# Ebonizing Oak



## Tikka (May 14, 2007)

I have a need to ebonize some white oak for a project I am working on. Obtaining a stain that does not obliterate the grain is quite difficult here, so I thought about using a method shown in several woodworking books - using steel wool and white vinegar.

There is nothing new about this technique, it is as old as the hills. I started by following the simple instructions shred some wire wool in the bottom of a plastic container (about 1/2 oz) and add about 1 pint of white vinegar (10%) - go away and come back in 24 to 36 hours and test it, if it is not strong enough leave it for another day.

So after 40 hours I got a dark gray with with one coat, so I left it for a few more hours to gain a little more strength, but the dark gray now produces a dark brown with a steel blue haze (very attractive but not I was looking for). In fact it almost looks as if the solution has gone "Rusty".

So has any body got any experience in this method, are there any criteria for storage or temperature that I have missed, any insight would be appreciated.


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## marcb (May 5, 2008)

Honestly just get some India Ink and be done with it. That method is pretty hit or miss depending on the exact level of tanic acid in the wood. I'm pretty sure its almost impossible to get a real black using it on Oak. Walnut will do OK with this method.


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## Tikka (May 14, 2007)

I should have mentioned that this is not a small project - double cuboard and drawer unit - I guess a gallon of india ink should do the trick.

Maybe I should paint the project first with some black tea - to even out the tannic acid


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## North40 (Oct 17, 2007)

Tony - I've heard of the vinegar and steel wool method, but I've never had a reason to give it a try, so I don't have any pointers. I think India Ink might hide the grain like a stain would, but I bet you have a gallon sitting around waiting to be used, don't you?

Have you considered a dye? I've been experimenting with water-based fabric dyes and have had some good initial results. It can actually accentuate the grain in some wood.


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## marcb (May 5, 2008)

This link isn't my project but the one that turned me onto using india ink

http://www.suiteronline.com/woodworking/annsTable.aspx

If it obscures the grain more than you like a real light sanding (500 wet dry) helps.


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## hObOmOnk (Feb 6, 2007)

The iron+vinegar technique requires that the wood contains a lot of tannin.
Some oak sold as white oak may not be that exact species.

A strong tea solution might work. It is worth testing.

Black shoe dye is quicker and more sure.
Black aniline dye is also available.


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## oldskoolmodder (Apr 28, 2008)

Tony, I've tried this method after Allison posted it last summer(ish) and to be honest, I still am not convinced. The best I get is a dirty grey after months of it sitting in the jar on the shelf. It needs something else. Perhaps India Ink or Black Tea is the solution, but I've not tried it. Honestly as a tea drinker and someone who usually has 12-15 types of teas on hand, I'm not opposed to trying this way as a cheap alternative.


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## DanYo (Jun 30, 2007)

Tony
I have a real stout jar of the red vinegar and steel concoction that I use to ebonize white oak. It is so old that the steel wool is almost dissolved and I've added more vinegar to increase the volume. What I have found is the vinegar method works up to a point ( I always use it), but follow the vinegar method with a dark alcohol dye stain and then oil stain. My projects are always small in scale, and I'm not a perfectionist, so I'm happy with the result.


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## RWR (Jul 16, 2008)

Just get you a bottle of Transtint black dye…works in alcohol or water.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

I don't have any suggestions, but wanted to say hello. Hope all is well.


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## interpim (Dec 6, 2008)

I used Speedball ink on a project I did… it was a small table, 24" tall, 16" square on top. I used maybe 1/2 or 1/3 of the small bottle of India ink on that project, and I put two coats down. I was surprised at how much coverage I got out of the ink.


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## adeptr (Mar 21, 2009)

You may already know this or have tried it but I just recently made a hallway bench out of poplar for my daughter who wanted it painted black. I thought that would be silly to completly cover up the natural grain of the wood. I bought an Ebony stain at one of the big box stores made by Minwax and the project turned out awesome. The daughter was thrilled with the finish. Just another approach idea.

