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GENERAL HINTS ^'^ i 
 
 ON 
 
 HOUSE PAINTING: 
 
 CON'TAININO 
 
 Irartital %v\t% anir ^nfonnatioit 
 
 ON THE SUBJECT OF 
 
 PAINTS AND PAINTING 
 
 FOR THH 
 
 JODBNMMAN, THE APPRIMICE AND THE INEXPERiyCED. 
 
 BY WM. R. OOX. 
 
 CINCINNATI : 
 
 18V2. 
 
 ^- -^ , 2S# 
 
 CINCINNATI OAZE'TE PRINT 
 
GENERx^L HINTS 
 
 ON 
 
 HOUSE PAINTING: 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 Irattud fettles anir J[nf0rmati0n 
 
 ON THE SUBJECT OF 
 
 PAINTS AND PAINTING, 
 
 JOJIRNEyJIAN, THE APPRENTICE m THE INEXPERIENCED. 
 
 BY WM. Jl. OOX. 
 
 ^N9 ^^y 
 
 CINCINNATI : 
 
 1872- 
 
1p 
 
 V 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by 
 
 WM. R. COX & CO. 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 To OUR Patrons and the Public, 
 
 ll N presenting the iollowing general hints on House Painting, 
 |l Varnishing, etc., to our customers and the public, we have 
 only to rennark that they are entirely practical, and are writ- 
 ten with the view of supplying informotion, such as we are 
 called upon to furnish daily. We make v.o attempt at technical 
 description, but confine ourselves exelu; ively to such wording 
 as the simplest may understand. There has been more pre- 
 tentious works issued on the subject of paints and painting, 
 but we have looked in them in vain for such hints as the every- 
 day workman requires. The rules we lay down here are those 
 that we follow ourselves, and have followed during the past 
 twenty-five years. 
 
 With the aid of instructions conveyed in this little book, we 
 believe the most inexperienced will be able to go about a job of 
 painting with a knowledge suflScient to turn out a fair speci- 
 men of work. We do not propose to make finished artists, for 
 they are even rare in the house painting profession ; but if we 
 enable our readers to do better work with our hints than they 
 could do without them, it is all that we hope for or claim. 
 
 Yery respectfully, 
 
 WM. R. COX & CO. 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 TO MIX ANY ORDINARY COLOR— SAY, WHITE. 
 
 Take from your keg of pure white lead (no other should 
 be used) as much as you think will do the work you wish to 
 do. Then add as much Japan dryer as will dry it in twenty- 
 four hours, which, if it is a good article, will be, say a large 
 teaspoonlul to the pound of white lead, if it be warm weather; 
 but if cold or damp weather, a much larger portion, say a 
 tablespoonful, will be necessary. Then thoroughly mix by 
 stirring it with the lead until every particle of the brown color 
 of the Japan has been obliterated from the to]D of the lead, 
 being careful to stir the lead up around the sides of your 
 paint-pot, so as not to leave a particle of the Japan to show 
 either on the top of the lead or on the sides of the j^ot. If 
 the work you are doing is inside work, and is the priming or 
 first coat, you will then add of pure raw linseed oil and tur- 
 pentine mixed, of the proportion of three quarts of oil to one 
 quart of turpentine, a small quantity to your pot of color, and 
 before stirring, wash the paint stick and sides of the pot thor- 
 oughly with a brush, in order to remove all the thick lead and 
 Japan from the sides. The object of this is to first get all the 
 lead into one compact mass, or of an even consistency, and 
 second (and which is of the greatest importance to new be- 
 ginners), to induce habits of cleanliness in working their pots 
 and tools. 
 
 After washing off all color from the sides of your pot, ren- 
 dering it perfectly clean, you will then stir the lead with the 
 thinners* added until it is incorporated. If the color be too 
 thick for use, add more, and stir until you make it of the 
 proper consistency. If for priming on new work, your color 
 
 *The word tMnners is tlie technical term applied to oil and turpentine when mixed 
 together, and where both are to be applied at one and the same time. 
 
2 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 should be thinned until it is as limpid as skim milk; but if for 
 second coating, or for a covering of work that has been pre- 
 viously painted, and you wish to renew it, your color should 
 be of the consistency of thick cream. 
 
