Chapter II: Part 2

Use a wash of saltpeter or a thin lime wash, then rinse with clear water. Treat blacksmith’s smoke in the same way.

KALSOMINE.

To please an old friend I give the following recipe for kalsomine. _He says it is good._ I never used it, so you will have to take his word for it.

Fifteen pounds good paris white, mixed up in lukewarm water, add one-fourth pound good glue, dissolved in the usual way, strain through a fine sieve, then dissolve one-fourth pound white hard soap in hot water and one-half pound of alum in cold water and mix. Add water to give the right consistency for putting it on the wall.

TO TAKE OFF THE PAINT.

If you have an old, roughly painted door to cut down for a fine job, don’t fool away your time, and fill your nose with dust, trying to do it with dry sandpaper, but take the door off its hinges, lay it flat on horses, and keep the surface under your sandpaper wet with benzine, and you can do in an hour what would otherwise take half a day. The benzine softens the paint, and keeps the paper from gumming up. If it is not practicable to take the door off the hinges, put your benzine in a small spring-bottomed oil can and squirt it on the work as needed to keep the paper clear of paint and make it cut fast. Wipe off the loose paint with rags. It works equally well on old varnish. Try it once on an old carriage body.

If the old paint is extra hard use a mixture in equal parts of benzine and ammonia.

CLEANING SILVER, BRASS OR COPPER.

In the course of our work we often meet with tarnished metal ornaments, which must be cleaned to make our work look well.

This preparation is a good one:

Paris white (fine) 1 pound
Carb. magnesia 2 drams
Cyanuret potash 7 drams
Sulph. ether 3 drams
Crocus martis 1 dram
Soft water 1½ ounces
or sufficient to make a stiff paste.

Mix by rubbing, add the paris white last, then stir into the water. Apply with a rag or sponge, and rub dry and polish with a rag or canton flannel.

WHY DO WALL PAPERS CRACK?

Some papers are more inclined to crack than others, because they are made of more brittle material. When selecting a paper for a whitewashed wall or ceiling, take a pattern which feels soft and pliable. Papers which crackle or rattle when crumpled in the hand are liable to crack. Papers which stretch or expand the most when wet are the most apt to crack; because when they dry and shrink the pull is so great that the fibers give away, if great care is not taken in putting it on. Cracking may be the fault of the paper hanger. He may use his paste too thick, or too thin, or put on too much or too little. Paste should be put on even and of the proper consistency and thickness to cement the paper to the walls. Paper is more liable to crack on rough and uneven walls. On a smooth wall, if properly put on, it becomes, as it dries, so fastened to the plaster that it cannot contract enough to break the fibers, but on a rough and uneven wall there are apt to be loose places where the air gets in, and the contraction of the paper so weakens the fibers that it cracks.

Now, if the paper hanger will be careful to secure the paper uniformly by using sufficient paste on rough places to hold the paper, and be careful to brush or pound the paper down firmly, he will greatly reduce the chances of cracking. A roller can not be depended upon for a rough wall. Too much or not enough sizing on a wall may be a cause of cracking. Hot paste, which thickens as it cools, is not safe to use on such walls, because it may appear just right when hot but will be too thick when cool and cause the paper to crack.

OIL SIZE FOR WHITEWASH.

Oil size is good to use on a whitewashed ceiling before papering if you don’t overdo it. A friend of mine thought, if a little was good, a great deal would be better; so he gave his ceiling two flowing coats of clear oil, and when dry put on his paper, but it did not stay. Why? Because he put on so much oil that he made a glossy surface _and the gloss could not hold the paste_. An oil size on whitewash is all right if used right. It is a mistake to use clear oil; 1 pint of oil, 1 pint japan and 1 quart turpentine is better, because it will penetrate further, dry faster, flat the surface, and have sufficient binding power to hold the whitewash from coming off. Don’t size a wall with paste. Paste and whitewash don’t go well together. The fact that you have to size your wall to make paper stick proves this.

Oil size should dry hard before the paper is put on.

I find glutol, manufactured by the Arabol Manufacturing Co., No. 13 Gold street, New York, a first-class substitute for glue in wall size and kalsomine, and prefer it to glue, because it will not attract flies, nor spoil by standing in hot weather, and can be mixed in cold water.

TO CLEAN BRICK.

The white powder which comes on brick can be removed by sponging with a mixture of muriatic acid and water, equal parts. Wash the brick in clear water and let them become well dried before painting.

TO CLEAN TARNISHED ZINC.

Mix 1 part sulphuric acid with 12 parts water and rub the zinc with it with a rag, then rinse with clear water.

TO GILD ON WOOD.

