}p^' EVERTT MA.N HIS OWN PAINTER TT"^^^ or, OILMAN'S GUIDE TO House Painting and Graining, in Oil and Water Colors, En- ameling, Kalsomining, Varnishing, Whitewashing, cij Carriage Painting, Striping and Ornamenting, IN PLAIN ENGLISH. IT ALSO CO-NTAIXS IXSTRUCTIOXS IX LANDSCAPE PAINT- ING, AND THE ART OF '1;RANSFE1UNG, OR DECALCOMANIA. BY ANSON GILMAN, I 1 d) cT) P / Fb (.yj LEWISTON, ME. C> fP PRINTED BY GEO. A. CALLAHAN. VA ir«^vl / EVERY IVl^lSr HIS OWN PAINTER; OR, OILMAN'S GUIDE TO House Painting and Graining, in Oil and Water Colors, En- ameling, Kalsomining, Varnishing, Whitewashing, Carriage Painting, Striping and Ornamenting, IN PLAIN ENGLISH. IT ALSO CONTAINS INSTRUCTIONS IN LANDSCAPE PAINT- ING, AND THE ART OF TRANSFEKING, OR DECALCOMANIA. BY ANSON OILMAN, LEWISTON, ME. IMT/r LEWISTON, ME. PRINTED BY GEO. A. CALLAHAN. 1871. EVERY MAN HIS OWX PAINTER. In placing this little work before the pub- lic, I have the greatest confidence that thous- ands will be benefited b\^ it. How often do we hear the remark, '*I could do my own painting, if I only knew how to mix my paints." This work is designed to be a sure remedy for all such complaints. In the first place, I have endeavored to write out the different receipts as plainly as possible, so that they can be easily under- stood by eveiy one. And in the next place, I have endeavored to give practical receipts. Having had fifteen 3'ears experience in the painting bnsiness, I can safely predict that this work will be a great benefit to those who want to save money by doing their own painting ; and that it is worth more than ten times its cost, in any family. In order to do a good job of painting, two things are necessary. First, to have good, well-mixed paints and good brushes ; and sec- ondly, to have the work in good condition to receive the paints. It is just as absurd for a person to undertake to do a good job of painting with half-mixed paints, as for a farmer to undertake to chop his wood with a meat-ax. To insure success be sure to have your paint thoroughly mixed, your work well dried, and the knots and pitchy places well covered with shellac varnish. The great chief cause of paint scaling off from the outside of so many buildings is that the wood-work is damp when the paints are applied. Spruce chipboards also require a very thin coat the first time or it is almost sure to scale. After the foregoing precaution let us pro- ceed to prepare the groundwork. If the wood is pitchy or knotty, those parts are to be sized. The best sizing is composed of gum shellac and alcohol, which is prepared by dis- solving four ozs. of gum shellac in one quart of alcohol, and subjecting the whole to a mod- erate heat. When the shellac is all dissolved apply with care to the knots, and such other parts as need it. After the size is dry, which is very soon afier it is applied, proceed with 3^our first coat or priming, which should be very thin, and for which you will find re- ceipts for mixing on page 7. After the first coat is thoroughly dry, fill the nail heads and rough places with putt3\ Sandpaper the w^ork well with Xo. 1 1-2 or No. 2 sandpa- 6 per, (lust well and you are ready to proceed with the second coat. To prepare White Paint for Outside Work. In preparing white paint for outside work, care should be taken to select a pure finely ground lead. Mix thoroughly with pui-e raw linseed oil, in proportion to three gal- lons of oil to fifty pounds of lead. Brushes. A good brush well rei)a3's the extra cost. For common painting I have found D. White & Son's Okatka Paste Brush, Nos. 2 or 3 ; the most convenient as its width corresponds better with either clapboard or casing. The Weather. Should the weather be unfavorable, a small quantity of light japan may be added to out- side paints ; but the better way is to wait un- til the weather is fair, and then go for it in good earnest. Painting in Colors for Outside Work. Priming. To prepare the lirst coat or priming for outside, mix white lead and raw linseed oil, in proportion of twenty-flve pounds of lead to two gallons of oil. Mix colors equally thin. For inside use a very little spirits of Turpentine and japan. Buff. A nice soft buff is made by mixing eight pounds of French Yellow with fifty pounds of White Lead and four and one-half gal- ions of raw Linseed Oil. Paint two coats, and you have a beautiful soft shade and a durable paint. Salmon Color. This is a very fashionable color, and is produced by adding one pound of Venetian Red to the above receipt. riesh Color. Mix White Lead and raw Liuseed Oil to the proper thickness for painting. Then grind Venetian Red in oil or spirits of Tur- pentine, and