Replies

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Jan 07, 2010 01:38am | #1

   Buy some black oil based paint. Thin it -- experimentation is called for here -- and use as stain.

   But a process of first dying and then using a pigment stain can give a very rich, almost black look. Black shoe polish is vastly over rated to really stain wood, though it can provide the dirt of age effect when applied over a finish and left to accumulate a bit in recesses. I've never tried lampblack, but my guess is that to accumulate enough to stain anything of any size would require burning a lot of fuel--not a free commondity these days.

1. 
   BruceS | Jan 07, 2010 09:03am | #3

   Use India ink. Most other black wood dyes give you a bluish hew. But there is the more natural way! Use ebony or African black wood.

1. 
   tkarlmann | Jan 07, 2010 03:04pm | #4

   Thanks for the link to POP WW article -- this seems to be a valid approach.

   I am concerend, however, that none of the articles on ebonizing mention if it works on pine -- my wood of choice at the moment.

   Thoughts on ebonizing pine specifically?

1. 
   miserybob | Jan 07, 2010 05:58pm | #5

   The quebracho bark tea adds tannin to low-tannin woods like pine and maple. (although as I say that, I'm not 100% sure those are both low-tannin) The extra tannin from the bark tea gives the steel wool mix something to react with. I would think it would work with pine, but I don't know for sure. If I had any steel wool mix left I'd check it out for you. The maple drawer pulls I made last year turned out really well.

2. 
   miserybob | Jan 07, 2010 07:31am | #2

   I like the vinegar/steel wool technique, though many don't. The mix reacts with the tannic acid in the wood, so you generally have to use a high-tannin wood like oak or walnut.

   However, I've had good results from using a combo of steel wool mix and quebracho bark (a tannic acid) on maple. Never tried it on pine. It's a nice, rich black and very inexpensive.

   See this article - http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/Ebonizing_Wood/

3. 
   WillGeorge | Jan 07, 2010 07:15pm | #6

   Buy some black oil based paint. Thin it -- experimentation is called for here -- and use as stain.

   I agree for what my thoughts are worth. I purchase the quart? cans of the base tint they use in the machines that mix tints for the final color. I have only used oil based on wood. And true India Ink works if you can find it.

   The tint, I think, is still paint? but seems to work. I rub-in and remove the excess as soon as possible.

   Be aware.. I am not a finisher. Just what I have tried. The only really nice black is spraying. I use to paint cars when a teen.. LOL .. Long ago ..

   Last summer I helped a neighbor paint his 1968 Corvette. I just did the wet sanding... We used the Acrylic Lacquer Primer Surfacer shown in the link below. Not a plug for the product in the link but it sure made a difference in our tests.. But then again, it was on plactic and fiberglass?

   http://www.paintforcars.com/supplies_acr_lac_prim_surf.html

   I had a link, that I cannot find now, that was a gloss black fit for Steinway pianos. As I recall, it was a dark gray/grey lacquer primer with a mahogony red overcoat and then the black Lacquer. It looked like black glass! We had two spray guns set up so we did wet on wet (sort of) of the gray and red primers. Then the black overcoat after wet sanding...

4. 
   ndmatt | Jan 16, 2010 10:03pm | #7

   Buy some lamp black at your local art supply store and thin it with mineral spirits. Add some japan drier if you care too. It'll make a fine black stain.

5. 
   SteveSchoene | Jan 17, 2010 09:39am | #8

   After looking through the other replies, it seems to me that $10.50 for dye, which after all makes a quart of material at "standard" concentration, less for really intense color, looks like a pretty good deal.

1. 
   DonStephan | Jan 17, 2010 07:26pm | #9

   Ditto Steve's comment re
   Ditto Steve's comment re pricing. Recently I was asked to color some cherry black. Two applications of black Transfast followed by two applications of General Finishes black wood stain was almost uniformly black without too much surface build. The 2nd application of each was mainly to minimize lap marks, but each added a slight additional amount of black.

6. 
   jhonbaker | Jan 18, 2010 12:16am | #10

   IKEA has a black stain - I've
   IKEA has a black stain - I've never used it, but I know they have it.

1. 
   user-64052 | Jan 18, 2010 02:04pm | #11

   shoe store, go in and buy a small bottle of black anniline shoe dye(this is not a polish). apply and top coat.

   quantity depends on how much area that you have to cover

   ron

   stain cost is immaterial to the cost of the project. cheap usually reflects cheap

1. 
   jhonbaker | Jan 18, 2010 02:39pm | #12

   hence why I have not used the IKEA stain. I personally have no desire to make black furniture but now want to try the aniline method - so I'll have to make a shoe rack or something, I could test it on a scrap only but if it works why stop there!