First get a good body and a smooth surface. The work should be flat with three coats at least on wood, and not less than two on iron or tin. The best size for outside work is oil gold size (fat oil), mixed with a little medium chrome yellow toned down with white lead; put in a very little japan gold size, and thin to workable consistency with turps; let it stand until tacky. It must be hard enough to prevent rubbing up or sweating. The method with the tip, gold knife and cushion requires considerable dexterity as well as practice to do good and rapid work. The tip, or lifter, is only a few camel hairs glued between two pieces of paste board, or other material. The knife is a long narrow flexible blade, and the cushion is made on a block, 6 by 8 inches, first covered with a thickness or two of woolen cloth, and finished by stretching a piece of chamois skin over it. Hold the gold book in the left hand, and turn back a leaf of the book, leaving the gold exposed on the next leaf; press the leaf of gold against the cushion and it will remain. Then straighten out wrinkles by a slight puff of the breath from above, cut the leaf into the required size with the gold-knife, and lift the leaf to its place with the tip. The tip will lift the gold better if occasionally drawn over the hair of your head.

Another way to prepare the leaf: Cut the book through at the binding with a sharp knife, which will leave all the leaves free and separate. Now take up the top paper or cover, which will leave the gold leaf on the book; lay the paper on a board and rub it over with a piece of wax, paraffine candle, or a piece of hard soap; either will do. Place the waxed side on to the gold, and smooth the paper down gently; repeat until you have as many leaves prepared as you need. Then, with good sharp shears cut them in such shape and size as will best cover your work, and not waste the gold. Lay the pieces on your board, gold side up. When ready, lay the pieces on the work, rub down with the fingers, or a ball of cotton, take off the paper and the gold will stay on the size. In this way the gold adheres quite firmly to the waxed paper, and the size must have a strong tack to take the gold off the paper. Experts lay the leaf directly from the book, and you had best learn to do it that way for general work, if you spoil half a dozen books while catching on to the knack of it. Try it this way: Now, here is a stripe half an inch wide, and the size is ready for the gold. Now hold the book flat in your left hand with your thumb on top, hold the top paper firm with your thumb. (If you let it slip, the leaf under it will be spoiled.) If the stripe is one-half inch wide, turn back enough of the paper to ex-pose three-fourths of an inch of the gold leaf, crease the turned back cover down with the fingers of the right hand, and hold it with the thumb on the back. Now cut the leaf with the finger-nail, first rubbing it dry on your pants; then turn the book carefully and quickly over on to the stripe, and press the gold down gently by pressing the book. Then turn down more of the paper, and repeat until that leaf is gone; then take another and so on. If the book gets too limber towards the last to handle well, have a square of cardboard to lay under the book next to the hand; you will find this is a help even with a full book. You will, perhaps, waste more gold in this way than by the transfer method, but you will more than make it up in time, if you become expert.

1st. Be sure of a good foundation.

2d. Have your gold size right, and study to know when the tackiness is just right. If your surface is not perfectly free from tackiness, pounce with a bag of gilder’s whiting before putting on the size, to keep the gold from sticking outside of the size.

When you lay the leaf from the book and cut the leaf with your finger nail, turn the ball of the finger toward you and the nail towards the gold, and run the nail close to the edge of the turned paper; then, if the nail is not too long, the end of the finger will hold down the paper while the nail cuts the leaf.

To prepare paper for the transfer method I rub the paper on my hair, then lay it on the gold leaf, gently rub it with my finger tips, and the leaf adheres to the paper.

It can then be cut with shears in any desired shape to cover the work.

Some gold leaf is now packed in paper so prepared that the leaf will adhere to one side of it and can be taken up in that way.

Some gilders take up the leaf by wetting the paper on the back with turpentine to make the leaf adhere to the other side, when it can be cut to the required shape with shears. This is done instead of waxing the paper.

STIR YOUR PAINT.

It isn’t always your material that makes a bad job, but it seems an easy matter to make even the best of paint the scapegoat for bad work. The heedless workman who primes a plastered wall without sweeping down the loose sand, or is careless about taking the sand and dust from the tops of casings and the floors, will, if he stops to examine, find some in the brush and some of it in his paint pot; and then, to cover up his carelessness, he can lay the blame on the paint. The careful painter will, when using heavy pigments, carry a paddle, and not neglect to use it. To prevent white lead and other heavy pigments from settling in the pot the paint must be well mixed, and kept mixed by stirring with a paddle as often and as much as may be necessary to _keep_ the oil or other vehicle, and the pigment well incorporated. No one out a novice, or a careless painter will permit a sediment to accumulate in the bottom of his pot; no matter whether the pigment is coarse or fine; or whether the vehicle used is linseed oil, turpentine or benzine. The painter who goes to work without a stirring paddle in his pot will be liable to do uneven work, and find more or less sediment in the bottom of his paint pot at quitting time, because there is no white lead made which does not contain more or less particles sufficiently heavy to _commence settling_ the minute the paddle stops, and go to the bottom of a pot of flating, as ordinarily mixed, inside of thirty minutes, and other particles of smaller size will follow later. If the pigment is mixed with oil the process of settling is slower, but no less sure to take place, and continue, if undisturbed, until clear oil stands on top of the pigment. Don’t try to use your brush for a paddle; it isn’t a good tool to stir paint from the bottom. Paint made of heavy pigment must be frequently stirred with a paddle to keep it of uniform consistency, but this operation is too often neglected. For instance, a man starts out with a full pot in the morning and neglects to stir his paint as he works, hence the heavier particles commence to settle and soon get below the dip of the brush, and by continual settling keep out of the reach of it until they reach the bottom. When the paint is nearly all out, and the sediment at the bottom don’t work well, he refills his pot, leaving in the coarse pigment. At night the boss finds an inch or less of coarse paint in the bottom of the pot, and without further inquiry complains that the lead is sandy.