 After having your color prepared and ready for application, 
 first remove all dirt, sand or mortar (should there be any) 
 from the surface by rubbing it with No. 1 or 1| sandpaper. 
 Then apply your paint in the following manner : 
 
 If it be a door or window frame, begin at the bottom of one 
 side, painting upward, being sure to cover the entire surface 
 evenly by rubbing your color out with the brush until you 
 have covered every quirk, bead or angle. Then lay off your 
 work by drawing the brush from the bottom upward, being 
 careful in handling your tools, so as not to flirt or throw the 
 color from your brush on the floor. 
 
 Continue on your next stretch or space, standing clear of the 
 frame as far as you can reach. When this latter portion of the 
 frame is done, lay it off by drawing your brush from the top of 
 your stretch downward until it completely covers or laps on to 
 what was first done. If your work shows any brush or bristle- 
 marks, you will gently touch the point of your brush (which 
 should by this time be almost free of color) to the work, strik- 
 ing it lightly over the face of the frame, right and left. 
 
 The best guide to go by in laying off work, is to always 
 finish or lay off the work so as to run with the grain of the 
 wood. After doing your second stretch, if your work be not 
 done to the top of the frame, continue in the same manner to 
 the top. Then do the top to the other side, and downward to 
 the bottom. When reaching the floor, cut close to it with the 
 point of your brush. When finished, if any portion of the 
 paint has touched the floor, carefully remove it with your putty 
 knife (by the way, that and one other tool — a simple ladder- 
 hook — composes the entire stock of tools required by a painter, 
 and he should never be without them). If you have by acci- 
 dent allowed any of the paint to splatter upon the floor, care- 
 fully remove every one of the stains by rubbing them off with 
 sandpaper ; or if they be small, with the ball of the foot. Fol- 
 low the same rules until all the work you propose doing is 
 complete. 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 3 
 
 TO PAINT OR PRIME A DOOR, 
 
 Clean off as first directed. If there be any spots of dirt or 
 dust, paint the two top panels first, being careful to thorough- 
 ly fill every quirk or angle in the moulding around it, and take 
 care not to let too much color get in the quirks or angles. 
 Then the two bottom ones, then your meeting or up and down 
 rails between panels; then your lock rail, your top and bottom 
 rails, and lastly your side rails, being careful to at all times ap- 
 ply your color evenly, and to lay off each rail with the course of 
 the grain of the wood, to make a closely defined and evenly cut 
 dividing line between the course of the cross rails and the up and 
 down rails. If you should do so, carefully wipe it all out with 
 a dry brush, or your sash-tool. Then lay off carefully as before 
 directed. 
 
 TO PAINT A WINDOW. 
 
 First find if your sash are hung on cord, or are provided 
 with catches. If the former, run down the top sash until 
 even with the sill, then carefully remove all dirt or soot 
 from the runs of the sash (commonly called pulley stiles) ; 
 then clean your sash with a duster, carefully removing all 
 dirt from the corners. Then shove the inside or bottom sash 
 up so as to entirely cover all but the top rail of the top 
 sash; then take your sash tool and carefully trace each light, 
 commencing at the three top lights, if there be that many. 
 Then the three lower ones; then run around the entire rail of 
 the sash, taking special care not to let your brush touch the 
 pulley stiles, as the paint not only prevents the sash from run- 
 ning smoothly, but is a sure indication of a slovenly or care- 
 less workman. After doing this, shove the top sash half way 
 up the window, and pull the top one down until the bottom of 
 it has cleared the top rail of the tojD sash. Then paint as you 
 did the first part. Then examine the glass carefully, and wipe 
 the surface of it all over, to be sure that you do not leave any 
 spots of paint upon it. This being done, you will shove it up 
 till within a half inch of the top of the window, that it may dry. 
 Should you shove it clear up into the pulley stiles, and it re- 
 mains long enough to become dry, it is likely to become stuck 
 or glued fast by the paint on the sash. Do the bottom sash in 
 precisely the same manner, with the exception that you will 
 
4 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 paint tlie top edge of your sash fiist. When finishing, do your 
 frame around in the same manner as before. When the doors 
 and frames are finished, you will (if there be one) do the cap 
 of the base the same color ; after that, paint the lower part of 
 your base, and your room will be finished with the exception of 
 the mantle. If there is one to be painted, proceed as follows: 
 The color will make no' difference whatever as to the way 
 work should be done, therefore we will say nothing about 
 colors at present. 
 
