# Paint a hand plane?



## ftk

I picked up a Stanley #7 the other day for pretty cheap, however it was in pretty rusty condition. I wanted to give electrolysis a try, so I snagged an old laptop power brick from work and managed to get a decent setup going, with two pieces of rebar as anodes -- works great. 

Unfortunately it appears that either the rust or the electrolysis made the paint come off. I had it in the tub for about an hour and most rust was gone, but when I washed the plane the paint was starting to come off. After another hour even more paint. At this point I will leave the plane in there over night, hopefully most of the rest of the paint will come loose.

Now my real question is, what do you guys suggest for repainting the plane? Some kind of automotive enamel perhaps? What have you guys used in the past? I was thinking a few coats of primer and then a few more coats of automotive paint, maybe a clear coat.

Thanks!


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## jigs-n-fixtures

Krylon, and then bake it in a low oven overnight.

Sent from my iPhone using Wood Forum


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## tc65

If you want to read a little more on japanning, here's a link with some more info. This guy uses black semi-gloss engine paint.
http://home.comcast.net/~rexmill/planes101/japanning/japanning.htm


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## PaliBob

ftk said:


> .....however it was in pretty rusty condition.......


 If those pics are current your plane is still pretty rusty.:thumbdown:
First thing is to get the rust off. Paint is never going to stick to rust.
In the past one rust removing method has been to use Muriatic acid.
For cast iron however this is a very bad choice because while the Muriatic
acid will dissolve the surface rust oxide it will not stop the rusting process 
due to the very porous nature of cast iron. 
The most practical solution that I see is to give your plane a scrubbing then 
an overnight soak in Phosphoric Acid Cleaner

As far as paint is concerned the very best solution is Powder coating
but unless you have an automotive fanatic friend who has a Power coating rig
or pay a Paint Shop, you are stuck with the paint solutions previously posted.

Post a pic when you are done and tell us how it came out.


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## ftk

That picture was after two hours of electrolysis. After marinating over night the last bits of rust are gone. Appreciate the suggestions so far!


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## woodbutcher360

If you are not restoring it to original finish, then just primer and paint it with any good metal paint.
I've been thinking about doing just that and using a color code for different functions. (I'm not partial to original finish on the older planes which all of mine are except for the new block plane)


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## woodbutcher360

ftk said:


> I picked up a Stanley #7 the other day for pretty cheap, however it was in pretty rusty condition. I wanted to give electrolysis a try, so I snagged an old laptop power brick from work and managed to get a decent setup going, with two pieces of rebar as anodes -- works great.
> 
> Unfortunately it appears that either the rust or the electrolysis made the paint come off. I had it in the tub for about an hour and most rust was gone, but when I washed the plane the paint was starting to come off. After another hour even more paint. At this point I will leave the plane in there over night, hopefully most of the rest of the paint will come loose.
> 
> Now my real question is, what do you guys suggest for repainting the plane? Some kind of automotive enamel perhaps? What have you guys used in the past? I was thinking a few coats of primer and then a few more coats of automotive paint, maybe a clear coat.
> 
> Thanks!


I would be MOST interested in your electrolysis set up. Perhaps you could post here or send me a pm. Thank you in advance.


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## ftk

*Electrolysis setup*

This is the setup I use. Basic ingredients:
-DC power supply (e.g. power bricks (laptop, printer), desktop computer power supply (12V leads), battery charger (not trickle))
-Couple of feet or wire
-Wire nuts, electrical tape, solder
-2 alligator clips
-Plastic tub or bucket
-Water
-Washing soda (baking soda should work too)
-Iron or steel anodes (rebar, engine parts, old wrenches, etc)

I am using an ancient (well in computer terms -- 15 years is ancient) Dell laptop power supply that outputs 20V DC, 3.5A. Most sites on the internet advise to use 2A but the 3.5 work just fine for me, maybe even a little faster. I think the 2A is due to most people using battery chargers. Anyway, start by cutting off the plug on the DC side, strip the wires and get out the multi meter to find your positive and negative leads. Nice thing about laptop power supplies is that when you short the circuit, it just turns off -- built-in safety :thumbsup:. Attach a couple of feet of wire to each lead, then the alligator clips.

Also attach a wire to your anode(s). It's most efficient to have multiple anodes around the piece you're cleaning, and some people wire up pretty wild contraptions or use some steel sheets to bend in a circle and line the outside of your container. But I have found that two works just fine. You can use just one, but then you get a lot more removal on one side, and probably have to turn your piece. The reason you're attaching a wire is that the anodes are sacrificial -- they are being eaten up by this process, and you probably don't want to keep buying alligator clips because they are dissolved . Your anodes should be steel or iron. Stay away from chrome and stainless, because the sludge that is produced during electrolysis is toxic if you dissolve them. Scrap rebar is what I use, but you can get creative...engine parts, brake rotors, cookware, old tools, bolts...good way to use up junk. I wire the anodes together and leave the connection point exposed -- this where I attach the positive lead's alligator clip.

Wash all the oil and dirt off whatever you're cleaning.

Now that we have our power supply ready (LEAVE IT UNPLUGGED!!!!), we fill a plastic container (important! you don't want a container that conducts electricity!) with water, enough to cover whatever we're cleaning. Add your washing soda (baking soda should work too, some people say to bake it beforehand at 150 for an hour), about a teaspoon per gallon of water -- I always just eyeball this, no need to be exact. Attach the NEGATIVE lead to the PIECE TO BE CLEANED (important -- if you attach the positive you'll dissolve the piece) and submerge it in the center of the tub. Place your anodes around the sides of the piece, but don't let them touch. I have noticed that leaving less than an inch of space between anode and work piece I short out my circuit, so leave some distance between them. Attach the POSITIVE lead to the exposed wire connection of the ANODES.