Dave
http://www.oldaveswoodshop.com


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## willmego (Mar 27, 2008)

Start with VERY rusty metal…so get some rusty junk and stick it in with steel wool (and you've already pulled apart and "washed" the wool with water, to attempt to get at least a little of the oils it's coated with off), some people use cider vinegar instead of white, I've never used the white, so I couldn't tell you if it makes a difference. I've gotten some pretty dark woods this way, been very impressed with the result..if I run across my old test piece, I'll post a pic of it, but I don't know if it's lying around here someplace or not.

That said, as a previous poster said, this is based upon a reaction with the tannin in the wood. White oak isn't going to have a much as say a nice red oak, at least based upon the stuff I've played with. An aniline dye might end up getting the result you want, a very dark color while retaining the visible grain.


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## dadefreese (May 23, 2007)

I just came across this challenge myself two weeks ago.

I wanted to ebonize oak too and I tried a half dozen techniques, but not the vinegar and steel wool method. I needed something pretty quick so it was either stain or other fast application. I tried each on pine, poplar, maple and oak and pretty much each result is consistent across species. I will say that shoe wax did best on the softer woods and much worse on the maple and the oak.

Anyway, I used:

Zar ebony stain - that looked too watery grey when I finished a few coats.

Kiwi shoe polish - don't laugh, it is just black wax and looks pretty decent on some woods. I'm going to try it on a pine project and I think it will turn out well.

Cheap India/Japan ink - Those were a bit too thin

Rit black dye - that can work on some wood materials, but it did nothing on the oak.

Speedball permanent ink - this produced a superior and intense color and it soaked in quickly and evenly. Additionally, it dried very quickly so any touchup took only a few moments to accomplish. If I have to ebonize something again, I would start off with this specific Speedball ink and maybe try something else if it didn't do what I wanted.

Here's a not-so-good image of the Speedball ebonized oak. I don't know if you can get a sense of the oak grain and I don't have the project any longer so take what you can from it:

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/15254

If I have the time, I'll try to find my samples and post a comparative picture or two to show the results of my informal test.

Cheers


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## Planeman (Aug 9, 2008)

Minwax offers a black stain. How would that do?

http://www.minwax.com/products/one_step_stain_and_finishes/polyshades.html#Colors

Rufus


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Ever tried a concoction of old 78 rpm records broken up and dissolved in denatured alcohol?


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## Tikka (May 14, 2007)

I think I have found the answer to my question, why did the solution suddenly start to turn the brown instead of Black. I think the answer is oxidization of the solution caused by agitation (me shaking the bottle).

I have decanted the original solution and saved it, as it produces a beautiful dark, rich brown color. I have cleaned all the jars and started another batch, this time I will not shake it, just leave it standing for 3 or 4 days and test it. Thanks to Allison's blog on the subject, which pointed me in another direction.

I will post the results of my findings.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lots of positive alternate suggestions for use of commercially available stains and dyes which are available in the US and Canada. Unfortunately I am not in the US or Canada, therefore they are not available to me. Equivalent stains and dies are also not readily available to me here in Finland (problems with shipping chemicals by air &/or sea in Europe).

Sorry, no 78, 33 1/3 or 45 s  here and I can only ever dream of getting denatured alcohol here in Finland. India ink is a no go, as is leather dye.

There are 56 times more people living in the USA (307 million) than there in the whole of this country (5.5 million), so I hope you can imagine how the specialist products readily available to you guys is not a viable proposition here with such a low population, but thanks for your suggestions anyway, both humorous and serious.

Wayne - happy to see that you still read the posts - hope all is well.


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## DanYo (Jun 30, 2007)

Tony
You should start a woodworking store in Finland and stock everything mentioned in this blog and then some.
DAN


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## jeffthewoodwacker (Dec 26, 2007)

I would bleach it first with Kleen Strip Wood Bleach and then use an aniline dye followed by Deft spray lacquer.
I have used shoe polish and it works well on some woods.


