more steps than India Ink, which can also do a wonderful job. It's just a different path to get to the similar end (way of skinning that particular cat) just like fuming White Oak for a Stickley look, is done so much easier today using dye's. Choices in which path you take is all. Certainly works either way.
RE: Ebonizing Poplar - Danny in Houston - 11-04-2017
OK all these posts about India Ink got me to thinking, so I bought a small bottle and applied on a sample of poplar. Looked jet black, so I'll let it dry overnight, apply a top coat, and compare to the iron acetate samples. I will have to admit, India Ink sounds less complicated.
Stay tuned.
RE: Ebonizing Poplar - Danny in Houston - 11-19-2017
I experimented with some India ink on poplar samples, looks good initially, but after various finishing experiments the Boggs method still looks better. Both methods pretty much give a jet black color. The key here is what you do next, not the coloring choice.
RE: Ebonizing Poplar - Danny in Houston - 03-13-2018
(11-04-2017, 06:27 PM)Danny in Houston Wrote: OK all these posts about India Ink got me to thinking, so I bought a small bottle and applied on a sample of poplar. Looked jet black, so I'll let it dry overnight, apply a top coat, and compare to the iron acetate samples. I will have to admit, India Ink sounds less complicated.
Stay tuned.
I don't get on here much lately, super busy, but I did recently ebonize my poplar table base. It worked great, except there were certain parts of the wood where I could not get the black color I desired. I may have burnished the wood in some spots, thought I left it rough enough. But long story short, after working with it for a long time, re-sanding, and applying the chemicals again, it turned out great!
I was going for a table base that looked like steel. I wanted people to ask themselves "is that steel or wood?" since so many live edge tables have very plain rectangular bases. This one is awesome:
RE: Ebonizing Poplar - Danny in Houston - 03-13-2018
Next I started oiling the table base with tung oil. I let several coats soak in then I sanded with 400 grit. The 135 yr old pecan slab had started to splat, but it's still rock solid. The spalting really added character to the wood. I used black epoxy to fill the cracks, and with the black base it looks SICK!!
RE: Ebonizing Poplar - Danny in Houston - 03-13-2018
You can see more on Instagram:
@dwfinedesigns
RE: Ebonizing Poplar - gregbois - 03-13-2018
(03-13-2018, 08:41 PM)Danny in Houston Wrote: You can see more on Instagram:
@dwfinedesigns
Looks great. Love the blackened base. Wondering what Tung Oil you used? The Real Milk Paint pure tung oil or one with drying agents and solvents added?
RE: Ebonizing Poplar - R Clark - 03-14-2018
That is a stunning table!
RE: Ebonizing Poplar - Danny in Houston - 03-14-2018
(03-13-2018, 10:36 PM)gregbois Wrote: Looks great. Love the blackened base. Wondering what Tung Oil you used? The Real Milk Paint pure tung oil or one with drying agents and solvents added?
100% pure tung oil.