 TO PAINT A MANTLE, 
 
 First thoroughly clean off the mantle, if it be required, 
 dusting out the corners of the hearth, and remove all ashes 
 and other refuse matter. Erush all back from it so as 
 to entirely clean the hearthstone, so as not to stir it up with 
 your feet in working. With your sash-tool cut carefully 
 around the bottom of the plinth or foot of the column of the 
 mantle. Then carefully lay on your color to the cap of col- 
 umn, cutting the line between the plaster up to the top of 
 shelf. Do the other column in like manner. When both are 
 complete, do the under part of the shelf, and aftef this do the 
 entire front. Lastly, clean off the top of the shelf, and your 
 work is finished. This formula will apply to almost every 
 species of house-painting. 
 
 SECOND COATING. 
 
 We will now suppose that the work you have just finished 
 is the priming, or first coat, of an entirely new house, 
 and that your intention is to finish it with but three coats 
 of plain white. This being the case, the next thing is 
 to prepare work for its second coat as follows : With some 
 good, pure putty in the left hand, and a putty-knife in 
 your right, fill uj) fiush all nail holes and other imperfections 
 in the following manner : Openings or cracks that may be 
 found occasioned by the works not being j)roperly put to- 
 gether, or from the shrinkage of green lumber j take i^articular 
 care to fill up flush all hammer bruises or other imperfections 
 to give the work a clean, uniform appearance. After the work 
 is entirely puttied up, rub it clean and smooth with Ko. 1 sand- 
 paper ; a sheet of which tear in four equal parts, and then 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 5 
 
 double each part as' jou use it with the sanded side outward, 
 taking care to rub up and down or across, as the course of the 
 grain of the wood may run. On all moulding or beads, double 
 up or squeeze your paper so as to remove all particles of fuzz 
 that may have been left by the joiner. When all is thoroughly 
 cleaned, and the surface is perfectly smooth, remove all parti- 
 cles of dust that may have accumulated in using the paper ; 
 and after all the work in the room has been done to your sat- 
 isfaction, and is ready for the second coat, prepare your color 
 as before directed, with the exception, that as this is the sec- 
 ond coat, it must necessarily be of a heavier body, or thicker 
 than that used as priming — sa}^ as thick as good cream. When 
 your color is ready, apply it as before directed, with the ex- 
 ception of being more careful in laying off your work than 
 you was with the first coat, in order to give the surface as 
 smooth an appearance as possible. After giving your work 
 sufficient time to dry and become perfectly hard, proceed to 
 again rub it off lightly with !N'o. -J sandpaper, as it is much 
 smoother and finer than No. 1, and is more suitable to make a 
 smooth surface on fresh paint. Should you still find small holes 
 or imperfections, putty them up as before, and run the sand- 
 paper over the face of the new putty to take off any that may 
 remain more than is necessary to make the work flush and 
 smooth. 
 
 THIRD COATING. 
 
 In preparing the color for this coat, if you wish to make a 
 nice job of it, and that it may remain white and clear, and not 
 turn yellow from the warmth of the sun and air, take of the 
 best French white zinc, ground in oil — say six pounds — and 
 of the best pure white lead, three pounds; stir well together, 
 and instead of using Japan for a dryer, add to the above ten 
 pounds of color, about half a pound of the best English pat- 
 ent dryer, ground in oil, adding a little spirits of turpentine 
 to assist you in more thoroughly mixing the dryer with the 
 lead. Add a little more turpentine (no oil to be used in this 
 coat, as it will surely turn j^ellow on the inside, or where 
 it does not get light and air, just as the finest white linen will 
 turn yellow by being excluded from the air for a long 
 time in laying in .a dark cupboard or drawer), and stir 
 
6 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 gently until the mixture is of an even consistency. When 
 thin enough for use, strain it carefully through a fine 
 brass wire strainer set over another pot to receive the strained 
 color as it runs through. If the color is a little too thick to 
 run through the strainer easily (which it should be), take your 
 sash-tool and rub the surface of the wire until it is all through 
 except the skins or dried particles of paint adhering to the 
 sides of the keg. If lumps of imperfectly mixed lead remain 
 in the strainer, put them back into the pot, and, with your 
 paddle and a little spirits of turpentine, thoroughly crush 
 them, and run them again through your strainer. 
 
