Chapter I: Part 1

NOW READY.

_Second and Enlarged Edition._

The Steel Square

AND ITS USES.

By FRED. T. HODGSON.

This is the only work on THE STEEL SQUARE AND ITS USES ever published. It is Thorough, Exhaustive, Clear, and Easily Understood. Confounding terms and scientific phrases have been religiously avoided where possible, and everything in the book has been made so plain that a boy twelve years of age, possessing ordinary intelligence, can understand it from end to end.

The New Edition is Illustrated with over Seventy-five Wood-cuts, showing how the Square may be used for solving almost every problem in the whole Art of Carpentry.

The following synopsis of the contents of the work will give some idea of its character and scope.

--History of the “Square.”--Description, with Explanation of the Rules, Figures, Scales, and Divisions shown on good Squares.

--Brace Rules, Octagonal Scale, Board, Plank and Scantling Rules, fully explained and described.

--How to lay out Rafters, Hips, Jack-Rafters, Purlins, Bevel Works, etc., etc.

--Backing for Hips, Lengths and Bevels of Valley Rafters. Laying out Stairs and Strings.

--How to describe Circles, Ellipses, Parabolas and other figures, with the Square.

--How to obtain Bevels for Hoppers and all kinds of Splayed Work and Spring Mouldings, by the Square.

--Bisecting Circles, Proportion of Circles, Division of Widths, Bisection of Angles, Diminishing Stiles, Centering Circles, etc., etc.

--Theoretical Rafters, Cuts for Mitre Boxes, Measurement of Surfaces, including Painting, Plastering, Shingling, Siding, Flooring, Rough Boarding, Tinning and Roofing.

--Rules for describing Octagons and Polygons of every description and how to find their angles and areas.

--Rules for finding the lengths of Rafters and Hips of Irregular Roofs, Cuts for Equal and Unequal Mitres, Trusses and Bevel Timber Work.

--The Development of Hip and Curved Roofs; Veranda Rafters, Straight and Curved; Hopper Cuts of all kinds, Angle Corner-pieces, Splayed Work for Gothic Heads, etc., etc., and many other things useful to the Operative Mechanic.

Handsomely Bound in Cloth with Gilt Title.
Price ONE DOLLAR.

INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION COMPANY.

New York.

HINTS FOR PAINTERS,

DECORATORS,

AND PAPER-HANGERS.

BEING

A SELECTION OF USEFUL RULES, DATA, MEMORANDA, METHODS,
AND SUGGESTIONS FOR HOUSE, SHIP AND FURNITURE PAINTING,
PAPER-HANGING, GILDING, COLOR MIXING, AND OTHER
MATTERS USEFUL AND INSTRUCTIVE TO PAINTERS
AND DECORATORS.

Prepared with Special Reference to the Wants of Amateurs.

BY

AN OLD HAND.

NEW YORK:
THE INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION COMPANY.
1882.

PREFACE.

This little work is intended to furnish the PRACTICAL HOUSE-PAINTER--THE EVERY-DAY WORKMAN--with information sufficient to enable him to understand his business intelligently. One of its objects is to deal with the nature, characteristics, qualities, and defects of the materials employed by the class of artisans for whom it is written; and to a limited extent this has been done with as little theory as possible; high-sounding technicalities have also been avoided wherever the author has been able to make himself understood without them.

It is thought the young painter may derive great profit and advancement from a careful study of this book, as the hints, rules, and recipes it contains are reliable, practical, and of every-day use.

The author has consulted many works on the subject, and is indebted to many of them for much of the matter contained, among which may be mentioned “Building Construction and Materials,” “House-Painter’s Hand-Book,” “Artists’ and Tradesmen’s Companion,” “Painter’s Guide,” “Chevreul’s Oils and Paints,” and several other works of more or less note. To this has been added many things discovered by the actual experience of the writer.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Preface, iii

Preliminary, 7

Preparation of Surfaces, 7

Materials Used, 8

Bases and Vehicles, 10

White Lead, Genuine and Adulterated, 10

Linseed and other Oils, 13

Driers, 14

Coloring Paints, 15

Blacks and Blues, 16

Yellows, 17

Browns, 18

Pinks and Reds, 19

Lakes and Orange, 20

Green, 21

Proportion of Ingredients in Mixed Paints, 22

Table showing the composition of the
different coats of white paint, and the
quantities required to cover 100 yards of
new work, 23

Operations, 24

Preparing the Work, 25

Taste in Color, 30

Graining--General Remarks, 32

Graining in Oak, Mahogany, Rosewood, Walnut,
Maple, Satin-wood, Granites, Marbles, etc., 36

Rules for Mixing Compound Colors, 41

Miscellaneous Receipts, for Painting Iron,
Stucco, Glass; Gilding, Gilding on Glass,
Gilding Fretwork, Painting on Gilded Panels,
Gilding on Wood, Gilding Letters, Gilder’s
Size, Staining Wood, Staining Floors,
Varnishing, Painting Brick-work and Masonry,
French Polish, Wood-filling, Rules for
Painters to Observe, 43

Paper-hanging, 54

Operations, 56

Cleaning Paper-hangings, 57

Varnishing Paper, 57

The Making of Paste, 58

Useful Hints and Table for Estimating Cost
of Work and Materials, 59

HINTS FOR PAINTERS AND PAPER-HANGERS.

