(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.
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.
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.
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.
(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:
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!!
(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?
(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?
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