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Welcome to our uniforms and gear page.  These resources explain our gear and list articles and resources to improve your impression.  Texts in italics are straight from army regulations.

An Actual Japanning How-To? YES!

3/8/2019

8 Comments

 
​Recipe from Hand Tool Rescue
50% Turpentine
30% Asphaltum
20% Boiled Linseed Oil
My translated recipe to make 8 ounces
4 ounces Turpentine
2.4 ounces Asphaltum
1.6 ounces Boiled Linseed Oil
 
     As usual, I was shocked at how impossible it was to find an actual reproducible recipe.  Sure, 19th century manuals and reference books have various recipes but those recipes include archaic measuring systems and toxic additives.
     It wasn’t until one my favorite YouTube channels, Hand Tool Rescue, finally showed a working recipe that we had something usable.  I’d been researching this process for some time and am happy to report that this is a great recipe and is an easy to produce an incredibly durable period finish.
     So, what is japanning?  It’s a very old baked paint finish.  Think of it like an old-school powder coating finish.  It was so popular and durable that early Ford cars used the finish.  If you’ve ever picked up an antique painted tool that has survived the test of time, odds are it’s because the paint is japanning. 
     Japanning’s durability comes from the asphaltum which is dried, powdered tar.  You can buy it from a few art supply stores or Ebay. It is very dry, very fine, and easily makes a mess, so you’ll probably want to use gloves and a mask when mixing it.  The asphaltum dissolves in the turpentine over the course of about 24 hours. The baking process speeds up the curing and hardening process.
     Adding asphaltum to paint formulas was common throughout the 19th and early 20th century.  Japanning involves a baking process, though cold formulas also existed and were commonly used and recommended for exterior finishes and coating metal.  A modern cold recipe simply involves mixing a 50-50 ratio of asphaltum to a good spar varnish and allowing it to dissolve and mix thoroughly. Whatever the formula, the major protectant was asphaltum.
     Making the japanning mix is fairly simple, though you do want to try and be as precise as possible.  It can be tricky translating percentages into measurable amounts. This mix goes a long way so I didn’t want to make a ton of it.  This 8 ounce recipe should last you quite a while if all you do are small projects like buckles, tin cans, or an occasional hand plane.
     I used my postage scale to weigh the ingredients before adding them to a metal, pint-sized paint can I purchased from Home Depot.  Using mason jars are also common. I recommend using a plastic spoon to measure out the asphaltum carefully. Once all the ingredients are in the can, stir thoroughly, replace the lid, and allow to dissolve for at least 24 hours.  After the waiting period, stir very thoroughly again prior to application. I recommend using some form of degreaser like alcohol prior to application.
     This “paint” is odd.  It’s like paint but has a syrupy consistency.  Light coats and close observation are important on your first go.  Also, if this is your first time and you need to japan something important, practice on another item first.
     Once painted, it’s time to bake your pieces.  I chose to use a $20 Walmart toaster oven that is dedicated to shop-use only.  I don’t recommend doing this in your house or baking it in anything you cook your food in.  I did this in my shop and it smelled mostly like turpentine with the faintest hint of tar. 
​     There are some varying thoughts on bake times, but I baked for 1 hour at 250 degrees Fahrenheit, let it cool completely, then baked for another hour at 275-300F.  It’s ballpark in my case because a $20 Walmart toaster oven doesn’t have a precise temperature control. The important thing is to not bake it too hot. When round two is complete, take it out and let cool and finish curing.  This varies depending on climate and temperature. It’ll be dry to the touch pretty quickly thanks to the baking. However, for it to get it’s true rock-hard finish can take a bit of time. The finish is beautiful, glossy, glass smooth, and very black.    
     I want to close with a musing on curing times.  In case you don’t know, there is a pretty big difference sometimes between an item being dry and being cured.  Dry means it can be handled more or less but curing marks the completion of chemical processes in the products you were using.  Think about it like bread going stale. You can easily move and handle it fresh, but it’s soft and a swipe of hard butter could rip it easily.  If you leave it on the counter for a few days, it’ll get hard as hardtack. The bread going stale is kind of like the curing process.
     I see a lot of people in the hobby bemoan the time it takes for things like linseed oil to cure as if it’s some major life hassle.  I get it, we live in an a culture of instant gratification, but the people we research and portray didn’t. These recipes worked for them even with the “unbearable inconvenience” of curing times.  The recipes were familiar to them, they worked well, and their schedules were built around the realities of the products they used. It didn’t take “forever” to them, it simply took as long as it took.  Modern makers tend to feel they need to rush things. For me, dabbling in 19th century chemistry teaches me about period formulas and what the results are actually like.  They also teach me about the patience and timing of life of the people who once used them.  Remember, living history, is just as much about the process as it is the result.
     I hope you found this article helpful and please feel free to share it.  We just ask you let people know where you found it. Oh, and don’t forget this recipe contains boiled linseed oil so please dispose of your rags safely!

