Stove black

I have used stove black (Zebra, Black-it etc) for years for finishing the Carpenter style door locks on various restoration jobs, but none of the usual sources carry it any more! Any one have any suggestions or recipes?

Try graphite powder mixed into black shoe polish.

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Originally Posted by Woodwould

Try graphite powder mixed into black shoe polish.

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Tried it, :no: Did you mean Carbon Black rather than graphite? What sort of boot polish, paste or liquid?

Graphite is what gives Zebrite its metallic look. I had difficulty locating Zebrite some years ago and successfully made an indistinguishable product by adding graphite and a little lamp black to the dregs of an old tin of furniture wax.

I shall experiment. I wondered if the old products were shellac based as they used metho clean up.

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Originally Posted by Woodwould

Graphite is what gives Zebrite its metallic look. I had difficulty locating Zebrite some years ago and successfully made an indistinguishable product by adding graphite and a little lamp black to the dregs of an old tin of furniture wax.

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I think you are on the right track with the graphite and lamp black in wax.

I have an old book, Commercial Waxes by H. Bennett, published in 1944. It has eighteen formulae for stove polishes. Most of them are mixes of paraffin wax, bee's wax, montan wax or carnauba wax with graphite, lamp black and other bits and pieces.

None of the formulae use shellac. They are all emulsions of wax and pigment with water or wax and pigment in solvent.

burraboy,
White Knight make Pot Belly Black paint which is what you are looking for and I thought any decent hardware would stock it or a B-B-Q store may have it as well for painting those outdoor braziers.

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Originally Posted by skot

burraboy,
White Knight make Pot Belly Black paint which is what you are looking for and I thought any decent hardware would stock it or a B-B-Q store may have it as well for painting those outdoor braziers.

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Yeah, but it's a different product to the old one. The original was very thin and didn't have the bulk of paint, nor did it 'skin' like paint does. I'd prefer the finish of the original.

Hi guys,

we have an undred year old wood stove and have always used Zebra stove black but since it went out of production we searched around to find something with the same or similar characteristics, we now use a product for cast iron stoves from www.rubbedin.com.au , may do your job! Failing that you could dig a bit of tar out of your front road, add a bit of turps, heat it up on a gas stove, pore out the mixture through a sieve ending up with an old favourite staining method used for centuries but does tend to have a bit of green that can be eliminated with the addition of a bit of straight black stain. The best thing about this method is the guys from the road crew will come along soon enough and replace the pot hole you dug in the road with some fresh mix, bit like the magic pudding, you dig it out they put it back! Unlimited supply!
Just kidding of course, try the "Rubbedin" beats a court appearance hey!

Cheers Oddjob1:D

Zebrite isn't made any longer, but you can still buy it on eBay. Stovax sell their brand of grate polish which looks like the same stuff as Zebrite.

I have a real old book lying around at home "A Fortune in Formulas".
I will have a look and see if there is anything there
Cheers
Peter

Thanks chaps, there's some interesting sites and products there. I'll see if any of them will do what I want.

There's another product which you might find of use ,- It's called, " Black Japan, " and is made by Feat Waston. Straight from the tin it is Jet Black, and can be brushed onto almost anything, yet when one thins it down, it can be used as an old time woodstain in varying shades of Walnut brown. Have used Black Japan on Doorsteps; old castors; old metalwork, and on all sorts of things over the years. Never known it to, " skin, " like ordinary paint does, simply thickens with age. Most hardware, & paint stores either stock Black Japan or will order it in for you. Comes in tin ranging is size from 250ml up to 4 litre size. I usually keep a 500ml tin on hand as there's always someone who walks into my workshop at least several times a year, and asks, " What do you suggest I coat the doorstep with ? "

Roger

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Originally Posted by rogerjenkins

There's another product which you might find of use ,- It's called, " Black Japan, " and is made by Feat Waston. Straight from the tin it is Jet Black, and can be brushed onto almost anything, yet when one thins it down, it can be used as an old time woodstain in varying shades of Walnut brown. Have used Black Japan on Doorsteps; old castors; old metalwork, and on all sorts of things over the years. Never known it to, " skin, " like ordinary paint does, simply thickens with age. Most hardware, & paint stores either stock Black Japan or will order it in for you. Comes in tin ranging is size from 250ml up to 4 litre size. I usually keep a 500ml tin on hand as there's always someone who walks into my workshop at least several times a year, and asks, " What do you suggest I coat the doorstep with ? "

Roger

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Thanks Roger, that looks promising, the applications are certainly the same as the products I used in the past. I'll be in PV within the next couple of months so will drop in for a tin, I have some slate to black even if it doesn't work on the metal.

Burraboy,- I buy the Black Japan from Shipway Spescoat, Halifax St.,Adelaide, ( they are on the net, simply type in, " Shipway Spescoat/ Adelaide," on Google ), or through Jarrett's Hardware in Minlaton. It is Australian made by FEAST WATSON Paints, ( misspelt the maker's name last night !! )
Also have the Feast Watson Product infomation guide here somewhere in my collection of, " could be useful things," as they make all kinds of specialized restoration, & timber finishing products.
Roger

Sorry Roger, I misread workshop as shop. I won't darken your door.

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Originally Posted by rogerjenkins

Burraboy,- I buy the Black Japan from Shipway Spescoat, Halifax St.,Adelaide, ( they are on the net, simply type in, " Shipway Spescoat/ Adelaide," on Google ), or through Jarrett's Hardware in Minlaton. It is Australian made by FEAST WATSON Paints, ( misspelt the maker's name last night !! )
Also have the Feast Watson Product infomation guide here somewhere in my collection of, " could be useful things," as they make all kinds of specialized restoration, & timber finishing products.
Roger

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Better stock up Roger. I went looking for a new tin of Black Japan the other day only to be told by the Dulux rep that they are no longer making it. Old stock might still be available. (They gave me the recipe for making it with prooftint colours though). I see it's still on their website so maybe he was wrong :?

Are you allowed to share the recipe?

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Originally Posted by _fly_

Are you allowed to share the recipe?

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sure! 'cept they wrote it on a sticker and when I got home I stuck it somewhere safe. You know, the somewhere safe you can't find again:doh:
I'll have to have a serious look.

When you find it can you give me those phone numbers I wrote and put there as well.
I put mine in exactly the same place, somewhere safe so I could find them again.

I finally found the recipe.
Black Japan pigment using prooftint colours
1 part Black
2 parts Walnut
2 parts Teak Brown

HI all,

Black Japan as a stain , was originally a tar based stain , used on the edge of stairs where a carpet runner was placed down the middle.

Ask any FLOOR SANDER who has done a set of stairs in an old building , and listen to him curse Black Japan.

Remember that most timber stains are solvent based and are designed to be absorbed into the grain, where-as stove black has a wax base , as has been mentioned above, so durability of the solvent based product may be questionable.


Jeff
vk4

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...s/mines007.jpg

After all that, this is the end result. The finish looks about what I was after, but it is certainly a different product to use. Thanks for all the discussion!