add in small quantities until you get the shade required. You can vary the shade to suit your fancy by using more or less of the red. This is a very pretty color, and looks well with brown trimmings. Cream Color. Mix your white paint as before ; add a lit- tle Chrome Yellow, finely ground, stir thor- oughly, and then add a small quantity of Ver- million. This is a veiy delicate color, but is more liable to fade than the others. Straw Color. To produce a beautiful straw color, stain your white paint with Chrome Yellow, ground very fine, in Oil or spirits of Turpentine. A Beautiful Grey. A most beautiful grey is obtained by add- iu<; a little raw Umber to white paint. Have the Umber finely ground in Boiled Oil or spirits of Turpentine, and add a little at a time until you get a nice soft grey. French (rrey. After preparing your white paint add a small quantity of Prussian Blue and a little Vermillion. This color is apt to fade if used outside. Drab. Raw and burnt Umber ground fine, with a small cjuantity of Venetian Red, and mixed with white paint, makes a beautiful drab. Purple. To produce a nice purple, stain j^our white paint with finely ground Prussian Blue and Vermillion. Blue. Grind Prussian Blue in boiled oil or spir- its of Turpentine, and add to white lead, and you can get any shade of blue required. Pawn Color. Grind raw and burnt Sienna very fine, and 10 add a small quantity to your white paint, and you Avill get a splendid fawn color. Stone Color Is composed of white paint, with a little raw Umber and Yellow Ochre added. Lead Color. To produce a lead color, grind Lampblack very fine in spirits of Turpentine and add to your white paint in small quantities until you get the required shade. Chocolate. To produce a chocolate color, grind lamp- .lack and Venetian Red, and add to white paint in small quantities. Common Red. Mix Venetian Red with raw oil for outside work, and add a little white lead if too dark. Freestone Color. This is a mixture of Venetian Red, French Yellow, white lead and lampblack. You will 11 hiive to grind them together and use care in mixing. The yelloAv lightens and the lamp- black darkens it. Green. By grinding Prussian Blue and Chrome Yellow separatel}^ in boiled oil and mixing them together, you can get any shade of green required. Light Green. xl great variety of light greens can be ob- tained by mixing Prussian Blue and Chrome Yellow with white lead. Bronze Green. A very pretty bronze green is produced by addins: a little burnt Umber ground find to ^recn. Grass Green. Mix yellow and Verdigris, or one pound of Verdigris with two pounds of white lead. 12 luvisible Green Is composed of French Yellow and lamp- black mixed with boiled oil and spirits of Turpentine. Dark Yellow. Mix a little red lead or Venetian Red with French Yellow. Light Yellow. Light Yellow is obtained by mixing white lead with French Yellow. Gold Color. To get a gold color, mix a small quantity of Orange Chrome with Chrome Yellow, and add a little white lead. Common Yellow for Floors. Mix French Yellow with four parts raw linseed oil, two parts best japan and one part spirits of Tui-pentine. For Inside Work. For inside work that is to be left without graining or varnishing, use three parts raw linseed oil, two parts best japan, and one part spirits of Turpentinewith lead or colors. To prepare groundwork for Graining. For all light graining, have 3'our ground- Avork straw color, varj'ing the shade light or dark to correspond with the shade you want your graining, and mix with spirits of Tur- pentine and a very little japan. A groiind^vork for Mabogany Is made of white leid, French Yellow and Venetian Red, mixed so as to form a deep salmon color. Black Walnut Ground. For a walnut ground mix white lead with raw Umber and burnt Sienna until you get a deep reddish yellow. 14 Enameling. Give the surface to be enameled three coats of pure white lead mixed with white sprits of Turpentine and a ver}- little enamel liquid. Sandpaper the work smooth between each coat, and have the work and room well dusted. When the last coat is dry put on the enamel, which is made by mixing four pounds of enamel white Avith one gallon of enamel liquid. Have the room closed and kept at an even temperature when applying. I Give the work two coats. To Grain Oak in Water Colors. Grind together equal parts of raw^ Sienna • and raw Umber in strong vinegar ; then with a sponge moistened with vinegar, rub a little of the color on the work to be grained, using care to have the color even and smooth. Have ready some graining combs made of 15 rubber belting, and a small piece of rubber one by one and a half inches