Another instance: The paint for a job stands mixed over night; the painters fill their pots from time to time during the day, but never stir the paint from the bottom, hence the last pot or two filled will have all the coarse pigment of the batch. There are cases, I admit (too many of them), where not only white lead, but dry colors and colors in oil, are too coarse to work well, but the best white lead and heavy colored pigments in oil or turpentine are liable to be called sandy unless frequently stirred by the painter.

TO MAKE CHERRY STAIN.

Take annotto, 4 ounces, and clear rain water, 3 quarts. Boil in a brass or copper kettle, new tin or galvanized iron will do, until the color of the annotto is imparted to the water; then add ⅛ ounce potash, and keep the mixture hot for 30 minutes; then, as soon as cool enough to handle, it is ready for use. Now, have the work free from dust, and spread on your stain with a brush or sponge and rub it well into the wood.

When the work is dry, rub lightly with fine sandpaper, because the water stain will raise the grain unless the wood has been filled.

You can suit the taste of the owner as to depth of color by repeating the operation, or by making the stain weaker or stronger, as the case may require.

VARNISH STAINS.

These often come very handy to the painter, not only in toning up new wood, but in renewing the freshness of old work.

MAHOGANY VARNISH STAIN.

Spirits 1 gallon, gum sandarac 1 pound, shellac ½ pound, venice turpentine 2 ounces, dragon’s blood 4 ounces.

WALNUT VARNISH STAIN.

Shellac 1½ pounds, spirit 1 gallon, Bismarck brown 1 ounce, nigrosine ½ ounce. You can, by varying the proportions of the two colors, make the shade as you like it.

(Spirit in this connection means either wood or grain alcohol.)

MAHOGANY VARNISH STAIN.

Spirits 1 gallon, shellac 1½ pounds, Bismarck brown R ½ ounce, nigrosine 30 grains. More nigrosine will make the stain darker. If this is too thick to work well, thin with spirits.

TO MAKE NEW OAK LOOK OLD.

Sponge it with a strong hot solution of common soda in water. This will raise the grain, hence it will require cutting down with sandpaper.

DARK STAIN FOR OAK.

Make a solution of bi-chromate of potash, 1½ ounces to 2 quarts soft water. Lay on the solution with a good clean sponge and keep the wood wet with the solution until it is dark enough to please you. Then wash off the potash with clean soft water.

ANOTHER.

Apply with a brush, strong aqua ammonia until you get the desired shade.

RED SAUNDERS STAIN.

Fill a bottle ⅓ full of red saunders, then fill the bottle with either wood or grain alcohol. The more red saunders you put in, the stronger will be the stain; you can dilute it for the lighter shades. The longer it stands, the more color will be extracted. Always strain through muslin before using.

Red saunders makes a good cherry stain. When used on the bare wood it requires no binder, but when used over filled or oiled wood, put in one-fourth as much shellac varnish as you have stain, to act as a binder for it. If you want it to act as a filler as well as a stain, for pine or other close-grained wood, add 1½ pounds corn starch, to each gallon of the mixture of stain and shellac. Try a little and if it rubs up when dry, add more shellac.

You can mix red saunders stain with asphaltum varnish, to make black walnut and mahogany stains, using more or less of either to give the desired shade by using turpentine to make them mix. The asphaltum acts as a binder in place of the shellac.

The practical painter can get the shades he wants by experimenting on this line.

TO CHANGE THE COLOR OF WALNUT TO DARK MAHOGANY.

First give it a coat of very thin asphaltum varnish, then, when dry, give it a coat of red saunders and shellac.

You can mix the red saunders and asphaltum stain with any turpentine varnish, or with spirit varnish, if you use turpentine to make them mix.

Burnt umber and burnt sienna in oil or varnish make a walnut stain. Use but little of the pigments in proportion to the oil. Too much pigment gives the work a muddy color.

NATURAL WOOD FINISHING.

Clean up all soiled places on the wood. To be sure of a good job on open grained wood use a Bliss Rock Wood Filler. If you use a ready made filler, thin as per directions on the can. Whatever filler you use, put it on with a good brush. As soon as the filler begins to set, or show flat, commence to rub it into the grain with a pad made by gluing a piece of harness leather onto a block; always when practicable rub across the grain of the wood. For round work have a long piece of leather to draw back and forth around the work. Remember the main thing at this stage is to get as much of the filler as possible rubbed into the wood.

Another important point is to take off the surplus filler before it becomes too hard to wipe off, and another point is to wipe off the surplus filler and leave the pores of the wood level full. Hence, it is important that the filler does not dry too fast, that the painter puts on no more filler at a time than he can handle before it dries, and that in wiping off the surplus filler he works his rags across the grain. Some very open grained wood requires a second application of filler to make a good job, or at least to be looked over and touched up. The filler should have at least two days to dry. When dry go over it lightly with fine sandpaper to take off all particles of filler left on the surface.