There is a general belief abroad that anybody can execute all that is required of a house-painter. This is a very popular error; it is not so easy to prepare and apply a coat of paint in a thorough workmanlike manner as some may imagine. It is still less easy to paint in parti colors; and very few can produce a good piece of graining.

The painter should not only be acquainted with the method of applying paint when it is provided for him, and the brush placed in his hand, but he should know the composition of the colors; the manner in which they are made, and the colors which must harmonize with each other when they are associated together. These observations being of a practical nature and the result of experience, are commended for his perusal and study.

=Preparation.=--All surfaces painted should be first thoroughly dry and free from dust. All heads of nails should be punched or “set” below the surface of the wood, and after the priming is dry, the holes formed by the heads, as well as all cracks, defects, etc., should be filled up with putty made of raw linseed oil and whiting. To prevent knots or “fat” spots from showing through, they should receive two coats of shellac varnish, and when dry rubbed down with sand-paper. The shellac should be applied with a small brush. It dries soon and may be painted over as soon as dry. Shellac prepared this way is called “knotting,” and can be purchased wherever painters’ materials are kept for sale.

=Materials.=--The principal materials used for painting, _i.e._, white lead and oxide of zinc, are so well known that it is unnecessary to allude particularly to their manufacture at present. Before using them they should be mixed with pure raw linseed oil. Turpentine may be used in cold weather to make the paint work easy, as the oil is apt to chill, which thickens it and makes it difficult to apply. In warm weather, however, turpentine should not be used in priming any parts where the sun shines upon. In cold weather it is always necessary to use litharge or some other drier; or the work will remain a long time before it hardens; in summer, however, driers in most cases are unnecessary, for if the wood to be painted is as well seasoned as it ought to be there is little danger of the paint being washed off by rain, as it will mostly be absorbed in the surface.

To make satisfactory work it is imperative that all cans, pots and brushes used in painting be perfectly clean at the start, and kept so whenever the conditions will permit. A marble slab and muller will be required to grind the finer colors used. Sometimes a small cast-iron mill will be found useful not only to grind colors; but to pass the tinted color through, so that it may be thoroughly mixed. It is scarcely necessary to say that it is presumed the workman will know what brushes he will require according to the work he has in hand. His large ground paint brush, called a “pound-brush;” his half-size, for smaller work; his fitch and sash tools, duster, pallet, putty and hasp knives; oval and flat varnish brushes, varnish-pot, step-ladders and long ladders, mahl-stick, pallet-board, gilding-knife, camel and sable hair-pencils, whitewash brushes, jack for window work, cushion, tip-pole, etc., etc.

Large brushes, such as 6-0 size, should be bridled when new by winding good twine around them about one-third up the length of the bristles, and as the brush wears, this binding can be unwound. Care should be taken to use the brushes so that they will have a flat wedge-shaped point, straight on the edge. This can be done by holding the brush always in one position. If brushes are turned round and round in the hand while in use, they wear round and stubby on the point and soon become useless for fine or smooth work.

Brushes that are in use every day should be placed in water half the depth of the bristles at night, taking care that brushes containing different colors do not come in contact with one another. If they are to be laid aside for any length of time, however, they should be washed with warm water and soap after being thoroughly cleansed with turpentine, and laid away in a moist place.

As a general thing it is better to buy putty already made at a regular paint store, where you may depend upon its being made of good whiting and linseed oil than to make it. Putty should not be used until the work has been primed, for new paint holds the putty very firmly.

White lead is to be judged of by being well ground and possessing the mellowness given to it by age.

It is well known amongst painters that the best article is the most economical, as it works out with more ease, and repays the difference of cost in its better appearance and extra durability. Linseed oil is also better for having due age, for the same reasons as the white lead, working with softness and advantage after parting with the water, which is generally combined with new oil.

In most cases _driers_ are added to paints to cause them to dry more quickly, and a _solvent_ is sometimes required to make the paints work more freely. When the color required differs from that of the main paint used, the desired tint is obtained by adding a staining or coloring pigment. The materials generally employed may, for convenience, be classed as follows:

=Bases.=--White lead, red lead, zinc white, oxide of iron. _Vehicles._--Oils, spirits of turpentine. _Solvents._--Spirits of turpentine. _Driers._--Litharge, acetate of lead, sulphate of zinc and binoxide of manganese, red lead, etc. _Coloring Pigments._--Ochres, lampblack, umber, sienna, and many metallic salts that will be hereinafter mentioned.

White lead may be obtained either pure or mixed with various substances, such as sulphate of baryta, sulphate of lead, whiting, chalk, zinc white, etc. These substances do not combine with oil as well as does white lead, nor do they so well protect any surface to which they are applied. Sulphate of baryta, the most common adulterant, is a dense, heavy, white substance, very like white lead in appearance. It absorbs very little oil, and may frequently be detected by the gritty feeling it produces when the paint is rubbed between the finger and thumb.