square. As soon as the color is applied take the square rubber and rub out the coarse grains. Then draw your graining comb so to compare with the coarse grain. Then blend the coarse grain lengthwise, and the fine grains at an angle of forty-five degrees with a badger, or camel's hair blender. It will help you very much to have a piece of oak board to copy from until you get learned. To Grain Oak in Oil Colors. The ground should have a little more gloss for oil graining, which you can get by adding a little more japan to your groundwork. Then mix and grind very fine in boiled oil raw Umber and raw sienna. Dissolve a small piece of beeswax in spirits of Turpen- tine, and add to your graining color to make it stand the comb. Apply a thin coat of the 16 color with a brush partly worn. Then with a piece of cotton cloth drawn over the end of the thumb, wipe out the coarse grains or heart, and with 3'our combs put in the fine grains. A piece of cork is also very nseful in wiping out grains, both in water and oil col- ors. To Grain Black Walnut. To strain black walnut in oil or water col- ors, have your groundwork and graining col- ors darker than for oak by using more Um- ber and a little Vand^'ke brown, and proceed about the same as with oak, only the grains should be less prominent, and can be made with a short stiff overgrainer instead of combs. The graining color is Burnt Umber. Curly Maple. The groundwork is a light straw color, and the graining color is one part raw Sienna, and Uvo parts raw Umber well ground in vinegar. Then with a sponge put on a light coat of the color. Now take a short bristled flat brush and carry it from one end of your work to the other with a short jumping motion, and blend crosswise the grain. When it is dry have an overgrainer filled with some of the same color, very thin, and pass over the work lightly with a wavy motion of the hand, and blend crosswise quickly. Birdseye Maple. The groundwork and colors for graining are the same as for curly maple. Put the graining color on the same way, and roll your sponge from one end of the work to the other. Then with the ends of your fingers strike light- ly on the work in different places, making the eyes. When this is done, blend lightly cor- nerwise the work. As soon as it is dry enough, top grain as for curly maple, and var- nish when dry. 18 To Grain Chestnut. To grain chestnut, proceed about the same as with oak, with the exception of blending the grain. It should also be gi-ained a little coarser. Yellow Birch. Prepare a buff ground, and put on a grain- ing color composed of two parts raw Sienna and one part burnt Umber. Have ready an- other dish of colors, composed of .one part raw Sienna and two parts burnt Umber. Then with a separate sponge partly filled with the last color, and before the first is dry, pass over the first near the edges in an off-hand manner, as you see the dark streaks in a birch board, and blend quickly, crosswise the work. Mahogany. The groundwork for mahogany is a light salmon color, and the graining colors are 19 burnt Sienna and Vandyke Brown each mixed in a separate dish. Pass over the work with a coat of burnt Sienna. Then put on the Vandyke Brown where you want the branch to show. Now roll your sponge over the dark or branch part, then lay the edge of the sponge on the center of the branch and bring it to the bottom with a slight curve outward at starting. Proceed the same way the whole length of the branch, and so on to the edge. Blend from the center of the branch outw^ard and crosswise. Graining should have a good coat of coach varnish. To Imitate Rosewood. This requires a brilliant ground, prepared from Vermillion Lake and white lead. For graining, grind Vandyke Brown thick in vinegar. The graining must be put on in a peculiar way, so as to imitate the remarkable grain of the wood. The light and dark 20 patches, veins, knots, &c. are produced with an overgrainer filled with Red Umber, w-ith a careful attention to the distinctive char- acter and peculiar grain of the w^ood. To Imitate Granite. Paint your work a light lead color. Then with a brush partly filled with thick black paint, strike against a hammer handle or iron rod, in such a manner as to spatter the groundwork, and go through the same per- formance with white paint. Other shades can be used, if desired, in the same manner. Marbling. To imitate light colored marble, paint your groimdwork white, and stain in patches wath a light grey. For veiniug, use raw Umber and lampblack, ground separately. Take a feather and dip lightly in the Umber, and draw it cornerw^ise, at intervals, across the w^ork. Proceed the same with the black. 