On 9/1/2014 5:07 AM, paul womack wrote:
>
> I will admit to my ignorance of what the black is, but IME the black 
> built up I've encountered on planes
> here in the UK softens and comes off fairly easily using metholated 
> spirits.
>
>  BugBear

I tried this today on some black grunge on the bunch of moulders I 
picked up at the LV sale earlier this year. Wiping with meths, a rag and 
not too much elbow grease yielded very satisfactory results! It removes 
the grunge, but not all of the black. No steel wool involved. Any tallow 
that got absorbed into the wood seems to stay there. There is still 
evidence of 'prior hands' on the planes when this step is done.

I followed this with a coat of TATHS wood plane cleaner / reviver 
provided by Richard Arnold -
2 parts turpentine, 2 parts raw linseed oil, 1 part white wine vinegar & 
a small amount of meths. Looks good to me!

FWIW
Don