Walnut, mahogany, chestnut, oak, ash and butternut may be classed as open grained woods, which need to be well filled with paste filler colored to match the color of the wood. When the filler is dry put on a coat or two of white shellac and rub down smooth with No. 1 sandpaper, and follow with two or more coats of hard oil or varnish, as you like; give each coat plenty of time to dry and rub each coat with curled hair or hair cloth, except the last coat. If you want an egg shell or half gloss, rub the last coat with pulverized pumice stone and raw linseed oil. If you want a dead finish rub down with pulverized pumice stone and water instead of oil. If you want a polish, first rub with the pumice stone and water; then with rotten stone and water, and polish with rotten stone and oil, or furniture polish and rotten stone. If you want a gloss finish, flow on the last coat and omit rubbing. Treat the close-grained woods as above stated, with the exception of the filler. The shellac also may be omitted, but it will take at least one more coat of hard oil or varnish for the job.

Cherry, sycamore, maple, birch, gumwood, redwood, cypress, pine, whitewood, poplar and hemlock are all close-grained woods, and need no paste filler. Pine especially should have a coat of shellac to keep back the pitch.

For an extra fine job of gloss finish, rub next to the last coat with pumice stone and water, flow on a coat of good varnish, and leave it in the gloss. In this case great care is required in cleaning the work to keep it from showing specks.

It stands the beginner in hand to be careful and not use his shellac too heavy to work well; shellac has good body and an apparently very thin coat will be a good heavy one.

To do a fine job the room and work must be clean, the clothing free from dust, and the work, brushes and varnish free from specks. If specks show on your gloss coat call a halt, and find where they come from.

Soft cotton rags are the best material for wiping off surplus filler.

A felt pad of convenient size to handle is the best for rubbing work. Get one at the furniture shop. For a cheap job omit the water rubbing, and rub with pumice stone and raw oil.

TO MAKE BLEACHED OR WHITE SHELLAC VARNISH.

Take powdered white shellac 1½ pounds, best grain alcohol 1 gallon. Add the gum to the alcohol, set it in a warm place and shake your jug or bottle occasionally. Don’t put it in tin or iron; either of them will discolor it. You can hasten the process by setting your jug in a sand or water bath, and gently heating it; or set it by the stove, or in the sunshine.

To make the common orange shellac of commerce, dissolve 1½ pounds orange shellac in 1 gallon methylated spirit or grain alcohol. This will dry in ten or fifteen minutes, and makes a hard lustrous varnish when dry, and stands the weather better than most gum varnishes. It makes a turbid liquid of orange brown hue and dries rather a pale brown. For use on dark wood this is equal to the white shellac, if not superior.

TO COLOR PUTTY.

There is no use in trying to color common putty to match the color of natural wood. The whiting in it will not take clear tints. Use lead putty, which you can tint with raw sienna for pine, yellow ochre for oak, burnt umber and burnt sienna for walnut, and burnt sienna for mahogany. Better have the putty too light than too dark.

SPOTS ON PAINT.

Poor lumber and thin painting are often the cause of spots on paint, especially on two-coat work. On cross-grained and other extra-porous places more of the oil sinks into the wood than on the general surface, and the result is flat places in the paint, which fade sooner than the glossy paint; hence, the work looks spotted.

To provide against this kind of spotting use more care in priming and see that all extra-porous places are well filled with the prime coat, or touch them up before the second coat goes on. A little extra work with the brush when putting on the prime will save trouble.

Another cause may be traced to the practice of putting on a coarse dark priming coat, which will show through in places where the paint is thinnest.

Mildew, or fungus growth, is another cause. This sometimes comes from the use of too much japan, _poor or fat oil_, or when the paint dries tacky or soft.

Adulteration of linseed oil with mineral and other non-drying oils, has a tendency to make paint dry soft. Linseed oil, kept for a few days in an old sour tank or in an old rancid can in the paint shop, is liable to cause fermentation to take place, which may result in mildew in damp weather in shaded places.

When an oil can smells sour, or there is a deposit of foots at the bottom, it is unfit to keep oil in.

Another cause of spotting may be found in insufficient and improper brushing or spreading the paint; especially the priming, which requires as much care in putting on as any other coat on the job.

For instance, here is a job which shows “laps.” Now, if this prime is right when it is put on single, it is wrong when it is put on double, because, where the laps are, the work has at least one more coat than the balance of the job, hence the paint is liable to fade spotted.

PORCELAIN FINISH.--CHINA GLOSS.--GLOSS FINISH.