=White Lead= is sold either dry, in powder or lump, or else ground in oil in a paste containing from 7 to 9 per cent. of linseed oil, and more or less adulterated, unless specially marked “genuine.” When slightly adulterated with a very white sulphate of baryta, like that of the Tyrol, the mixture is considered preferable for certain kinds of work, as the barytes communicates opacity to the color and protects the lead from being speedily darkened by sulphurous smoke or vapors. White lead improves by keeping, and when of good quality, will go much further and last much better than when employed fresh; moreover, paint made with new lead has a tendency to become yellow. It should not be exposed to the air or it will turn grey.

Of all the bases used for paints, white lead is the most commonly used, and for surfaces of wood it affords in most cases the best protection, being dense, of good body, and permanent. It has the disadvantage, however, of blazening when exposed to sulphur acids, and of being injurious to those who handle it.

Red lead is produced by raising _massicot_ (the commercial name for oxide of lead) to a high temperature, short of fusion, during which it absorbs oxygen from the air and is converted into red lead or _minium_, an oxide of lead. The color is lasting, and is unaffected by light when it is pure and used alone, but any preparation containing lead or acids mixed with it deprive it of color, and impure air makes it black. It may be used for a drier, as it possesses many of the properties of litharge; it is also often employed in painting wrought iron work, to which it adheres with a tenacity not equalled by any other paints; it is sometimes objected to for this purpose, on the ground that galvanic action is set up between the lead and the iron. It is also frequently used for priming on wood work, and is especially adapted for hard woods. It is frequently adulterated with brick dust; this may be detected by heating the powder in a crucible, and treating it with dilute nitric acid; the lead will be dissolved but the brick dust will remain. It is also adulterated with colcother, a sesquioxide of iron. Sulphide of antimony, or antimony vermilion, is sometimes used as a substitute for red lead. It is sold in a very fine powder, without taste or smell, and which is insoluble in water, alcohol, or essential oils. It is but little acted upon by acids, and is said to be unaffected by air or light. It is adapted for mixing with white lead, and affords an intensely bright color when ground in oil.

Oxide of zinc, or zinc white, is durable in water or oil; it dissolves in hydrochloric acid; it does not blacken in the presence of sulphuretted hydrogen; and it is not injurious to the men who make it, or to the painters who use it; but on the other hand, it does not combine with oil well, and is wanting in body and covering power, and is difficult to work. It is easily acted upon by the carbonic acid in rain water, which dissolves the oxide, and it therefore is unfit for outside work. The acids contained in unseasoned wood also have a great effect upon it. When pure and used for inside work, it retains its color well, and will stand washing for many years without losing any of its freshness. When dry it becomes very hard, and will take a fine polish. This paint is suitable for any place that is subjected to vapors containing sulphur, or in places where foul air is emanated from decaying animal matter. In such positions, of course, zinc paints should not be mixed with “patent” or other driers which contain lead. The best driers to employ with it are sulphate of manganese and sulphate of zinc. This white is recommended as being preferable to white lead for painting on a dark ground. The reason of this is that the soap formed by the combination of the lead and oil in lead paints is semi-transparent, and the dark ground shows through it. The want of density, however, in zinc paints, is a great drawback to their use, and the purest zinc oxide is not always the best for paint on account of its low specific gravity; and in this respect, the American zinc whites, which are frequently very pure, do not generally give as good satisfaction as the zinc whites made in Belgium.

=Vehicles.=--Oils are divided into two classes--fixed oils and volatile oils. Fixed oils are extracted by pressure from vegetable substances, they are of a fatty nature, do not evaporate in drying, and will bear a temperature short of 500° Fahr., without decomposing. They are subdivided into drying oils, which become thick upon exposure to air. Of these, linseed oil is most commonly used as an ingredient for paint. Its qualities when pure are excellent, and it may be considered the best of all oils for use in paint, putty, and other similar substances. It oxidizes and becomes thick upon exposure to the air. This property is very much increased by adding other substances to it and boiling them together. It is superior in drying powers, tenacity, and body to any other fixed oil. The best oil comes from the Black Sea and the Baltic; that from the East Indian seed is inferior, as the seed is less carefully cleaned, and contains too much stearine. Raw linseed oil is clear and light in color, works smoothly, and is used for internal works, for delicate tints, and for grinding up colors. Boiled oil is much thicker, darker, and more apt to clog. It is used for outside work, as its greater body and rapidity in drying make it a quicker and more efficient protection.

=Volatile Oils= are generally obtained by distillation, and have an odor resembling that of the plant from which they are obtained. They are, as a rule, colorless at first, but upon exposure to air and light they become darker, thicker, and eventually are converted into a kind of resin. Spirits of turpentine is the best variety of this class for mixing with ordinary paints. Naptha and benzine are sometimes used instead of turpentine, but not often, and their use is not recommended when the latter can be obtained. Good spirits of turpentine is lighter in weight and more inflammable than bad. It is colorless and has a pleasant pungent smell, whereas the smell of inferior qualities is disagreeable. It is used as a solvent for resins and other substances in making varnishes; also in paint to make it work more smoothly. It is useful also in flatting coats, but will not stand exposure to the weather.

