That black finish on "modern" furniture?

[Lawrence Brown]

You know that black finish on what I call "modern"-style furniture that's on everything from Ikea book shelves on up to fine furniture? Anyone know what that is and how I can get it? It's that black where it almost looks painted, but if you look at it in the right light you can still see the grain, in which case it looks more like a stain. Customer is decorating in black and chrome so I need to figure it out.

My first guess would be sprayed lacquer. My second guess would be sprayed dye. I say sprayed because these are factory pieces and I can't see them taking the time to hand finishing on a production line.

If it indeed is sprayed, my next question is would I be able to find something similar in a spray can, or even better as a wipe-on finish? I'm just doing one book case, so I can't really justify getting a fancy hvlp system, and even if I did, I don't really have the room (or the weather!) to use it, but I could get by with spray cans, as odd and horrendous as that sounds.

The other thought I had was transtint dyes, but I think it would have to be very thick or sprayed with many coats to get the right effect, which I think would tend to be pretty expensive unless I'm missing something.

Thoughts?

[Bombarde16]

Is this sort of the effect you're after?

It starts with an open-pored wood. You're not actually seeing the grain when everything is pitch black; what you perceive is the shadows created by deep, open pores. The border of this serving tray is flat-sawn Ash, leaving wide-open pores on the surface. Then about four coats of India ink. This is water-based, so you'll need to gently sand things down in between. Try to find it in bulk on the internet, as it will bankrupt you if you're buying the little calligrapher's bottles at the art supply store.

Finally, top-coat as needed. India ink doesn't have much grab, so edges and corners will wear through and expose raw wood if you aren't careful. I knew this tray was going to get used, so I hit it with an automotive clear coat. (I frankly don't like the way it looks up close; but I was pressed for time and had the can left over.) But pick your favorite clear coat and go with that.

Good hunting

[PaulMarcel]

+1 to the India ink. I used it on a couple projects and loved the black. I ran out and used Transtint black and while it looks black, in certain light you can clearly see it is just really really dark violet.

Good idea about the bulk, Rob... I'll have to look for it that way cuz those little bottles don't go far.

Looks like Rob got a lot of bananas for Christmas! Score!

The thing about India ink is I'm not sure if you can add it to a topcoat like you could Transtint. Sure, it is water-based so I could add it to Polyacrylic, but that's 10% max added and I don't know if that will blacken as much. I've wanted to try India ink on the wood and Transtint black in the finish as I like the translucent black look in a finish.

[Lawrence Brown]

Exactly what I was thinking of. Thanks guys:) I would never have thought of the india ink, but yeah, that's a lot cheaper than transtint, and yeah, I notice that color sheen, too.

Ash is also what I intended on using, so that should work perfect.

[Vic]

Is this sort of the effect you're after?

It starts with an open-pored wood. You're not actually seeing the grain when everything is pitch black; what you perceive is the shadows created by deep, open pores. The border of this serving tray is flat-sawn Ash, leaving wide-open pores on the surface. Then about four coats of India ink. This is water-based, so you'll need to gently sand things down in between. Try to find it in bulk on the internet, as it will bankrupt you if you're buying the little calligrapher's bottles at the art supply store.

Finally, top-coat as needed. India ink doesn't have much grab, so edges and corners will wear through and expose raw wood if you aren't careful. I knew this tray was going to get used, so I hit it with an automotive clear coat. (I frankly don't like the way it looks up close; but I was pressed for time and had the can left over.) But pick your favorite clear coat and go with that.

Good hunting

For some reason, I want a banana!?! Weird...good info Rob.

[Bombarde16]

Looks like Rob got a lot of bananas for Christmas! Score!

Actually, I don't eat bananas much.

We moved to a new house last week. My brother-in-law works at a grocery store and snagged us empty produce boxes by the pallet load: Banana boxes were our favorite because they are thick, strong cardboard and can be packed solid with books and not collapse under the weight.

[Vic]

Actually, I don't eat bananas much.

We moved to a new house last week. My brother-in-law works at a grocery store and snagged us empty produce boxes by the pallet load: Banana boxes were our favorite because they are thick, strong cardboard and can be packed solid with books and not collapse under the weight.

You should eat more bananas, Rob AND give us a close up of that rose. It looks like you did a great job on it.

[HoboMonk]

FWIW: You can buy India Ink in large bottles from www.amazon.com

I've been ebonizing wood the old fashioned way, using iron and vinegar, for decades.

Here's a link to a good article on the subject from Brian Boggs.

My link

[PeteJr]

I had excellent results from Minwax Ebony polyshades finish, lots of fine steel wool sanding between coats and a final coat with Minwax satin spray polyurethane.

[jHop]

FWIW: You can buy India Ink in large bottles from www.amazon.com

I've been ebonizing wood the old fashioned way, using iron and vinegar, for decades.

Here's a link to a good article on the subject from Brian Boggs.

My link

I believe Wood magazine ran an article about making your own stain using steel wool and vinegar. Every time I get both ingredients together, I can't find the article. When I have the article, I can't find the ingredients. I was thinking of using it on a chess board project, using one type of wood for the whole top, but cutting it into consecutive squares and dying the checkerboard / chess board pattern manually. Thanks for this link, as I know where the computer is 95 % of the time...

[Bombarde16]

I believe Wood magazine ran an article about making your own stain using steel wool and vinegar.

Vinegar is merely a dilute acid that's readily available at home and steel wool has more surface area than, say, rusty nails. The black color is the result of iron ions in solution. (Same thing that happens with iron fasteners in an outdoor deck.) So why not skip straight to some hard core chemistry: Go for a solution of ferrous sulphate filled with wood-blackening iron ions and you're set.

Good thread over at another forum where someone goes through the chemistry for us.