All different names for about the same thing. To make a fine job: If the work is new, see that it is smooth, free from dust and stains. Then give it a coat of priming, put on thin, so as not to show brush marks, and rub down with No. 0 sandpaper. Next, get a good body with keg lead, mixed in turpentine and a very little linseed oil; put on thin coats, so as not to show brush marks; use a fitch brush, or at least a _fine_ bristle chiseled brush. When dry, rub down with sandpaper and flow on a coat of thin white shellac. This is to keep back the oil in the lead coats, and prevent chemical action between the lead and zinc coats. Next, put on two or more coats of French zinc ground in damar varnish; enough at least, to get a clear white. Thin with turps and a little damar varnish, and put on thin enough to show no laps or brush marks.

Then put on a coat or two of French zinc ground in damar varnish, thinned with 1 part damar varnish and 2 parts turpentine. Next put on a coat of damar varnish mixed with a little zinc ground in damar, just enough to make the varnish white. Flow on a coat, and be careful that it does not run on your work. To avoid runs always commence at the top of a panel with a full brush and work down so as not to have a surplus in the lower corners of the panels; this applies to all parts of the work. It is quite a knack to put on a full coat of this varnish and zinc, and not have it run.

In all cases put on enough zinc coats to make a clear white before you put on the varnish. The small quantity of zinc is put in the varnish to take off the yellow tinge, and to keep it from turning yellow. Use lead putty. See recipes to make it on another page.

ANOTHER WAY.

Very hard and white, for parlors.--To prepare the wood for the finish, if it be pine, give one or two coats of the “Varnish--Transparent for wood,” which prevents the pitch from oozing out, causing the finish to turn yellow; next, give the room, at least, four coats of pure zinc, which may be ground in only sufficient oil to enable it to grind properly; then mix to a proper consistency with turpentine or naphtha. Give each coat time to dry. When it is dry and hard, sandpaper it to a perfectly smooth surface, when it is ready to receive the finish, which consists of two coats of French zinc ground in, and thinned with damar varnish, until it works properly under the brush.

LEAD POISONING--HOW TO AVOID IT.

White lead may enter the human system in three ways, to-wit: Through the stomach, the lungs and the skin. In other words, it may be eaten, inhaled or absorbed, hence the stomach, lungs and skin should each be carefully guarded against it. To guard the stomach, through which you are in the most danger of taking in the poison, make it a rule to keep the mouth closed as much as possible when using white lead, and _especially when sandpapering_. Make it a rule to never eat or drink without first carefully cleansing your lips, and carefully removing the paint from your hands before eating. Tobacco chewers, who carry tobacco in their pockets, are in especial danger of lead poison, if working in paint, because the tobacco becomes more or less poisoned with lead from the fingers, if the painter is not careful to clean his hands before taking a chew. There is no great danger from inhaling white lead, except when sandpapering, or when dusting after sandpapering.

It is a pretty good thing to carefully guard the nose with a damp sponge while sandpapering, and to carefully free the nostrils from lead. There is no danger of poisoning by absorption through the skin, unless the painter is careless. When T see some men at work, I wonder how they can possibly escape lead poisoning. Their clothing glazed with oil paint, their hands daubed to the wrist by grasping the brush by the head, instead of by the handle; or by general carelessness in mixing and handling paints.

SYMPTOMS OF LEAD POISON.

Tired feeling, wakefulness at night, neuralgic pains, “shaky” hands, constipated bowels, bad taste in the mouth, and pain in the bowels, a blue edge on the gums, and a coated tongue. If you get the colic, see a doctor; for the other symptoms, get away from paint for a while if possible, and take the following: Iodide of potash, ½ oz.; syrup sarsaparilla, 8 oz. Dose:--Teaspoonful three or four times a day in half a cup of milk. Eat graham mush and drink milk.

TO FINISH FURNITURE AND OTHER WORK IN SIXTEENTH CENTURY OAK.

First fill the wood with any good filler. Fill it well, then take Vandyke brown 3 parts, and burnt sienna 1 part, and mix to a stiff paste with boiled oil and japan, and thin with turpentine, until you can brush it on the wood, and not have it look dauby or muddy. Give the work a light coat, and brush it out well and carefully. Too much pigment will make your work too dark. Wherever you want the light or worn spots to appear, wipe off the stain with a cloth, and with a badger blender carefully blend the stain into the edges of the worn or light spots. Don’t stain too much at once, for fear your stain may set so you cannot wipe out and blend. When the stain is dry, sandpaper lightly with No. 0 paper. Finish with two coats rubbing varnish, or with hard oil finish. Polish with rotten stone and raw oil.

A SUPERIOR GLUE (WATERPROOF).

A very superior article may be made by dissolving 3 parts of india rubber in 30 parts of naphtha; heat and agitation will be required to effect the solution; when the rubber is completely dissolved, add 64 parts of finely powdered shellac, which must also be heated in the above mixture until all is dissolved. This mixture may be produced in sheets like glue by pouring it while hot upon plates of metal, where it will harden. When required for use, it may simply be heated in a pot till soft. Two pieces of wood or leather, joined together with this glue, can scarcely be sundered without a fracture of the parts.

A VALUABLE CEMENT.