=Driers.=--Driers are substances added to paint in order to cause the oils to thicken and solidify more rapidly. The action of these substances is not thoroughly understood. Chevreuil has shown that the drying of linseed oil is caused by the absorption of oxygen; and there can be no doubt that for the most part driers act as carriers of oxygen to the oil, a very small quantity producing considerable effects.

The best driers are those which contain a large proportion of oxygen, such as litharge, acetate of lead, red lead, sulphate of zinc, verdigris, etc. They are sometimes used to improve the drying qualities of the oil with which the paint is mixed, or they may themselves be ground up with a small quantity of oil, and added to the paint just before it is used.

Litharge or oxide of lead is the drier most commonly used, and is produced in extracting lead from its ores. It can be produced on a small scale by scraping off the dross which forms on molten lead exposed to a current of air. _Massicot_ is a superior kind of litharge, being produced by heating lead to an extent insufficient to fuse the oxide. Sugar of lead, or, as it is more frequently called, acetate of lead, ground in oil, and copperas and white vitriol (sulphate of zinc), are also used as driers, especially for light tints. Oxide of manganese is quicker in its effects, but is of a very dark color, and seldom used except for deep tints. Japanners’ gold size and verdigris (acetate of copper) are also much used for dark colors. Care must be taken not to apply too much of the size, or it will make the paint brittle. Red lead (oxide of lead) is often used as a drier when its color will not interfere with the tint required. It is not so rapid in its action as litharge or massicot. Sulphate of manganese is the best drier for zinc white, about 6 or 8 ounces only being used for 100 lbs., of ground zinc white paint. The manganese should be mixed with a small quantity of the paint first, and then added to the bulk. If great care be not taken in mixing the drier the work will be spotted. Sulphate of zinc is also a good drier for zinc paint.

Patent driers contain oxidizing agents, such as litharge or acetate of lead ground and mixed in oil, and therefore in a convenient form for immediate use. There is great danger, however, in using such driers, unless they are of the best quality from a reliable maker. Some of the inferior descriptions depend for their drying qualities upon lime.

The following points should be observed in using driers:--

1st. Not to use them unnecessarily with pigments which dry well in oil color.

2d. Not to employ them in excess, which would only retard the drying.

3d. Not to add them to the color until about to be used.

4th. Not to use more than one drier to the same color.

5th. To avoid the use of patent driers, unless known to be of good quality.

6th. To avoid the use of driers in the finishing coat of light colors, as they are liable to injure the color.

=Coloring Pigments.=--It will be impossible in a small work of this sort to give anything like a complete list of the pigments used to produce the colors and tints used by the house painter and decorator. A few of the most useful may, however, be mentioned. It is not proposed to give a detailed description of them, but merely to distinguish those that are injurious from the others. Many of these, such as the ochres, umbers, etc., are from natural earths; others are artificially made. They may generally be purchased either in the form of dry powder or ground in oil.

=Blacks.=--Lampblack is the soot produced by burning oil, resin, small coal, resinous woods, coal tar or tallow. It is in the state of very fine powder; works smoothly; is of a dense black color and durable, but dries very slowly in oil.

Vegetable black is a better kind of lampblack made from oil. It is very light, free from grit, and of a good color. It should be used with boiled oil, driers, and a little varnish. Raw linseed oil or spirits of turpentine keeps it from drying.

Ivory-black is obtained by calcining waste ivory in close vessels and then grinding. It is intensely black when properly burned. Bone-black is inferior to ivory-black, and prepared in a similar manner from bones. Blue-black and Frankfort black of the best quality are made from vine twigs; inferior qualities from other woods charred and reduced to powder. In Europe some other blacks are used, but we seldom meet with them in this country.

=Blues.=--Prussian blue is made by mixing prussiate of potash with a salt of iron. The prussiate of potash is obtained by calcining and digesting old leather, blood, hoofs, or other animal matter with carbonate of potash and iron filings. This color is much used, especially for dark blues, making purples, and intensifying black. It dries well with oil. Slight differences in the manufacture cause considerable variation in tint and color, which leads to the material being known by different names--such as Antwerp blue, Berlin blue, Hærlem blue, Chinese blue, etc. Indigo is produced by steeping certain plants in water, and allowing them to ferment. It is a transparent color; works well in oil or water, but is not durable, especially when mixed with white lead.

Ultramarine was originally made by grinding the valuable mineral _Lapis lazuli_. Genuine ultramarine so made is very expensive, but artificial French and German ultramarines are made of better color, and cheaply, by fusing and washing and reheating a mixture of soda, silica, alum, and sulphur. This blue is chiefly used for coloring wall papers.

Cobalt blue is an oxide of cobalt made by roasting cobalt ore. It makes a beautiful color, and works well in water or oil.

Smalt, Saxon blue and Royal blue are colored by oxides of cobalt.

There are a few other blues, such as Celestial or Brunswick blue, damp blue and verditer, that are chemical compounds, compounds of alum, copper, lime, and other substances; but they are so seldom used in this country that it is unnecessary to describe them in detail.

