So I had this brainstorm about trying ebonizing instead of painting the bodies of some blacks. I figured since I used sawdust in my restle coating that the ferrous solution should be able to grab enough of the wood and react with the tannic acid to give me the desired results.
I filled a qt jar with white vinegar and cut up the metal staff of some rusty pin flags and dropped them in. Ya gotta leave the lid loose so the off gases can escape. Every day I would tighten the lid, give it a good shake, loosen the lid and set it back on the counter. After a couple of weeks I felt the solution had enough iron in it to give it a go so I hastily restle coated a body last night. This morning I brushed on the solution.
This is what it looks like before applying the solution....
And this is what it looks like 20 minutes after brushing it on....
I took off a mallard hen head I had previously painted and stuck it on just for a better reference....
I would have to say this idea was a success. The ones I do for real will be prepared a lot better than this one was so I expect even better results.
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