We find the following recipe good: The compound of glycerin, oxide of lead, and red lead, for mending cast-iron that has been fractured with the happiest results. It takes some little time to dry, but turns almost as hard as stone, and is fire and waterproof. For mending cracks in stone or cast-iron ware, where iron filling cannot be had, we think it is invaluable. Take litharge and red lead, equal parts, mix thoroughly and make into a paste with concentrated glycerin to the consistency of soft putty, fill the crack and smear a thin layer on both sides of the casting so as to completely cover the fracture. This layer can be rubbed off, if necessary, when nearly dry, by an old knife or chisel.

LINSEED OIL AND IRON RUST.

The oleaginous principle of linseed oil is said to be in the nature of neutral salts called linolein, consisting of linoleic acid combined with a glycerine base. Linolein is said by some writers to constitute three-fourths of the volume of linseed oil, and that the drying properties of the oil reside in the acid principle of the linolein; that is, linoleic acid has the property of attracting and combining with oxygen to form the substance known as dry linseed oil. This acid is said to be a compound of several different acid principles, combined in definite proportions. Writers seem to disagree as to what the acids are, and in what respect they differ from the acid properties of the non-drying fixed oils, but that is a question which need not be discussed here. The glycerine base of linolein seems to be common to all fixed oils, and is set down as an oxide consisting of one equivalent of water and five of oxygen; hence the affinity between the linoleic acid and its glycerine base.

Linoleic acid, like other acids, has an affinity for alkalies and the ordinary metallic oxides. It unites with them, forming _neutral compounds_. This affinity is said to be electrical; the alkalies and oxides electro-positive, and the acid electro-negative. The greater the contrast in this respect, the stronger the affinity; hence, some acids separate others from their bases and form new salts by precipitation. As an instance:

Drop sulphuric acid into a solution of acetate of lead. It will displace the acetic acid, form sulphate of lead and precipitate, leaving the liberated acetic acid in solution. In linolein, this acid is so constituted that the affinity, or attraction between it and its glycerine base, is too feeble to resist and keep back the oxygen of the air; hence, when linseed oil is exposed to the air in a thin layer, oxygen unites with its linoleic acid, and this process continues until the oil becomes dry to the touch. Beyond this point the process is slower, because the oil is now less penetrable; but the process goes on until the layer of oil becomes hard and brittle, no matter with what pigment it may be mixed, although the pigment may for a time retard the action of the destroying elements.

Linseed oil dries too slowly for general use by the painter, hence various ways have been devised to hasten the drying process. If the foregoing theory is correct, the process which will cause the oil to dry to a good wearing body in the time desired, and leave it in the best condition to resist the action of the elements and the absorption of oxygen, is the best. I regard the lead oxides as the best dryers for this purpose--at least according to my experience. When we add an oxide to linseed oil as a dryer in the small quantity which experience has taught us is best to use, it is evident that it is not sufficient in itself to oxidize the whole of the oil to an appreciable extent. Writers differ as to the peculiar action of the oxides upon the oil, but I think it safe to say that the dryer sets up some chemical reaction which increases the affinity between the linolein and the oxygen of the atmosphere; at any rate, there is no dispute upon the point that linseed oil in drying absorbs a large per cent. of oxygen.

A knowledge of this unanimously conceded point led me to believe that a coat of pure linseed oil might make the best possible priming coat for iron work which had commenced to rust. Why? Because iron rust is an oxide of iron, having an excess of oxygen. Spread on rusty iron, it penetrates the rust, absorbs its excess of oxygen and dries with the remaining neutral oxide held fast in its body. This is my theory; whether correct or not, numerous tests have proved to me that a coat of linseed oil will stop the rusting of iron if applied under proper conditions. When rust is _thick or scaling_ there is no safety short of taking it off. Iron rust is more or less hydrated; to free it from moisture, give it the flame of the gasoline paint burner.

WHITE ENAMEL (SELECTED).

First, the wood is primed with a composition consisting of three parts of turpentine and one part of oil, japan gold size being used as a dryer. On this drying thoroughly the work is rubbed down until perfectly smooth. Next are applied two or three coats of pure white lead mixed entirely flat; each coat is rubbed down, time being allowed for it to dry. Equal parts of lead and zinc are used for the next coat, and three-fourths zinc and one-fourth lead for the one succeeding. After this has become thoroughly hard it is rubbed down very smooth. A thin coat of color made of zinc and turpentine is now rubbed on; for the next coat the same flat color is used, with the addition of about one-half the quantity of good light coach varnish. For the last coat enough zinc is used in the varnish to make it white if the last coat of zinc is not white and solid before varnishing. If the work is to be gilded or striped the zinc must be left out of the last coat of varnish.

VARNISH TO IMITATE GROUND GLASS.

An expert has sent the following to the _British Journal of Photography_: To make a varnish to imitate ground glass, dissolve 90 grains sandrac and 20 grains of mastic in 2 ounces of washed methylated ether, and add, in small quantities, a sufficiency of benzine to make it dry with a suitable grain--too little making the varnish too transparent, and excess making it crapy. The quantity of benzine required depends upon its quality--from half an ounce to an ounce and a half, or even more; but the best results are got with a medium quality. It is important to use washed ether, free from spirit.