=Yellows.=--Chrome yellows are chromates of lead, produced by mixing dilute solutions of acetate or nitrate of lead and bichromate of potash. This makes a medium tint known as “middle chrome.” The addition of sulphate of lead makes this paler, when it is known as “lemon chrome,” whereas the addition of caustic lime makes it “orange chrome” of a darker color. The chromes mix well with oil and with white lead either in oil or water. They stand the sun well, but like other lead salts, become dark in bad air. Chrome yellow is frequently adulterated with gypsum.

Naples yellow is a salt of lead and antimony, supposed to have been originally made from a natural volcanic product at Naples. It is not so brilliant as chrome, but has the same characteristics. King’s yellow is made from arsenic, and is therefore a dangerous color to handle, or use for internal work. It is not durable, and it injures several other colors when mixed with them. Chinese yellow, arsenic yellow, and yellow orpiment are other names for this yellow.

Yellow ochre is a natural clay colored by oxide of iron, and found abundantly in many parts of the world. It is not very brilliant, but is well suited for distemper work, as it is not affected by light or air. It does not lose its color when mixed with lime washes as many other colors do. There are several varieties of ochres, all having the same characteristics differing only in color which varies from a golden to a dark brown.

=Terra De Sienna=, or raw Sienna, is a clay, stained with oxides of iron and manganese, and of a dull yellow color. It is durable both in oil and water, and is useful in all work, especially in graining.

=Browns.=--Browns generally owe their color to oxide of iron. Raw umber is a clay similar to ochre colored by oxide of iron. The best comes from Turkey; it is very durable both in water and in oil; does not injure other colors when mixed with them.

=Burnt Umber= is the last mentioned material burnt to give it a darker color. It is useful as a drier, and in mixing with white lead to make a stone color.

=Vandyke Brown.=--This color is an earthy dark brown mineral; it is durable both in oil and water, and is frequently employed in graining.

=Purple Brown= is of a reddish-brown color. It should be used with boiled oil--and a little varnish and driers for outside work.

=Burnt Sienna= is produced by burning raw sienna. It is the best color for shading gold.

=Brown Pink= is a vegetable color often of a greenish hue. It works well in water and oil, but dries badly, and will not keep its color when mixed with white lead. Spanish brown and brown ochre are clays colored naturally by various oxides.

=Reds.=--Carmine, made from the cochineal insect, is the most brilliant red color known. It is, however, too expensive for ordinary house painting, and is not durable. It is sometimes used for inside decoration.

=Red Lead.=--This color has already been described on page 11.

=Vermilion.=--This is a sulphide of mercury in a natural state as cinnabar. The best comes from China. Artificial vermilion is also made both in China and in this country from a mixture of sulphur and mercury. Genuine vermilion is very durable, but when mixed with red lead, as it is sometimes, it will not stand the weather. It can be tested by heating in a test tube; if genuine it will entirely volatilize. German vermilion is the tersulphide of antimony, and is of an orange-red color.

=Indian Red.=--This color is a ground hematite ore brought from Bengal; it is sometimes made artificially by calcining sulphate of iron. The tints vary, but a rosy hue is considered the best. It may be used with turpentine and a little varnish to produce a dull surface, drying rapidly, or with boiled oil and a little driers, in which case a glossy surface will be produced, drying more slowly.

=Chinese Red= and Persian red are chromates of lead, produced by boiling white lead with a solution of bichromate of potash. The tint of Persian red is obtained by the employment of sulphuric acid.

=Venetian Red= is obtained by heating sulphate of iron produced as a waste product at tin and copper works. It is often adulterated by mixing sulphate of lime with it during the manufacture. When pure, it is often called “bright red.” Special tints of purple and brown are frequently required, which greatly enhance the value of the material. These tints should be obtained in the process of manufacture, and not produced by mixing together a variety of different shades of color. When the tint desired is attempted to be obtained by this latter course it is never so good, and the materials produced are known in the trade as ‘faced colors,’ and are of inferior value.

=Rose Pink.=--This is made of a sort of chalk or whiting stained with a tincture of Brazil wood. It fades very quickly, but it is used for paperhangings, common distemper, and for staining cheap furniture.

=Lakes.=--These are made by precipitating colored vegetable tinctures by means of alum and carbonate of potash. The alumina combines with the organic coloring matter and separates it from the solution. The tincture used varies in the different descriptions of lake. The best, made from cochineal or madder, is used for internal work. Drop lake is made by dropping a mixture of Brazil wood through a funnel on to a slab. The drops are dried and mixed into a paste with gum water. It is sometimes called “Brazil wood lake.” Scarlet lake is made from cochineal; so also are Florentine lake, Hamburg lake, Chinese lake, Roman lake, Venetian lake and Carminated lake.

=Orange.=--Chrome orange is a chromate of lead, brighter than vermillion, but less durable. Orange ochre is a bright yellow ochre burnt to give it warmth of tint; it dries and works well in water or oil, and is very durable. It is known also as Spanish ochre. Orange red is produced by a further oxidation than is required for red lead. It is a brighter and better color.

