3f ^ V-:.**•-.HI y<-i;i itSfyA, A N A C C O U N T O F A NfiWLY INVENTED- Beautiful GREEN PAINT, Lafting in the open Air, and daily improving by the Winds, Sunshine, and Rains.. J/f/ ■ Prepared by FRANCIS ARMSTRONG, M. D. Oakham, Rutland. And soLB Wholesale and Retail by Mr. JOHN CALEY, No. 125, Bishopsgate without, London. Viget, virefqtle acquirit eundo. VlFtGJL. A N A C C O U N T OP THE NEWLY INVENTED Beautiful GREEN PAINT. Green Paint is chiefly of a vegetable pro- dudion, lafting in the open air, and improving in beauty for feveral years. It tvill doubtlefs be of great utility to the public,' as the expence of it will not exceed that prepared from verdegreafe, though it will continue five times as long. ' It is well known that verdegreafe wants ftability^ and all other cheap green paint vs jQfiieesi beauty. B There / ( 2 ) There probably will, on this being made public, be feveral pretenders, who will confidently aflert that they know the compofition, and at the fame time recommend a counterfeit one. Should they be fo daring, time alone will difeover the impofition, as it will be found wanting beauty^ and not lefs in duration. This paint will be properly prepared, and fit for ufe, by the Vender; but fhould any one wifh to prepare it himfelf, he muft grind it very fine in oil before he makes ufe of it. This feems very ealy : but he muft not be too hafty; for a great ftiare of its beauty will be loft, if he is not particularly care¬ ful in the preparation. Three pounds of this paint may be prepared with lefs trouble than one pound of the verdegreafe. ■ T£ ( 3 ) If it be rubbed with oil, without the addition of fonie other paint, it becomes very deep in time, and cannot be called beautiful. As this method is not to be recommended, the Vender will have every fhade from a light green, to a darker, properly prepared, agreeable to the intention of the confumer. Paint¬ ing of houfes, pole-hedges, arbours, bodies and wheels of carriages, and almoft every purpofe for which this paint may be ufed, will require a diffe¬ rent proportion of the green,TOlicnar. When this paint is firft laid on, it appears more of a blue than a green; and as it dries, the blue changes to a green : when perfectly dry (which is very foon) a yellow caft rather prevails. This like- wife is removed by degrees, efpecially by the fun- fhine and rains, fo that even after the continuance of whole years, a variation for the better is ftill to be ( 4 ) be obferved—the green grows brighter, and more refembling the verdure of the fields than any colour yet known. Varnifli robs it of its beauty. If fmooth plain wood is to be painted, the beft way, not only as to beauty and duration, but for cheapnefs, is to lay on no ground colour, but to paint it with this green three times fucceflively. The two firft paintings mull be laid oh very fparingly: in lay¬ ing on the laft, care muft be taken that every fpot be well covered. ■ Painters will hardly be induced to believe what is here advanced—they will think to attain their end by a cheaper method, which is, to lay on two charges of a white or grey paint, and only one of the green. They that purfue this plan will find themfelves greatly miftaken. It ought to be con- fidered that what is faved in the ground colour . ( 5 ) they muft beftow in the laft painting with the green. In order to have the ground colour duly covered with the green, it is evident that it muft be laid on much thicker than when there is a green ground to paint upon. A grey or white painted -ground comes almoft to the fame money as' a green ground, which will be more fully proved hereafter. What is here advanced holds good only when plain fmooth wood is to be painted. In painting brick work or rough wood,- • it will be found the moft profitable to lay the fi^ft covering with a white or grey colour, and the gfeen twice Over it. The'chief view, the proprietor had in making this paint was the duration of the ■colour ; the C fmalleft ( 6 ) - fmallefl was its beauty. Each have far furpafTed his utmoft expedations. We have in general two views when vve paint houfes, or other things with oil colours; the iiril is to preferve them from the weather, the fecond to ferve as an ornament. Both thefe ought to be taken into conilderation, when we would judge of the durablenefs of a eolour. It is now twelve years fince the firft trial of the durablenefs of this colour was made in the open air. Some" deal-boards that covered the gate-way of a garden, being painted with it, have been con- ftantly expofed to the wind, rain and fun-fhine. The beauty of the colour fully remains, and is brighter than it was when it had been painted two or three years. The ( 7 ) The fame good fuccefs appears alfo in a great many more inftances of that kind : trials having been made in leveral. gardens of feven or eight years Handing, and not one inftance having occurred to prove that this colour painted with linfeed- oil has loft the leaft of its native beauty. In comparing the lafting quality of this paint with that of other oil colours, expofed to