VARNISH FOR RUSTIC WORK.

One quart of boiled linseed oil and two ounces of asphaltum, to be boiled on a slow fire until the asphaltum is dissolved, being kept stirred to prevent its boiling over. This gives a fine dark color, is not sticky, and looks well for a year; or, first wash the article with soap and water, and when dry, on a sunny day do it over with common boiled linseed oil; leave that to dry a day or two, then varnish it over once or twice with hard varnish. If well done this will last for years and prevent annoyance from insects.

TO CLEAN VERY DIRTY BRASS.

Rub some bi-chromate of potassa fine, pour over it about twice its bulk of sulphuric acid, and mix this with an equal quantity of water. The dirtiest brass is cleaned in a trice. Wash right off in plenty of water, wipe it and rub perfectly dry, and polish with powdered rotten stone.

TO COUNTERFEIT TORTOISE SHELL VERY FINELY.

In order to do this well, your foundation or ground-work must be perfectly smooth and white, or nearly so, you then gild it with silver leaf with slow size, so as to have it perfectly smooth with no ragged edges, cleaning the loose leaf off. Then grind cologne earth very fine, and mix it with gum water, common size; and with this, you having added more gum water than it was ground with, spot or cloud the ground-work, having a fine shell to imitate; and when this is done, you will perceive several reds, lighter and darker, appear on the edges of the black, and many times lie in streaks on the transparent part of the shell. To imitate this finely, grind dragon’s blood with gum water, and with a fine pencil draw those warm reds, flushing it in about the dark places more thickly, but fainter and fainter and thinner, with less color towards the lighter parts, so sweetening it that it may in a manner lose the red, being sunk in the silver or more transparent parts. When it is dry, give it a coat of varnish, let it stand for a few days, then rub it down with pumice stone and water. Then grind gamboge very fine, and mix with varnish, giving of this as many coats as will cause the silver to have a golden color, then finish with a clean coat of varnish.

PRICE LIST.

The prices of labor, and cost of material vary so much in different localities that it seems impossible to make a reliable price list for general work. The position, condition, and shape of different jobs all go towards making a general price list, an unreliable guide; also the quality of work demanded may make 50 per cent. difference in price. I have half a dozen printed price lists before me, and they generally agree to about the following prices for painting and glazing, to-wit:

_Per Yard._
1 coat on new work 8 to 10 cents
1 coat on old work 10 to 18 cents
2 coats on new work 18 to 20 cents
2 coats on old work 20 to 25 cents
3 coats on new work 25 to 28 cents
Brick walls, 2 coats 20 to 30 cents
Penciling 10 to 15 cents

PRIMING AND GLAZING SASH.

_Per Light._
10 × 14 and under 5 to 6 cents
12 × 16 7 to 9 cents
14 × 24 10 to 12 cents
18 × 24 15 to 18 cents
24 × 30 20 to 25 cents
30 × 40 35 to 50 cents

For old work where the old putty is in the sash, multiply the above figures by 3 or 4. When called out to the house to set a light or two charge for time and material. Most work of this kind is done at least 30 per cent. below the above prices.

I quote below a price list for sign painters, from a very complete report on painters’ prices and measurements, generally, by one of the ablest of local associations of master painters and decorators:

JAPANNED TIN SIGNS.

_Gold._ _Plain._
3 × 14 inches $1.25 $ .75
6 × 8 inches 1.50 .75
8 × 10 inches 1.75 1.00
10 × 14 inches 2.50 1.50
11 × 17 inches 3.00 2.00
11 × 17 inches, 3 lines 3.50 2.55
14 × 20 inches 4.00 2.50
14 × 20 inches, 3 lines 4.50 3.00
18 × 24 inches 6.00 3.50
18 × 24 inches, 3 lines 7.00 4.00
Frames additional.

GLASS SIGNS ON WINDOWS AND DOORS.

_In Silver or Gold_ _Per Foot._
Letters up to 6 inches in height $ .75
Letters 6 to 10 inches in height 1.00
Letters 10 to 14 inches in height 1.50

Shaded, one color, 25 per cent. extra.

DRUM SIGNS.

_Gold._ _Plain._
10 × 14 inches $ 3.50 $ 2.50
11 × 17 inches 4.00 3.00
14 × 20 inches 5.00 3.50
18 × 24 inches 7.00 5.00
20 × 24 inches 8.50 6.50
24 × 30 inches 10.00 7.00
30 × 30 inches 12.00 8.50
30 × 48 inches 15.00 10.00

The above include moulding and urns and putting up.

Drilling holes in iron extra.

MUSLIN SIGNS.

_Per Foot._
Up to 1 foot high, black 8 cents
1 to 2 feet, black 10 cents
2 to 3 feet, black 12 cents
Colored one-half extra.
Muslin furnished.
Frames extra.

OIL CLOTH SIGNS.

_Per Foot._
Up to 1 foot 20 cents
1 to 2 feet 25 cents
2 to 3 feet 30 cents
Oil cloth furnished.
Frames extra.

BOARD SIGNS.

