Black Japan - bring out grain, or just blacken?

I have never used the stuff before, but saw a piece of furniture where they guy reckoned he used bitumen to bring out the grain in Hoop Pine. I assumed he mean black japan (but maybe it was bitumen & turps?)

The furniture was not black or anything, but the grain looked nice and distinguished, and sort of an aged look. Is that what black japan does - highlight the grain rather than turn the piece black? Would be nice to know before going out and buying the stuff to experiment with.

Black Japan can be used as a stain to create a myriad of brown timber colours from teak to dark walnut. This is done by thinning and wiping excess off.

However it can also be used like a paint, applied in a heavy coat and left to dry, in this case it will look almost black. It is often found in old houses on the floor boards around the extremities of the carpet rug that would have been on the floor. I used to live in a house that had raw baltic pine floor boards under where the 12' x 12' mat had been and a border of approx 8" of black japan that was almost jet black in untouched areas and shades of light to dark brown in worn areas.

Hopew this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil :)

PS I also mix red universal tint with BJ to give the timber a deaper rich red colouring. It is an excellent base for making your own colours by mixing in various colours of universal tint.

So it would not have been used to bring out the grain in the Hoop Pine?

The look the furniture had kept the original colour of the timber, but the grain just stood out really nice, whereas you are saying that it will turn the timber brown?

I wonder how he done it.

Depends on what colour you reckon is natural for hoop pine. It should be almost white. If it is a honey colour then it probably has had a weak BJ applied to it. :)

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Originally Posted by Neil

Black Japan can be used as a stain to create a myriad of brown timber colours ... it can also be used like a paint, applied in a heavy coat and left to dry, in this case it will look almost black.

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So if I want a good hard black colour but also want to see the grain then Black Japan would be a bad choice I take it (as the grain would disappear aftyer all that building up)?

Bitumen when thinned down with turps isn't black, its a dark walnut colour.