=Greens.=--These, of course, may be made by mixing blue and yellow together, but such mixtures are less durable than those produced direct from copper, arsenic, etc. The latter are, however, objectionable for use in distemper or on wall papers, as they are very injurious to health. Brunswick green of the best kind is made by treating copper with sal-ammoniac. Chalk, lead and alum are sometimes added. It has rather a bluish tinge; dries well in oil, is durable, and not poisonous. Common Brunswick green is made by mixing chromate of lead and Prussian blue with sulphate of baryta. It is not as durable as real Brunswick green. Mineral green is made from bi-basic carbonate of copper; it weathers well. Verdigris is acetate of copper. It furnishes a bluish-green color, durable in oil or varnish, but not in water; it dries rapidly, but requires great care in using owing to its poisonous qualities. Green verditer is a carbonate of copper and lime; is not very durable. Prussian green is made by mixing different substances with Prussian blue. There are a number of other greens made from copper, but they all possess in a greater or lesser degree, the same qualities as the foregoing. Emerald or Paris green is made of verdigris mixed with a solution of arsenious acid. It is of a very brilliant color, but is very poisonous; is difficult to grind, and dries badly in oil. It should be purchased ready ground in oil, as in that case the poisonous particles do not fly about, and the difficulty of grinding is avoided. Scheele’s green and Vienna green are also arseniates of copper, and highly poisonous. Chrome green should be made from the oxide of chromium, and is very durable. An inferior chrome green is made, however, by mixing chromate of lead and Prussian blue, as above mentioned, and is called Brunswick green. The chrome should be free from acid or the color will fade; it may be tested by placing it for several days in strong sunlight.

=Proportions of Ingredients in Mixed Paint.=--The composition of paints should be governed by the nature of the material to be painted. Thus the paints respectively best adapted for painting wood and iron differ considerably. The kind of surface to be covered, _i. e._, a porous surface requires more oil than one that is impervious. The nature and appearance of the work to be done. Delicate tints require colorless oil; a flatted surface must be painted without oil, which gives gloss to a shining surface. Again, paint used for surfaces intended to be varnished must contain a minimum of oil. The climate and the degree of exposure to which the work will be subjected; thus, for outside work boiled oil is used, because it weathers better than raw oil. Turps is avoided as much as possible, because it evaporates and does not last; if, however, the work is to be exposed to the sun, turps are necessary to prevent the paint from blistering. The skill of the painter also affects the composition; a good workman can lay on even coats with a smaller quantity of oil and turps than a man who is unskilful; extra turps, especially, are often added to save labor. The quality of the materials makes an important difference in the proportions used. Thus more oil and turps will combine with pure than with impure white lead; thick oil must be used in greater quantity than thin oil. When paint is purchased ready ground in oil, a soft paste will require less turps and oil for thinning than a thick paste. Lastly, the different coats of paint vary in their composition; the first coat laid on to new work requires a good deal of oil to soak into the material; on old work the first coat requires turpentine to make it adhere; the intermediate coats contain a proportion of turpentine to make them work smoothly, and to the final coats the coloring materials are added, the remainder of the ingredients being varied as already described, according as the surface is to be glossy or flatted.

The exact proportion of the ingredients best to be used in mixing paints varies according to their quality, the nature of the work required, the climate, and other considerations. The composition of the paint for the different coats also varies considerably. The proportions given in the following table, must, therefore, only be taken as an approximate guide when the materials are of good quality.

_Table showing the composition of the different coats of white paint, and the quantities required to cover 100 yards of newly worked pine._

--------------+-------+--------+---------+---------+--------+---------+ | RED | WHITE | RAW | BOILED | TURPE- | DRIERS. | | LEAD. | LEAD. | LINSEED | LINSEED | NTINE. | | | | | OIL. | OIL. | | | --------------+-------+--------+---------+---------+--------+---------+ | | | | | | | _Inside work, | | | | | | | 4 coats | lbs. | lbs. | pts. | | | lbs. | not flatted._ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Priming** | ¹⁄₂ | 16 | 6 | -- | -- | ¹⁄₄ | | | | | | | | 2d Coat | * | 15 | 3¹⁄₂ | -- | 1¹⁄₂ | ¹⁄₄ | | | | | | | | 3d Coat | -- | 13 | 2¹⁄₂ | -- | 1¹⁄₂ | ¹⁄₄ | | | | | | | | 4th Coat | -- | 13 | 2¹⁄₂ | -- | 1¹⁄₂ | ¹⁄₄ | | | | | | | | _Inside work, | | | | | | | 4 coats and | | | | | | | flatting._ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Priming | 1¹⁄₂ | 16 | 6 | -- | ¹⁄₂ | 1-8 | | | | | | | | 2d Coat | -- | 12 | 4 | -- | 1¹⁄₂ | 1-10 | | | | | | | | 3d Coat | -- | 12 | 4 | -- | 0 | 1-10 | | | | | | | | 4th Coat | -- | 12 | 4 | -- | 0 | 1-10 | | | | | | | | Flatting | -- | 9 | 0 | -- | 3¹⁄₂ | 1-10 | | | | | | | | _Outside work,| | | | | | | 4 coats | | | | | | | not flatted._ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Priming*** | 2 | 18¹⁄₂ | 2 | 2 | -- | 1-8 | | | | | | | | 2d Coat | -- | 15 | 2 | 2 | ¹⁄₂ | 1-10 | | | | | | | | 3d Coat | -- | 15 | 2 | 2 | ¹⁄₂ | 1-10 | | | | | | | | 4th Coat | -- | 15 | 3 | 2¹⁄₂ | 0 | 1-10 | | | | | | | | --------------+-------+--------+---------+---------+--------+---------+

* Sometimes just enough red lead is used to give a flesh-colored tint.

