I like a paint used by artists on ceramic plates. It has very good
properties for brushing, but should be slightly thinned to minimize
brush strokes showing up. Once the paint is on you bake the plane in an
oven just like a ceramic plate. Came out very nice indeed and while the
oven might have altered the metal slightly in its metallurgical
properties, I could not find any noticeable difference. Bought the
stuff in an artists supply store.

Tom Dacon wrote:
I just did a search in rec.woodworking on Google groups for information on
re-doing the japanning on Stanley planes, and found a number of links that
claim to lead to information about the process. The messages I read date
from around 1996 to 2002. Every link I found, without exception, is broken.

Does anyone around here know about any currently-live links to information
about the process and the materials to use to refurbish or replace the
japanning on a Stanley plane?

Thanks,
Tom Dacon