Plane Tune-up 8
Almost there! This will be the last step prior to assembling the plane.
The japanning on this plane is chipped and missing in places, which is quite common on these old tools. You could strip/sandblast it off and start over, but I think that’s too much work and ruins the patina.
My goal is to get the tool working and fight off future rust. Shellac works great for this. I use Zinsser Bulls-Eye Shellac and just brush it on the japanned surfaces.
I use an artist’s brush; the one shown is on the small side but it’s what I had handy. After the shellac is dry, I clean up any areas where I don’t want shellac, like the frog interface, with denatured alcohol.
Here’s the completed plane body.
Note that I also brush shellac on the japanned areas of the frog.
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