the wind, fun and rains, it is found that white-lead, duly pre¬ pared, and ufed in the open air, does not laft lon¬ ger than two years.. The-third year the glofs is intirely gone—in the fourth if you rub the paint¬ ing with your finger, it will come off like fo much duft. This k a certain fign that the paint is totally deprived of its oil, and confequently the wood is no longer defended from the weather. All other paints ufed in , England terminate in the fame manner; ( 8 manner; which the proprietor has taken great pains to fatisfy himfelf in, and finds, by repeated experiments, that none of them laft longer than four years. From hence it may with certainty be inferred that this green colour is twice as lafting as any yet known in England ; the oldeft famples now upon trial being not in the leaft diminilhied in beauty. It is further to be obferved that a very final! quantity of this green, mixed with white lead, gives it fuch a quality (which is peculiar only to this green) that neither the air nor weather can rob- it of its luftre. This was fully proved by mixing a little of this green with fome white^lead prepared in oil ;■ nay the quantity-Was fo finall thatthe colour hardly appeared green, dt’has been painted haw five years, and retains its full luftre to this hour. The ( ^ ) • I The moFC of the green there is mixed with any colour, the more lafting the painting will be : and it is certain that the green,, ufed by itfelf, though not fo beautiful, will be by far themoft lafting. Six years ago a chariot was painted, which ufed to travel on very roads. The painting on the wheels is not fo beautiful now as it was, being of too dark a caft. j yet it is as firm as it was when two months painted. The very joints of the wheels are not in the leaft changed, though painted wheels in general lofe their paint in thefe parts firft. By way of experiment, .mix a certain quantity of white lead, with a certain quantity of this green colour ; then mix the, fame quantity of white-lead with an equal quantity of the verdegreale: ule them both properly prepared with linfeed. oil paint them on fepe^at e^^(;^r.^^ that are near each D other -(■ lO ) other; the paint with verdegreafe will be found much darker than the other, therefore verdegreafe will require a much larger quantity to bring it to an equal brightnefs. • • • As verdegreafe is cheaper than the compofitioli that is ufed in making this paint, it may probably be imagined that this green will confequently be more expenfive; but' if is certainly the contrary, as may very eahly be proved. Wheri this paint is ground upon a ftone (fuch as painters generally ufe) lef fome linfeed oil be poured upon it. . By rubbing, it will be evident that it ab- forbs much more oil than any ' other hitherto met with; confequently the quantity is greatly in- creafed, and the' lading, as well as the preferving qualities very much heightened. It is certain that whenever the oil is ^ exhaled, the paint ^ ■ lofes t II ') loiTes every advantage that was expected when it wai lirft laid on. ‘ Every experienced painter will acktlowledge that .verd^reafe in this particular is abfolutely the con¬ trary. It abforbs lefsoil in grinding than any paint yet known. i - There is nothing (as was before obferved) that in- creafes the quantity of paint fo much as the oil with which it is mixed. This circumftanee,^ therefore, miift be well confidered, and not the quantity of white lead alone, which may be added to both the above-mentioned paiilfs. Thefe articles muft both be brought to an account, when the expences are to be ftated. A pound of linfeed oil increafes the quantity of paint much more than a pound of white lead, and the difference of expence is Very immaterial, as the linfeed oil, of which this green requires ( ) . requires more than verdegreafe, is fpecifically lighter than the white lead, more of which muft be ajjded to the verdegreafe, before a perfection in colour cart be obtained. Therefore the quantity of this green, duly prepared, is greater, and will go much further in painting than a pound of verdegreafe, and confe- quently much cheaper. Let an equal weight of both green paints be pre¬ pared apart—let them be as near of a colour as pof- hble;—let the eoft. of each, the oil and white lead ufed in the preparations of each,.and the expence in grinding,^ &c. be accurately calculated,, and the quantity of each prepared paint be conlidered: then it may eafily be judged whether a painting with this green or that of verdegreafe will be more rea- fonable. It ( 13 ) It may be added (though painters will think it ftrange) that a painting with pure white lead is not much cheaper than with this green. It muft be the fame to them whether this paint wants more or lefs of white lead, fince they muft remember that -white lead, though cheap, is extremely ponderous, and in the grinding abforbs little oil, which fully proves the laft aflertion. The lafting quality, which this green colour contains, will, it is feared, procure it many in¬ veterate enemies from the branch of