Ebonizing Tips?

[Defra]

I recently acquired a nice old (1930) Wheatstone Aeola duet concertina in good shape mechanically but in need of some TLC on the casework. The finish has worn through in places and, more seriously, a previous owner has scratched his postcode and initials into the beautiful wood, although thankfully not too deeply. What possessed him to do this is beyond me.

 

 

 

Anyway, I'd like to restore woodwork and rebush the holes myself. I've acquired a fair bit of French polishing experience through my hobby of stringed instrument making but have never attempted any ebonizing and was wondering if the experts would care to share any tips?

For example, would it be best to use one product for the ebonizing and a normal clear French polish to finish? Or do you recommend a black French polish? I have tried to have a small bottle of Liberon black polish sent to my home in France from England but it is prohibited due to it being flammable. So far, my search for equivalent black polish products in France has only revealed much more expensive products (€47 for 250 ml compared to about €10 for the Liberon polish). You can however buy a separate ebonizing product quite reasonably which can be then finished with clear FP.

I'd be grateful for any pointers at this stage and will of course be doing plenty of testing on offcuts before attempting the real thing.

Thanks in advance,

 

Dean

[adrian brown]

Hi Dean,

 

When I lived in France, I used to buy all my oils, stains, waxes etc. from HMB, close to the gare de Lyon in Paris. Their website is here: http://www.hmb-bda.fr/

Since you're in France, I'd ask a friendly local ébénist for some tips on the best way of tackling this job.

 

Good luck,

 

Adrian

[Theo]

All the "ebony" Wheatstones I've examined have a black finish applied over the ebonised wood. Its almost always black shellac.

[SteveS]

When I ebonise wood, after preparing the wood, I apply black alcohol based stain to the wood. 2 or 3 applications may be required. Allow to dry thoroughly.

I then make up my own polish - any colour shellac and add my own stain - again alcohol based - adding just enough to make the shellac/alcohol a good solid black colour.

I then do a trial polish on an off-cut, and add more black stain to the shellac if necessary.

Then polish as normal.

Edited June 16, 2015 by SteveS

[Geoff Wooff]

Hello Dean,

 

I make my own French Polishes, which gets around the problem of cross border transport. Shellac can be bought from Liberon ( even Amazon ) but another supplier I found very helpfull is

 

www.shellac.net

he is in the USA but shipping is not a problem and he supplies Black Shellac.

 

As French Polish only remains useable for 6 to 9 months after mixing, I make only very small quantities using Alcool 95° ( available at any hardware shop in France).

 

I refinished an Ebonised Lachenal using the Black Shellac, the results were ok but perhaps Steve's suggestion of using a Black alcohol based stain first would have produced better results.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Geoff Wooff

[david robertson]

W S Jenkins,in Tottenham,will supply you with spirit black powder,which you can add to clear French polish. This should avoid the inflammable import problem.

[Stephen Chambers]

The finish has worn through in places and, more seriously, a previous owner has scratched his postcode and initials into the beautiful wood, although thankfully not too deeply. What possessed him to do this is beyond me.

 

Not an ebonizing tip but, by way of explanation, people used to be officially encouraged (with advertising campaigns and suchlike) to mark their postcode on their precious belongings in case of theft.

 

And if you think it a serious act of vandalism on your duet - consider that the first concertina (the instrument in my avatar photo) is similarly scratched, with (Wheatstone's Sales Manager) Harry Minting's old postcode...

 

Mind you, plenty of old concertinas are scratched with pawnbroker's marks too - it's all part of their history!

[Defra]

Hi everyone,

 

Many thanks for all the really helpful replies. I didn't expect such a prompt response and I now have several avenues to explore.

And fair point, Stephen, its probably only quite recently that we've been treating our old instruments so preciously. Its interesting how attitudes change and I suppose many of them were formerly treated as just working tools. In a way, it is a shame to be erasing such traces of an instrument's history. It would be considered bad practice to refinish an old Gibson mandolin for example. My own attitude is that they deserve a chance to remain in good shape and making music for as long as possible.

 

Cheers,

 

Dean

[JimLucas]

The finish has worn through in places and, more seriously, a previous owner has scratched his postcode and initials into the beautiful wood, although thankfully not too deeply. What possessed him to do this is beyond me.

 

Not an ebonizing tip but, by way of explanation, people used to be officially encouraged (with advertising campaigns and suchlike) to mark their postcode on their precious belongings in case of theft.

 

And if you think it a serious act of vandalism on your duet - consider that the first concertina (the instrument in my avatar photo) is similarly scratched, with (Wheatstone's Sales Manager) Harry Minting's old postcode...

 

Mind you, plenty of old concertinas are scratched with pawnbroker's marks too - it's all part of their history!

 

And in many cases, opinion depends on who did the marking. A mint first edition of a book is usually worth much more than one in equal condition but with someone's name scrawled inside. But not if that name is, e.g., Winston Churchill or Sigmund Freud, and verifiably in his handwriting. Myself, I tend to prefer books with inscriptions and often wonder about the individuals whose names I find.

[Wolf Molkentin]

 

 

The finish has worn through in places and, more seriously, a previous owner has scratched his postcode and initials into the beautiful wood, although thankfully not too deeply. What possessed him to do this is beyond me.

Not an ebonizing tip but, by way of explanation, people used to be officially encouraged (with advertising campaigns and suchlike) to mark their postcode on their precious belongings in case of theft.

 

And if you think it a serious act of vandalism on your duet - consider that the first concertina (the instrument in my avatar photo) is similarly scratched, with (Wheatstone's Sales Manager) Harry Minting's old postcode...

 

Mind you, plenty of old concertinas are scratched with pawnbroker's marks too - it's all part of their history!

 

And in many cases, opinion depends on who did the marking. A mint first edition of a book is usually worth much more than one in equal condition but with someone's name scrawled inside. But not if that name is, e.g., Winston Churchill or Sigmund Freud, and verifiably in his handwriting. Myself, I tend to prefer books with inscriptions and often wonder about the individuals whose names I find.

 

Same here, Jim (which is making for yet another shared Preference!)... I also appreciate the varying labellings from libraries all over the world, well-known and not.so-well-known...

 

Best wishes - Wolf

 

P.S.: As I'll have to do some minor ebonizing myself I've been following this thread with some interest...