Re-japaning

[yugami]

I've found a few Stanley Baily planes (#3 and #4 - Type 16 i believe), and I'm going to clean them up.

I understand that many collectors are against refinishing the original japaning. However one planes japaning is flaking off and has exposed metal where there shouldn't be any exposed.

What is the thoughts on redoing the finish on a plane at this point and how does it affect it from a collectors eye (I understand that these are fairly common, however I've stared the restoration and find it fun and may continue a real collection).

[DCH]

yugami wrote in news:8fe28eea-e528-45a9-a34e- [e-mail]:

You are correct in that most collectors find refurbished planes to be of little value....but I think you're talking about an everyday user so its most likely not "collectable" any way...

There are recipes on the internet for japaning a plane...but personally if its a plane I am tuning up to use, I will just get a can of rustoleum ( color of your choice ( I like Hunter Green )) and have at it...painting anything I don't want rusting...

They are fun to tune and use...you may want to upgrade the blade as well...it really does make a difference in how the plane cuts..

Have a good time hope this helps...

DCH

[Old Guy]

Yugami,

I've restored several old planes for my use. I like them to look good, but I'm not trying to maintain their "value" for future collectors.

There are formulas out there for re-japanning planes. Lot of work, in my opinion.

The suggested Rustoleum paint is another route. Looks good and stops rust.

I decided to walk the middle line. I clean the plane well, usually using citric acid, then "restore" the missing japaning with black shoe polish. The liquid type that is meant to cover scuffs. The paste wax doesn't have enuf dye in it. I put on a couple of coats, let it dry, polish it with a brush, then add more clear wax when I do my final waxing of the plane. Looks "appropriate" to the age and condition of the plane, and seems to hold up.

If you are interested in restoring old tools you might enjoy the "Old tools" listserv. Lots of good information and experience on cleaning, restoring and using hand tools. I can't get the site without loosing the message, so I'll add it as an add-on to this thread. I've learned a lot.

Just a little grease, and a gentle push down the slippery slope of tool coll-- coll-- that is using.

Old Guy Who was able to feed his sawdust addiction yesterday due to clement weather

[Old Guy]

Yugami,

The Old Tools (Galoots) list serv can be reached at

some reasons this doesn't show as a link.)

I suggest you try it. There's a lot of information in the archive messages about plane restoration.

You will find that you are among quite a collection of gentlemen if you participate. And then there's the rest of us.

Old Guy

[Tom Dacon]

side of the page, a little more than half-way down: two discussions of japanning.

Good luck, Tom Dacon

[yugami]

Thanks to all.

I think for this one I'll go the rustoleum route, as this #4 is going to be in my tools for working. I'll look into more one collecting later.

Thanks for all the pointers and info.

[professorpaul]

I had the same problem recently, for a plane that was my fathers, and still gets a LOT of daily use. I got a can of the epoxy "Alumihyde) (sp??) from Brownells, the gun supply outfit. I was using it for some gunsmithing projects -- aluminum ejector housing on a Ruger revolver that I was working on. It sticks to most anything. Nice semi-matte finish. I've used it on quite a number of tools. Just my 2 cents...

[Larry W]

If you want to maintain the maximum collector value of a plane (or most any antique) then all the advice I have seen says to not do anything to the finish other than clean what is there.

However, if you are planning on keeping the plane as a "user" without caring about collecter value (and a common Bailey #3 or 4 would not have much value to a collector anyway) then you can do what you want. I like to clean up, derust, and finish my user planes. I have found that rustoleum machinery black is looks pretty good and is difficult to distinguish from the factory finish.

[yugami]

I noticed on a sellers site linked from "The Electric Neanderthal" that the going rate for a #4 Stanley in decent shape of my vintage seemed to be about 90-100 USD. Is this really?

Makes me glad I only paid 38 shipped for mine. Had to derust it a tiny bit, but not so you'd notice.

[Glen]

I tried the method listed above with recipe of asphaltum, boiled linseed oil, and turpentine. You should be aware that the process in somewhat involved. You paint this mixture on the plane and let it set for a few days. Then you need to bake the finish to its final hardness. My wife was not excited about sharing her oven with smell of the turpentine and asphatum, turpentine, and everything baking off. I thought of getting a small toaster over for this but it wouldn't be large enough for the larger plane sizes. The finish, once done, is much more durable than paint. You also have the enjoyment of having an authentic finish that would be hard to distinguish from the original. The mixture was easy to make and I keep a bottle of it on the shelve for whenever I want to do something new. I assume one bottle will last me a lifetime. The supplies you need to make the mixture are available from online art supply stores.

[Artemus]

[yugami]

Heres an article with the recipe.

[Artemus]

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