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## GaryC (Dec 31, 2008)

I use a combination of black artist paint and india ink. Black as it can be. Last time I used it on oak…let it dry for 3 days, then used micro-sheen. Came out really sharp.


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## kimball (May 16, 2009)

I promised my Grand Daughter that I would build her a spice rack out of wood. She was happy but wanted it painted black to match EVERYTHING in her apartment. That disturbed me until I thought about ebonizing quarter sawn white oak. I tried everything from fuming to black shoe dye. India ink works the best. It shows off the nice grain and was still black.


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## JeffreyFrance (Jun 22, 2009)

Aniline is toxic by inhalation of the vapour, absorption through the skin or swallowing. It causes headache, drowsiness, cyanosis, and mental confusion, and, in severe cases, can cause convulsions. Prolonged exposure to the vapour or slight skin exposure over a period of time affects the nervous system and the blood, causing tiredness, loss of appetite, headache, and dizziness.

Sorry to spoil the party.


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## hObOmOnk (Feb 6, 2007)

Pure aniline and so-called "aniline dyes" are two very different things.


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## rowdy (Dec 22, 2008)

I just finished a furniture project that my wife wanted and she asked that it be black when completed. I gave it three coats of black satin latex paint diluted about 50:50 with water. Sanded lightly between coats. Followed that up with three coats of a wipe on poly mix. The bench was constructed from birch plywood and was intended to be functional for everyday use rather than a showcase piece of furniture. Nevertheless it looks pretty good and it is really black. Furthermore I can see the grain clearly. You might consider this as an option on a test piece. Rowdy


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## Tikka (May 14, 2007)

Thanks Rowdy, Birch does not work well with the vinegar and Steel wool treatment, as there is a very low amount of tanning in the wood compared to Oak.

My associate and I have done some further work on this subject and have found a mix that works well, producing a dark grey, matt finish. We then apply several coats of Osmo Polyx Oil- (Black) The Black oil alone does not have the intensity of color, but the combination of the Vinegar/steel wool treatment before the application of the Polyx Oil, produces a deep rich black color, which still shows the grain texture beautifully.

After the application of several coats of oil (sanded with P320 between applications) and left to dry and harden (about 2 weeks), a final sanding and rubbing out to P1000, can produce a really deep shine, with a good depth to the reflection. we have not yet tried any polishing compounds yet


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Surely you could get India Ink… it would work really good…

Woodsmith magazine #158

Has an article on Ebonizing Red Oak… using India Ink… Simple & GOOD way to go.


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## rowdy (Dec 22, 2008)

Tony, I just looked at your home page and saw that your are located in Finland. I visited Helsinki and thereabouts a few years ago and can see why you settled in that country. I would love to go back and spend more time there. I was glad that so many people spoke English because some of the native speakers told me that Finnish is almost impossible to learn! I purchased some really neat and well made small wooden gifts to bring home after concluding that there are some really fine woodworkers in Finland. Rowdy


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Hey Tony. It sounds like you have the same problem getting stuff in Finland as here in Norway. I would like to buy shellac flakes, but these have to be dissolved in denatured alcohol which is also a no no here because someone would try to drink it. The wrong kind of consumer protection in my estimation.


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## Tikka (May 14, 2007)

*Joe*. The size of the projects I am talking about are such things as Dining Tables, Sideboards - cupboards etcetera, not small boxes - so buying gallons of India ink is not a solution, apart from the cost - we can make a gallon of Vinegar/steel wool solution in 2 days for about $10.

*Stefang *- have you tried contacting Fiddes UK- they sell denatured alcohol and will ship it, but the shipping costs are high, because it is explosive/flamable. When I was in Norway, everybody seemed to be making and drinking there own "moonshine" - so why drink denatured alcohol? It is not consumer protection - it is consumer control - it seems to be the same for most of the Baltic countries - they cause more problems buy prohibiting alcohol than by easing restrictions.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

OH… I see… I didn't think you were doing a whole house!


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