21 very lightly. Then spatter on it spots of black and Umber, as in graniting, and with your blender, blend across the veins. Other light colors can be used for the grounds, and you can substitute a variety of colors for the veining with good effect. Egyptian Marble. The groundwork is black, and when pre- pared, put on a few patches of yellowy white and drab, intermingling them as much as possible. Then with a striping brush, draw a few veins from the edge to the larger veins or patches with the same colors. Carriage Painting. Have the work rubbed smooth and well dusted. For priming, give two coats of lead color, and rub smooth with fine sandpaper. Dust well, and proceed to put on any color you choose, two coats, ground very thick in boiled oil and thinned down with spirits of 22 Turpentine so as to make a dead flat. When perfectly hard proceed to stripe. Striping. Select any color you choose for striping, except black, and grind very fine in boiled oil. Colors ground in boiled oil flow more evenly from the striper than any way of mix- ing I have ever tried. Lampblack for strip- ing should be ground fine in spirits of Tur- pentine and japan with a very little boiled oil. For nice work, put on a light coat of varnish before striping. Varnishing. This is a very particular part of the work, and should be done in a warm room free from dust. Select a good wearing body coach var- nish and put it on good work with a badger or camel's hair brush. For coarser work, use a common oval tristle varnish brush. 23 Rubbing down Carriage and Sleigh Tops after the Priming is dry. Put on a thick coat of spruce or French Yellow mixed with spirits of Turpentine and a very little japan, when well dried rub down with a piece of pumice stone and clear water. To Paint Truck Wagons and Farming Tools. Mix white lead wdth three parts raw lin- seed oil, two parts japan and one part spirits of Turpentine, and color with Prussian Blue, or any other color you choose. To Paint Chairs« Common chairs should have the first coat mixed of Rosepink and spirits of Turpentine, with a little japan to set the color. When this is dry put on the black, mixed the same way, in patches as you see them on new chairs. For chairs and furniture that need graining, proceed as with other graining. 24 Bronze Ornaments for Furniture. Select the style of ornaments you want from other furniture. Make a piece of pa- per transparent by wetting it Avith spirits of Turpentine. When dry lay it over the or- nament you have selected, and with a pencil mark out the ornament on the paper, and with a sharp pointed knife cut out the figures. When the varnish on your furniture is near- ly dry, lay on your pattern, and with a piece of velvet tied over the end of a stick and dipped in bronze powder, proceed to dot over the places you have cut out, and when done take off the paper and you will find the bronze on the work to correspond with the figure cut out on the paper. Brilliant Whitewash. Slake one half bushel of lump lime in boiling water. Cover during the process to keep in the steam. Strain the liquid through 25 a fine sieve and add a peck of salt, well dis- solved in warm water, three pounds of rice, boiled to a thin paste and stirred in boiling hot, one-half pound of whiting, and one pound of white glue, well dissolved. Add five gallons of hot water, stir thoroughly and let it stand three or four days, covered from the dust. It should be put on quite hot. Coloring matter ma}^ be put in to make it any shade you like. Good Common "Whitewash Is made by slaking the lime as above, and adding one pound of white vitriol or two pounds of alum to each pailful. Landscape Painting. The first things to be procured is a light frame, and a piece of canvas the size you want your picture. Fasten the canvas to the frame by tacking the edges with small car- pet tacks, in such a manner that there shall 20 be no wrinkles in the canvas. When this is done size yonr canvas and give it a coat of bnfi-colored paint. When dry commence at the top to paint the sky, using Prussian Blue. Let the paint grow lighter as you work down toward the horizon, which should be a deep buff" tinged with red for sunset scenes' Mix your cloud color, which is a mixture of Lake, White and Blue, and put the clouds on in patches. Next comes the w^ater, which is a mixtm*e of Blue, Lumber and White, and should grow^darker as you advance to the bot- tom of the picture. For sail-boats in the dis- tance, put on two small patches of white, one nearly under the other, the lower one the smallest, and put a dark spot between them. For mountains, use Umber, yellow and white, making them smaller and lighter