Ebonizing

Alfredo Alamo

Member
Messages
18
Hi there,

What would be the best wood, product nad technique to ebonize a piece to a very dark black color.

Thank you

Alfredo Alamo
 
Alfredo, there are several methods I've read about. The only one I've used so far is to simply wipe the wood with black India ink, let it dry, then finish with either a wipe-on varnish like Minwax Antique Oil or spray-can lacquer. So far I've user this method on both walnut and maple with good results. I like the maple a bit better, since it has smaller pores and looks more like ebony when done.

Another method involves soaking steel (like steel wool) in vinegar for a period of time (a few days to a few weeks, as I recall), then using the darkened liquid to stain the wood. I'll let someone else who's actually used this method describe how they've done it.
 
This is a timely post for me also. I tried the the vinegar, and steel wool but the mix
didn't turn rusty like it should. The liquid mix is then spread on walnut, and it should
turn black. That's what I read. My problem is the vinegar is not turning rusty. Mine
has been soaking now for a week, and a half I even added some nails to the mix.
I'm using white vinegar, and my jar is sealed with a cap on it. Maybe someone can
tell me what I'm doing wrong!
 
This is a timely post for me also. I tried the the vinegar, and steel wool but the mix
didn't turn rusty like it should. The liquid mix is then spread on walnut, and it should
turn black. That's what I read. My problem is the vinegar is not turning rusty. Mine
has been soaking now for a week, and a half I even added some nails to the mix.
I'm using white vinegar, and my jar is sealed with a cap on it. Maybe someone can
tell me what I'm doing wrong!

Steel wool - fresh out of the box - has an oily coating (rust preventative) on it. Try washing it in paint thinner, naphtha, or even just soap and water to get rid of that, and the vinegar ought to work its 'magic.'

DO NOT tightly cap the mixture. It generates some gases during the reaction and could burst a bottle or jar that's tightly capped.

I generally leave the mixture to 'cook' for about a week, then strain it through a coffee filter to remove the dross.

One application on oak generall turns it a dark gray, and a second application leaves it a very nice black. Same thing with walnut. Other woods with less tannin in them won't take the blackening as well.
 
I've just recently used the vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar) and steel wool mix on oak. My mix had been sitting in the cold for the entire winter, frozen and thawed a few times in a plastic folgers coffe can with the lid on. I forgot about it until a few nights ago. I brushed it on a simple oak spindle turning and the wood close to the bark turned gray, but the interior wood went black almost instantly. It raised the grain a bit, I over sanded and it all turned gray. Re-applied and it went back to black again. I've heard this works very well on walnut as well, but I haven't tried it. I'll try and get a pic of it up later today.
 
I tried the steel wool in vinegar bit without success on oak.
And, do heed what Jim said. I tightened the jar and had a mess, my shelves got rusted and many tools also.
OTOH, a member of my woodturning club uses this technique frequently. He puts white liming wax over the darkened finished piece and get spectacular results. I get wet, ugly wood.
 
Thanks Jim I'll clean my steel wool, and give it a try again. The nails in there are not
turning rusty either thought. I might try some apple cider vinegar too.
 
I attempted a simple process... Just FYI... it didn't work. :rofl:

I tried popular with ebony stain (minwax). I went over the wood several times over a period of days. Just couldn't get it to soak up the stain very good. It turned out like a transparent stain.
 
Thanks Jim I'll clean my steel wool, and give it a try again. The nails in there are not
turning rusty either thought. I might try some apple cider vinegar too.

If the nails are coated...and they probably are, since the manufacturer and seller don't want their nails to rust before you buy them...you'll need to clean them first, too.

As for cider vinegar - any vinegar will work. They're all basically acetic acid. Common cider or white vinegars are generally 5% acetic acid. All you really need is something to oxidize the iron in the steel wool, nails, or other scrap. It's the ferrous (ferric?) oxide that reacts with the tannin to blacken the wood.

Ever notice the black stains around the nails in a wood fence, or the black staining where your pipe clamps touched the oak glue up you didn't want stained? It's the same process - minus the vinegar. The vinegar just accellerates the process.
 
Hi Alfredo :wave:,
As far as the process I cannot say but I have done an entertainment center and a credenza in rift cut white oak that was ebonized and they looked marvelous. (white oak has a great color of it's own.)
Shaz:)
 
Metal shavings from around the grinder and at my saw sharpening bench collected with a magnet work great for chemical reaction ebonizing. With oak there is no need to use vinegar etc as the oak has sufficient tannic acid to react with the metal shavings. I just moisten a rag or paper towel, dip it into the metal shaving and rub them into the wood. Leave it over night and the next day the wood has blackened nicely.

Woods with less tannin/tannic acid do need some sort of acid mixed with the metal shavings.
 
Alfredo,

I used this method two years ago on cherry. I have pictures included in this gallery of the process, as well as some pics of the solution.
http://www.flickr.com/gp/11658045@N08/18j833

The occupant of the project is now quite a bit bigger, but likes it just as much.

I also did two applications of the solution to get the dark color that I wanted, but the real black didn't come out until I put the shellac top coat on. Before that, it just looked kind of ashy.

Best of luck,
Len
 
Jim

I looked at my Ebonizing mix tonight, and it's still not rusty. I thought I would try it
again, and to my amazement the walnut turned gray, and the oak turned black right
away. One more treatment, and the Walnut did too. I guess I thought the mixture
had to be rusty, but it worked just being clear as water. So thanks Jim for the help.
For those who tried, but failed try again it does work well !!!
 
I will be doing the steel wool and old rusty nails in vinegar this spring.

Also will try the fuming process. Ammonia in a tent to fume the wood into color change.

Will get back in a month to tell you what happened.

I`m new here, but like what I see. Woodworkers helping woodworkers. What a great idea that is.:wave:
 
i'm trying a finial for the first time and that includes ebonizing, of course. so i made two out of clear poplar because i don't have any ebony on hand and won't until the next time i decide to drive 90 miles to the wood store.

started with trying minwax ebony stain. as scott said in an earlier post...it just doesn't work. so i tried the black ink i use for caligraphy. that works well but raises the grain. sand and restain and you finally get good black, dull but black. sanding sealer and more light sanding followed by buffing with the beall three step system. the results are ok but too many steps.

so i'm thinking an alcohol based black ink would not raise the grain and eliminate at least one step. the sharpie pens are alcohol based inks but i want to soak/dip the finials, so i ordered several 2 oz. bottles.

if anyone is interested i will report back later.
 
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