painters; Every perfon knows from convicftion that verde- greafe is not lafting in the open air, and therefore not to be compared with this in queftion. The proprietor cannot advife any one to ufe this green within doors; being convinced from ex¬ perience that it will never obtain any degree of E colour ( 14 ) colour pleafing to the eye : the heft it ever did was a foul yellow, or rather a dulkifh green, which daily became worfe and worfe. This colour abfolutely requires an open air : it is hot fufficient to improve its beauty by opening doors and cafements: it muft be. conftantly ex- pofed to the wind, rain and fun-lhine. In’ order to have things painted with this colour in the highefl: perfection, they muft be painted on a bright and funny day : if the fame things were painted on a dull rainy day,’ the difterehce in their appearanc'c would be fo great, that people, who are unac¬ quainted with • this circumftahce, would' certainly take them for difterent colours. There is nothing that preferves wood from pu¬ trefaction equal to this 'paint. It is therefore re¬ commended in the ftrongeft terms to the Lords of the ( 15 ) the Admiralty, and efpeeially to Lord Sandwich, as pirft Lord, who for fome time paft has filled that honourable place with diligence and fidelity. It will be an ornament as well as a certain preferva- •tive to the upper works of fliips for many years. Ships employed abroad would laft twice as long, if their upper works were preferved by a thorough coating of this, paint. The fcorching rays of the fun in the Eaft and Weft Indies, and thofe heavy deluges of rain which frequently fucceed, not only deftroy timber, however hard or well feafonedy but even iron itfelf. The more powerful the fun is, the more lafting and beautiful will this colour appear: the rains and wind frefhen, harden but never injure it; and from thefe elements alone it fiippbrts its exiftence. The '( ) f The proprietor ardently wiflhes to know if this paint would not anfwer extremely well for the bot¬ toms of fliips in long voyages, to preferve them from the worm which has been fo fatal to them upon foreign ftations. He is of opinion it would ; but as the intent of his plan is to recommend it no farther than what experience has fully evinced, he therefore humbly wiflies that Lord Sandwich (who has been ever ready to encourage every ufeful in¬ vention) would make a trial of it on fome fhip in¬ tended to be ftationed abroad. On the fame fhip might be made both experiments as to her bottom and upper works. A greater proportion of the green would be ne- •ceffary in painting the bottom of fhips, than is ge¬ nerally ufed in common paintings. But it is cer¬ tain that the durablenels of it.woiUd amply repay- the expence. A com- ( ^7 } A eompofition of this paint was tried on fea- worms, fuch as are found in the bottom of fhips after long voyages. It aded upon them as an in- ftantaneous poifon; and it likewife appeared that it was not poffible for them to break through it with their teeth, on account of the firm and glafly texture it forms when dry^ If it be tried with a fliarp pointed pen-knifey fome difficulty will be found in penetrating k. Nothing ever invented will have the advantage that this muft have, if once introduced into the Eaft and Weft Indies j where the houfes are gene* rally buHt of wood, and muft ftand every uhfea* fonable attack incident to tlie climate. If thefe houfes are coted with the paints in general- ufe, they require a" renewal every year, or every focond year, which is done at a very great expence, F both ■( IB ) both as to painting and labour. As the proprietor has been rehdent in one of thefe parts upwards of thirteen years, he is well acquainted with the ex¬ pence that niuft attend every plantation in paint¬ ing, and likewife the frequency of renewal, which is. a tax worthy the attention of every planter. Not only the expence of paint and oil, but the hire of a painter in thofe parts is very confi- iderabie ; and the pamting is produdtive of bad confequences, with regard to the health of the A houie once painted with this green, it is certain, will not want a renewal for twelve years; perhaps for twenty or more, as the laft- ing quality has never yet been afcertained ; and at the fame time the wood has been preferved as perfect as when firft painted. • family, The (19 ) The Diredors of the Eafl India Company, it is hoped, will make a trial of it on their fhips, and export it to Perlia, Indoftan, and China, as it certainly would be attended with the greateft advantages to the inhabitants of thofe parts, and might be made a coniiderable branch of the Eaftern trade. Their ihips might, by the pre- .ferving quality of this paint, perform double the number of voyages, which would be a confidcr- able faving to the company. There is no colour fo well adapted as a green is to a hot climate, where the glaring rays of the fun are greatly prejudicial to the eyes of the beholder. Nothing deftroys that glare fo effec¬ tually as any thing of a green colour. In Portugal, the houfes upon the banks