Including three coats of paint and lettering.
_Gold._ _Plain._
6 inches × 4 feet $ 4.00 $ 2.50
8 inches × 6 feet 5.00 3.50
10 inches × 8 feet 6.00 4.00
1 foot × 12 feet 7.50 5.00
1 foot × 15 feet 8.50 5.00
14 inches × 16 feet 8.50 5.00
14 inches × 18 feet 9.00 6.00
14 inches × 20 feet 9.50 6.00
16 inches × 16 feet 9.50 6.00
16 inches × 18 feet 10.00 6.00
18 inches × 18 feet 10.00 6.00
18 inches × 20 feet 12.00 7.00
18 inches × 24 feet 15.00 7.00
18 inches × 30 feet 18.00 8.00
Board extra.
Irons and putting up extra.
Shading, 25 per cent. additional, one color.

WALL SIGNS.

Two coats of paint and lettering. Extra coat, 1 cent per square foot additional.

2 × 16 feet $ 6.00
2 × 20 feet 7.00
2 × 24 feet 8.00
2 × 30 feet 10.50
3 × 16 feet 8.00
3 × 20 feet 10.00
3 × 24 feet 12.00
3 × 30 feet 14.00
4 × 16 feet 9.00
4 × 20 feet 12.00
4 × 24 feet 13.00
4 × 30 feet 15.00
6 × 16 feet 12.00
6 × 20 feet 14.00
6 × 24 feet 16.00
6 × 30 feet 18.00
8 × 16 feet 14.00
8 × 20 feet 16.00
8 × 24 feet 18.00
8 × 30 feet 20.00
10 × 12 feet 10.00
10 × 16 feet 13.00
10 × 20 feet 16.00
10 × 24 feet 19.00
10 × 30 feet 22.00
12 × 16 feet 14.00
12 × 20 feet 18.00
12 × 24 feet 20.00
12 × 30 feet 25.00
14 × 20 feet 20.00
14 × 24 feet 24.00
14 × 30 feet 28.00
16 × 24 feet 26.00
16 × 30 feet 39.00
20 × 24 feet 30.00
20 × 30 feet 35.00
20 × 40 feet 40.00
21 × 30 feet 37.00
24 × 36 feet 42.00
24 × 40 feet 48.00
30 × 40 feet 60.00
30 × 50 feet 70.00
30 × 60 feet 80.00

SHOW CARDS.

1 sheet, 22 × 25 $ 1.50
1 sheet, 14 × 22 .75
1 sheet, 11 × 14 .50

The above prices are based upon white lead at 7 cents per pound
and wages at 33½ cents an hour.

MIDSUMMER PAINTING.

All things considered, which is the best time of the year to do outside painting? Spring and fall, did you say? Well, yes. I know nearly all painters think so, and the people outside the trade are almost, if not quite, unanimous in holding the same opinion. But why? Do the winds of March, the frequent showers of April and May add very much to the pleasure and profit of doing outside work in spring? Do the soaking rains, which come along about the time of the vernal equinox and drive you off your job for a week or two and watersoak your unprimed work, add much pleasure to your recollections of spring painting? Do you remember anything about the clouds of midges and thousands of little moths which filled the air, ready and willing to decorate your paint with their little bodies on every still, warm mid-day in April and May? Of course, we are speaking now of climatic conditions from our own standpoint, the great Northwest, which may also be true in the Middle and New England states. The mornings and evenings of spring and fall are apt to be cool--often frosty; then the oil stiffens and the paint rubs out hard and goes on slow, and we lose time and work harder. Practically, I favor midsummer for outside work, because the temperature is more uniformly warm and the paint spreads easily and evenly at any time of day, and as a rule the rains are less frequent and give a longer warning of their approach. The little black flies are not so plentiful in the hot days of summer as they are in spring and early fall. They are either dead or seek the shade of trees and grass. The dew is all gone in summer before seven o’clock a. m., and does not commence to fall until after quitting time. A carpet of grass and other vegetation covers a large portion of the ground in summer, holding down the dust. The winds are not usually so high and gusty in summer as they are in the spring and fall. In the warm days of summer your work is more apt to dry quickly, cleanly and evenly; and when you “knock off” from work at six p. m., and the sun is yet two hours above the horizon, you know that your last ground stretch will soon be out of the way of dust and rain. In the hot weather of summer the pores of the wood are all open, and the oil, which is then soft and thin, goes farther into the wood than in spring and fall, when the weather is cool. There are, it is true, some fine days in the fall for outside work, but the rainy season of the autumnal equinox and the frosty nights of the later months often retard your work and mar the finish of your job. One objection urged against summer painting is the flies, but really are the flies which injure paint any more numerous in midsummer than they are in spring and fall? It is true the festive house-fly is in his glory in the summer, but, as a rule, he is too smart to get stuck in outside paint. To get inside is his ambition, and the molasses-cup and sugar-bowl are his objective points. If the house-fly is an objection in the summer, it certainly is a greater one in the fall, for in September and early in October they are thicker, saucier and more familiar than at any other time of year; then they want not only to get at the sugar, but to get in and warm.