** Sometimes more red lead is used and less drier.

*** When the finished color is not to be pure white, it is better to have nearly all the oil boiled oil. All boiled oil does not work well. For pure white a larger proportion of raw oil is necessary, because boiled oil is too dark.

For every 100 square yards, besides the materials enumerated in the foregoing, 2¹⁄₂ lbs. of white lead and 5 lbs. of putty will be required for stopping.

The area which a given quantity of paint will cover depends upon the nature of the surface to which it is applied, the proportion of the ingredients and the state of the weather. When the work is required to dry quickly, more turpentine is added to all the coats.

In repainting old work, two coats are generally required, the old painting being considered as priming. Sometimes another coat may be deemed necessary.

For outside old work exposed to the sun, both coats should contain one pint of turpentine and four pints of boiled oil, the remaining ingredients being as stated in the foregoing table. The extra turpentine is used to prevent blistering.

In cold weather more turpentine should be used to make the paint flow freely.

=Operations.=--All priming should be rubbed out as far as possible, for if it is flowed out loosely or laid on thick it will be apt to blister and run. In priming over spots, however, where _patching_ is being done, it may sometimes be necessary to leave the coat thick or heavy, for new work can never be re-touched and look well, after the work is second coated or finished; for such re-touching would show and spoil the whole work. In priming the paint should flow easily, and the brush should be pressed on to the wood so that the paint will be forced into the pores. In all cases it is a great saving of time to cover as large a surface as convenient before smoothing or finishing off. All work on the same surface should be finished at the one application, if possible, for “laps”--which form the junctions of work done at different times--should be avoided wherever they can, as they are sure to disfigure the work where they exist. Of course, it is sometimes impossible to avoid laps, but where they must occur, care should be taken to make the connection with as little “lap” as possible or it will be certain to show through the work when finished. The defect, if occurring during the second coating, will show much worse than in the priming coat.

In painting, like everything else, a system must be followed to make much headway. Experience, perhaps, is the only effective teacher in this matter; and any rules laid down by us will have but little effect, if the operator does not, or can not systematize. The workman who follows a system will do nearly twice as much work with less labor, than the man who works only by the rule of thumb. In painting blinds, lattices, railings, cut brackets or other similar work, some method of operation should be adopted. A little observation on the part of the operator, will soon teach him the best methods to adopt in doing any particular kind of work.

=Preparing the Work.=--In preparing work for painting, too much care cannot be exercised, as succeeding coats and the final result depend very much on the proper condition of the work when the priming coat is applied. First, all the rough places in the wood should be rubbed down with a block covered with sandpaper; and the mouldings and beads should be well cleaned out with sandpaper. Then (and this is a matter of prime importance) every knot, however small, every indication of sap on the wood, or discoloration of any kind, and every appearance of pitch or gum, should be carefully varnished over with white shellac varnish, if the work is to be finished in white or light tints--or with varnish made from unbleached or common shellac, if the work is to be finished in dark shades. The common shellac, in the latter case, answers equally well with the bleached article, and at less cost. This should not, under any circumstances, be neglected, as it is impossible, in the nature of things, otherwise to make good work.

When work is to be finished with two coats, the putty used for stopping the nail-heads and other indentations should be made of white lead, worked up with common whiting to the proper consistency, and the filling should be done after the first coat shall have become well dried. When more than two coats are to be applied, the filling should be done between the first and second coats, with ordinary pure linseed-oil putty.

It should be adopted as a rule, never to apply pure white as a priming coat; no matter whether the work is to be finished with one or four coats, the result will always be more satisfactory if the first coat be stained. A little finely-ground lampblack answers as well for this as anything.

The only way to produce solid, uniform work, is by making every succeeding coat lighter in tint than the one which preceded it. This is especially the case with walls, and other extended flat surfaces. No matter what the finish is to be, the first coat should always be darker than the one which succeeds it; and the darker the shade of the finishing coat, the more important it is that this rule should be observed. If the work is to be finished with black, prime with black. If with green, let that be the color of all the preceding coats. If with blue, let that color be the ground work. What can be more stupid than applying to work which is to be finished in imitation of black walnut a priming coat of white? All work should be primed especially with regard to the finishing color.

There is not half enough of dark colors used in priming applications. Venetian red, finely ground in boiled oil, deeply stained with black--and used very thin, in order to stain the wood as much as possible--is the best first coat for work which is to be finished in imitation of black walnut or other dark wood. The succeeding coats should be as dark as may be with a view to the proper shade of ground-work for the graining. In such case, if (as must happen in the ordinary course of events) the work becomes bruised or “chipped”--by an accidental knock from a chair leg or other article of house furniture--the general appearance of it is little impaired thereby. Quite the contrary, however, is the case if the underneath coats are white. Then, an accident of the kind before mentioned, shows a white spot, which staringly proclaims the work to be a delusion and a sham. Dark colors, too, as the Venetian red before mentioned, make better foundations than white lead or zinc. They dry harder and “rub” better, and, what is most important, cost less.