8 Comments
Pat Harkins
8/17/2019 04:04:33 pm

Very Cool! I saw Hand Tool Rescue also,Can.t wait to try! If yo find any tricks or tips Please let me Know.Thanks

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12/3/2019 03:57:46 pm

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Captain Dave Sulin
12/9/2019 10:19:45 pm

Jerad & Ethan this is great information. The samples of period "japanned" (I am not convinced that the word was capitalized all the time during the 19th century) items in my collection run from thin streaky brown coats to the darker smooth and solid color version that your pictures show. The bulk of the items fall somewhere in between. If you can find a tin or galvanized cylindrical map case of modern manufacture, it would be a good candidate for "japanning". You can then letter it with name and/or unit using regular gold hobby paint and one of those thin pointed hobbyest's paint brushes. I have seen several period wartime "japanned" map cases marked in this manner. Beware of antique dealers and eBay vendors offering similar cases marked with either the names of famous individuals or famous units. Joshua Chamberlain would have needed two trunks to hold all of the faked map cases that bear his name and that have been put up for sale over the last thirty years.

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Matthew Schademann
12/12/2020 01:06:18 pm

We're totally missing one key ingredient, and that's the Resin mentioned in so many recipes. This is largely unattainable now, the ancient semi-fossilized Copal from eastern coast of Africa region. This may not matter that much for interior use like Planes and such, but for quasi-exterior hooks or storm window hanging hardware or turn-buttons, withstanding the elements is a hard performance to endure

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Christopher Lee
3/28/2021 01:04:35 am

I've been experimenting with the japanning recipe and have encountered a problem. The item I'm intending to do is far too big to be able to be baked so I have left my sample pieces out in the sun. The parts exposed to direct sunlight go matt black while those out of the sun stay gloss black. Even after waiting days and it seemingly being 'dry' once I put a gloss black item in the sun, within a half day, it is matt black. I was wondering if you would have any idea why this is happening? I used gum turps instead of standard turps. I did try the spar varnish recipe, and, while it remains gloss black, it doesn't have as nice a finish as the three ingredient recipe.
Regards
Chris

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1st Sgt link
3/28/2021 09:28:40 am

Unfortunately, you'll need to create some sort of oven large enough to bake it. This is entirely speculation but what could be happening is since it's not baked the ingredients might be separating a bit. The asphaltum powder is a bit matte out of the can, so if it doesn't get baked it won't melt, combine, and get glossy. The stuff left indoors is possibly cooler and isn't separating as quickly. Not sure. The varnish method is different and would've been typically used as a wood finish like the Japanese lacquer finish where it gets its name and is found in 19th century receipt books. I haven't experimented with that. Hope this helps a little.

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Christopher Lee
3/29/2021 02:59:22 am

Unfortunately it won't be possible to bake it as the parts are far too large and heavy to fit into an oven. The solution, as mixed and left for several days doesn't appear to separate, even when allowed to stand in the jar so I'm not sure that is the issue. Odd though that if it is in the sun, if goes matt - the other side of the same piece of metal, in the shade, stays gloss - I can't figure that out.

michal paderewski
9/30/2021 06:46:22 pm

I used to make telescope mirrors. I used optical pitch, turps, and rosin to make polishing laps. Can pitch be used in place of asphaltum?

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