repairing an "ebonized finish"

[Frank Weston]

John,

At the turn of the century, ebonized finishes were done with milk based
paint, shellac and stain.  The first coat in the ebonizing process was a
black milk based paint.   This paint is surprisingly durable, and has no
tendency to chip or crack, although it is dull and soft.  Many of the
woodworking catalogs carry it for use on reproduction furniture.

After the milk paint, mix alcohol based stain with shellac and brush or rub
on about three thin coats.  Sand lightly, then rub or brush on more coats of
stain/shellac until the surface is as smooth as other parts you are
attempting to match.  You may sand lightly between coats if the surface gets
rough.  Finish by rubbing on un-stained shellac.   You will find that rubbed
on shellac is a pretty good grain and gap filler.

This process can take a lot of time because there are a lot of coats and a
lot of drying is required, but if you want a perfect match, there is
probably no other way, although you could probably come pretty close by
experimenting with different ways of treating the final coats of lacquer.

Frank Weston
-----Original Message-----
From: John Gunderson <jgunderson@monmouth.com>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Saturday, July 10, 1999 10:38 PM
Subject: repairing an "ebonized finish"


>I have an Ibach grand from turn of the century.  The cabinet is an
>"ebonized" finish and is in good condition.  The only problem is that
>the slots on either end of the music desk (where it rides in & out on
>the glides) had been damaged.  Some one had the damage repaired.  It
>looks like it may have been done professionally at a millwork somewhere,
>the two damaged sections cut out and a veneer of maple was spliced in on
>each side.  The repair is structurally sound,  the desk fits properly on
>the glides and moves in & out and the top surfaces where the pieces were
>spliced in have been leveled and finely sanded.  The problem is that the
>repairs are unfinished.  I would like to try to blend the repair in with
>the rest of the cabinet.  I need some advice on how to do that.  I don't
>want to just paint the music desk.  Black lacquer just doesn't match an
>ebonized finish.  Does anybody have any experience with "ebonizing".
>
>Thanks,  John Gunderson, Neptune City, NJ
>