as they re- cede toward the horizon. The foreground is made of Green, Yellow, Umber and white, from which a great variety of shades can be 27 obtained. The foreground should be filled iu with trees, houses, fences, rocks, roads, &c. Paint the trunks and branches of trees Umber, and touch up with Yellow. The fo- liage with green and other colors that blend with it, by dipping the end of a small brush into color, and dotting the end against the picture where you want the leaves. Put in the houses and fences of most any color that will contrast. Decalcomania ; or Transferring. The art of transferring pictures and orna- ments is but very little understood, yet the process is very simple and cau be carried on by most any one, after a little practice. Pro- cure your transfer pictures and varnish of a picture dealer, and with a fine pencil brush put the varnish on the picture, being careful to touch every part of it. Then lay the pic- 28 ture on the place you design to have it. Let it remain a few minutes, and with a sponge moistened with clear water, wet the paper thoroughly that covers the picture. After it is well moistened, take hold of one corner of the paper and raise it up carefully and it will come off leaving the picture clear and nice. Sign Painting. To letter well requires considerable prac- tice. The better way for beginners is to ob- tain the style of letter you want from a print- ing office, and cut out patterns. Mark out the letters on the board, and proceed to paint in with any color you choose. When the letters are dry lay on your pattern again, and slide three-fourths of an inch to the right or left, and down or up about the same: Then mark out the shade and paint with another color, and you will get a perfect shaded let- ter. 29 G-ilding. For putting on gold leaf, grind a little Chrome Yellow in fatted oil, and paint over the letter as before. Then open the book which contains the leaf, and gently press the leaf on to the work, using care to have the sizing set, so that the leaf will stick ; or put it on with a velvet covered roller, and brush off clean with a soft hair brush. Kalsomining. The art of Kalsomining is very little under- stood in the country, yet is very simple, and the kalsomine can be prepared and applied almost as easily as whitewash. Take six pounds of Paris White and dis- solve in hot water to the consistency of thick milk. Dissolve one-half pound of white glue and add while hot, then apply with a good flat brush. Go over the work 30 with a secoud coat, crosswise, as soon as the first coat is perfectly dry. Black Walnut Stain. For staining bhick wahuit, dissolve Gum Asphaltum in spirits of Turpentine by setting the dish in a warm place, and apply to the bare wood with a common brush. IIS^DEX Briishe'sselection of - - - - 6 Buff Color, " ■ " ° ° ■ o Blue, "■■■"'■ n Bronze Green, |^ Black Walnut grouud, - • - - 16 Black Walnnt, to grain, - - - - lb Birdseye Maple, to gram, - - " M Bronze, to ornament with, - - - - ^* Colors for outside, ' ' ' ' I Cream Color, - - " " " ^ Chocolate, ■ - " ■ " • ir Curly Maple, to grain, - - - - i^> Chestmit, to grain, ' ' ' ' oa Carriage Painting, * .V " " " r,i Chairs and Furniture, to pamt, - - - J6 Drab Color, to paint, - - - - ^^^ Decalcomania, the art of, - - ' 7,i Egyptian Marble, - - - ' ' u Enameling, - " " ' " ^* Flesh Color, - - " ' " ' ^ French Grey, - - " " ' . i a Freestone Color, ----- i'J Farming Tools, to paint, - - -^ Fawn Color, to paint, - - ' ' t Grey, a beautiful, - - - - " ii Green, - - " " " " .. Grass Green, - - - " ' \!^ Invisible Green, - - - ■ " }^ Gold Color, ^-^ 3 -2 Groundwork for Graining, - . - 13 Granite, to Imitate, - 20 Gilding,' . - - - - - 29 Light Green, - 11 Lead Color, -. - - - - - 10 Landscape Painting, - 25 Mahogany Ground, - - - 18 Mahogany, to grain. - 18 Marble, to Imitate, - - - - - 20 Oak, to grain in Water Colors, - - U Oak, to grain in Oil Colors, - - 15 Purple, to paint, - - - 9 Paints for inside work, - - 13 Preface, . - - - - 3 Remarks on Painting, - 4. 5-, 6 Red, a coramtai, - 10 Rosewood, to grain, - . . 19 Rubbing down\:arriage and Sleigh 1 'ops, 23 Shellac Size, how to make, . 5 Salmon Color, - 7 Straw Color, . 8 Stone Color, - 10 Striping, . - 22 Sign Painting, . 28 White Paint for Outside, . - 6 AVeather, remarks on the, . 6 Whitewash, a Brilliant, . - 24 Whitewash, a good Common, 25 Yellow, Dark, - - . 12 Yellow, Light, 12 Yellow for Floors, . - 12 Yellow^ Birch, to grain, . 18 Varnishing, . . . . - - 22 Kalsomining, - 29 Black Walnut Stain, - - - 13 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS lllilllllllilllllillllllillilllllllllllllllllllll 014 051 085 3