Now plug in your power supply. If nothing shorts out you should see tiny bubbles forming on the work piece in a minute or so. After a few minutes you'll have orange foam floating around, after 15 mins a good foam cover. The bubbles are hydrogen, so you should probably ensure decent ventilation just in case, though the amounts are pretty small. I just point a fan over the tub. Better safe than sorry I guess.

Check progress after an hour or so. UNPLUG THE POWER before sticking your hand in the water! You're not pushing a lot of juice through the tub but why take chances. Lift out the work piece and give it a scrub with a dish sponge or scotchbright pad or similar under running water to get all the black gunk (ionized oxidation) off your piece. If there's still rust hook it back up to the negative lead and let it sit longer.

The solution can be used again and again, but should also be safe to just dump out after you're done.

Couple of pictures:

My power supply:










Tub with a handful of washing soda










Piece submerged. Note the anodes in the top right and bottom left corners.










After about an hour of juice. 










Oh and one more thing -- this will take off paint (didn't know that, hence this thread). If you want to keep the paint on I recommend evapo-rust which works awesome and won't shock you, but costs more than repurposing electro-junk...


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## tc65

Thanks for taking the time to put that together and post. I use electrolysis as well and use almost the exact same setup except my computer power supply isn't dell. I tend to use baking soda only because I keep forgetting to look for washing soda when I'm at the store. Baking soda works just fine, but not quite as fast as washing soda.

You can also use any of the random wall warts that everyone has sitting around. Most of them are 12VDC or less and usually put out less than 500mA. They will work, they will just take a lot longer. That is what I used before I got the laptop power supply. Instead of overnight, they may take a full day or two.


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## Phaedrus

In response to the OP, I have been cleaning up and refurbishing a hand plane. Luckily, mine didn't have nearly the kind rust that your's did! My paint was in sad shape, so I repaited it. After doing an initial cleaning with a bristled brush, I removed any surface rust and remaining paint from the painted area with a brass wire wheel. This was really pretty effective. I then wiped everything down and put on two coats of "Hammered Finish" rustoleum black. I baked the piece outside for several hours in the 90+ degree temps and <20% RH. So far, the finish feels smooth and durable. I'll post my plane resotore when it is a little further along and stop hijacking your thread.


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## Cincinnati

After electrolysis, and a thorough rinse (or after whatever other methods you have to go through to remove the rust), I'd put the plane in a low temp oven and bake for several hours to remove the moisture from the pores. You can then pack it in rice (uncooked) that has been baked to remove moisture (if you have a vacuum packer, remove the air from the bag as well) until you are ready to coat it.

As far as painting, I'd have it powder coated. If you don't have a system yourself and have an occassional need for powder coating small parts, you can purchase one fairly economically from Eastwood. 

http://www.eastwood.com/hotcoat-powder-coating/powder-coat-guns.html

You do need access to an oven to bake the PC. Otherwise, I'd go with an epoxy after I took the extreme measures I noted above to remove rust.

After flattening the bottom on a sheet of glass with emory cloth, I'd coat it with several coats of paste wax


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## timetestedtools

*Paint a Hand plane.*

I use Dupli-Color Engine Enamel DUPDE1635 Ford Semi Gloss Black spray paint 

http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com/bench-plane-restore-the-dw-way/


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## ftk

Finally got around to painting the plane two weeks ago, and the paint has cured nicely. After the electrolysis I wirebrushed the whole body, then taped off the sole and other areas I did not want to paint. I used Rustoleum Automotive Primer and Rustoleum Semi Gloss Protective Enamel. I did 4 coats of the primer about 10-15 minutes apart and then another 5 coats (with the last one being rather thick) of the enamel, about 7-10 minutes apart. After a few days of drying the finish is nice and thick and adheres really well. It feels a bit more "rubbery" than the original japaning but it looks nice and is sturdy.

Here is an after picture -- already dusty from sitting on the bench! Now if I could only remember where I put the adjustment knob...


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## FrankC

There is a book on Project Gutenberg, it is dated information but still interesting reading:
"A Handbook on Japanning"
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15622/15622-h/15622-h.htm


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## kingletx1

ftk said:


> I picked up a Stanley #7 the other day for pretty cheap, however it was in pretty rusty condition. I wanted to give electrolysis a try, so I snagged an old laptop power brick from work and managed to get a decent setup going, with two pieces of rebar as anodes -- works great.
> 
> Unfortunately it appears that either the rust or the electrolysis made the paint come off. I had it in the tub for about an hour and most rust was gone, but when I washed the plane the paint was starting to come off. After another hour even more paint. At this point I will leave the plane in there over night, hopefully most of the rest of the paint will come loose.
> 
> Now my real question is, what do you guys suggest for repainting the plane? Some kind of automotive enamel perhaps? What have you guys used in the past? I was thinking a few coats of primer and then a few more coats of automotive paint, maybe a clear coat.
> 
> Thanks!


For the black finish, first it’s not paint it’s Japanning which is derived from asphalt waxed with thinner and some other ingredients depending on your recipe , create the mixture then apply it then back in over 400 degrees for as long as it takes , but automotive paint will do it’s just not what Stanley did


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