This matter having been duly considered, let us now proceed to the coats succeeding the first. Before applying a second coat, the first should be carefully rubbed, and all the nail-heads and other indentations carefully stopped with pure linseed-oil putty--using for flat surfaces a square-bladed putty-knife. Puttying with the fingers should never be tolerated (good work is now the subject under consideration). This done, the whole should be carefully examined to ascertain if the oil in the former coat shall have revealed any resinous or pitchy spots, not previously covered with the shellac. These preliminaries being attended to, the work may be considered ready for a second coat. The directions as to rubbing with sandpaper are to be observed in all the succeeding coats. As a rule, on interior work, paint should never be applied to a surface which has not been previously rubbed.

Sandpaper for fresh work and pumice-stone for old work. Always distrust the education of a painter in his trade who goes to work without a lump of pumice-stone, a sheet of sandpaper, a putty-knife, and a rag to wipe off the spatters--sparks, as the Irish not inaptly call them. Apropos of spatters! Every painter has seen (the result too of unpardonable negligence) plates of glass so covered with spatters, that to remove them would require more time than would serve to paint the woodwork of a “full-trimmed” window.

In priming work which is to be finished in oak, finely-ground French ochre is recommended. The objection to this pigment, that it does not work smoothly and easily under the brush, has arisen from its coarseness. Finely ground in boiled oil, it works as smoothly as white lead, and makes an excellent foundation for the succeeding coats.

For walls the first coat should be as dark in shade and as thin as practicable, the object being to stain the plaster as much as possible. Indeed, if the whole mass of plaster could be stained through and through, it would be desirable to so stain it.

The use of glue in wall painting is of doubtful propriety. It should never, under any circumstance, be put on until after the second coat, and then rubbed on with a rag, very lightly. In first-class work, however, its use is not recommended.

Plaster mixed with weak glue-size--which prevents its setting too rapidly--is the best material for stopping walls preparatory to painting, and each coat of paint should be carefully rubbed with worn sand-paper, before the succeeding coat is put on. For preparing walls a small pocket-trowel will be found a most serviceable tool, or a trowel-shaped putty-knife, which article has come into general use.

The preparation of ceilings for whitewashing (or kalsomining as this operation is sometimes pretentiously called) is an operation requiring some skill and knowledge of “how to do it.” A dirty ceiling, which has been subjected to successive coats of whitewash, whether of lime, or of whiting and glue-size, cannot be made solidly and smoothly white by additional whitewashing. The mass has become spongy, and sucks up the water so quickly that the material cannot be evenly distributed. In such case the only way is to begin anew, to go at once “down to hard pan” by removing all the previous applications by washing and scraping. This is best effected with a broad-bladed square-pointed putty-knife, keeping the ceiling wet meanwhile. Plaster (hard-finish) is not of uniform density, and some spots are much more absorbent than others. To remedy this a mixture of soft soap and alum, dissolved in water, should be applied with a broad kalsomine brush.

It is not assumed that mere verbal instructions can teach the art of whitening or tinting walls and ceilings in water-colors. To produce good results, great skill in preparing the materials and dexterity in manipulation are required; and such work should be intrusted only to competent hands. A mass of unsuitable material may be cheaply put upon a ceiling; but when the same shall require repainting, the cost of labor will be greater in removing the previous coating, than will be the whole cost of repainting. These remarks, too, apply equally to all kinds of painting; and reference is made to the whitening and tinting of ceilings only, because of the general impression that this kind of work may be performed by anybody.

The materials and tools used in painting are too costly to wasted and worn by incompetent handling. “Painting just to keep the gardener or hostler out of idleness,” will prove in most cases a left-handed economy. Such experiments are prudent only when the services of skilled workman cannot be obtained.

=Taste in Color.=--In rooms to be lived in, simple white for color of walls and paint, as well as any extremely dark treatment, should be avoided. The walls of rooms should be such backgrounds as will best suit the complexions and dresses of the larger number of people. Delicate white intensifies by contrast any unpleasantness or want of perfection; extreme dark would make people look white and ghastly. Neutral colors will be found the best--generally some grey or cool color that will contrast with warmth of complexions. On no account let an absolutely pure color be used for general surfaces. Nature provides no such color in pigments. Her yellows are greenish or reddish, and so on. Nor does she use it to any extent in inanimate nature. So much so that you will find that if you have much difficulty in describing a color, you may be certain it is good; the more difficulty the more beauty. Nature trusts mainly to gradations of tone, using vivid color in small quantities only, as in the touches on bright flowers and butterflies. This teaching of nature will be found seconded in the pictures of the greatest artists, and in following such teaching, it is necessary to consider the object to which (in domestic work, say) the rooms are to be devoted. A drawing-room, it is agreed, should be light, festive and gay; dining-room at once more sober, and with more depth and warmth, as befits its uses. You must also consider the light and shade; openings, and the positions of them; for these may (or may not) effect for you contrast of tone, and may even touch the question of the good sense of your whole scheme of decoration.