 CLEANING THE MIXING POTS. 
 
 When thoroughly strained, wipe out the pot you mixed in 
 first with a dry brush (one that you have wiped all of the color 
 out of, by drawing it across the paint-stick, or over the edge of 
 your pot). Then add a small amount of spirits, • and, with 
 your other brush, wash around the inside and outside of your 
 l)ot, and across the wires of your strainer, in order to remove 
 all the remaining thick paint, and to prevent the strainer and 
 bucket from becoming useless. When you have got off all that 
 can be washed off with spirits and the brush, take a small 
 piece of soft rag (which you should always have with you), 
 and wipe off the inside and outside of both strainer and pot, 
 and with a stiff', short, clean duster, clean out all small particles 
 of paint that yet remain in the meshes of the strainer. If you 
 do not wish to use it, or the pot that you first mixed color in, 
 for the present, hang each of them in their proper places to be 
 ready for future use. Be particular to observe that the three 
 great princijiles of any business, and upon which rest all the 
 success any one may expect, are, first, econoray in- saving every- 
 thing that can be made useful ; second, cleanliness, that you 
 may be always able to use any tool you want without the loss 
 of time to clean it, when you are busy at something else ; and, 
 third, order, that you may be able to put your hands upon any- 
 thing you want the moment it is desired. 
 
 READY FOR WORK. 
 
 Now having your color and brushes all clean and ready for 
 use, you will proceed to apply it in the same manner as previ- 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 7 
 
 ous coats, taking renewed care in laying off your work and in 
 handling your brush, so as not to splatter or throw your color 
 (which from its being mixed entirely with spirits, has become 
 very limpid or short), and to rub off or clean up all that may fall 
 in working it. 
 
 Having finished your work with three good coats of white, 
 you may desire to give it a gloss or varnish finish. Should 
 this be the case, and you wish to make it a very white, clean 
 job of work, give it a fourth coat of pure, white zinc, prepared 
 in the same manner as the color for the third coat, with the 
 exception that you now add as a portion of your thinners 
 three fourths to one pint of pure white Damar varnish to help 
 give it a body. The next, or fourth coat, apply as before, lay- 
 ing on your color very smooth and with a very light touch of 
 the point of the brush to prevent brush-marks. (You will rec- 
 ollect that before applying additional coats of paint, the under 
 or last coat has become thoroughly dry and hard.) After this 
 fourth coat has stood long enough to become hard — say two 
 days — you will take of pure French zinc, ground in Damar 
 varnish, a sufficient quantity for the surface of the work to be 
 glossed — say two pounds of the zinc lead to one fourth of a 
 gallon (or even three pints is not too much if the lead be very 
 heavy), and stir them well together. If it is cold weather and 
 your varnish is heavy, add a very little turpentine to make it 
 work free and prevent its being what is called ropy (or show- 
 ing the large thick creases you sometimes see on work of this 
 kind caused by being laid on too thick). Strain and again ap- 
 ply. This coat will now begin to show a beautiful white gloss 
 or polish, but will, after it has set, look a little dead, on account 
 of not having a sufficient body of varnish under it. When it has 
 stood for a couple of days to dry, take what color there is left, if 
 any, and add more varnish, so as to make it of the proportion of 
 one and a half pounds of zinc lead, ground in Damar varnish, to 
 one fourth of a gallon of clear Damar, adding also a little sjoirit to 
 make it work free ; again apply as before. If you have followed 
 the directions strictly, you will find that you have as pretty a 
 job of glossed white as can reasonably be wished for, and which 
 will outwear anything that can be put on in the paint line. 
 
8 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 TO MIX STONE COLOR. 
 
 To mix stone color, or any dark color, take of the best white 
 lead ten pounds ; of pure yellow ochre ground in oil, two pounds ; 
 of Yenetian, one fourth of an ounce ; and of black, one fourth of 
 an ounce. Stir well together. (Always stir coloring with the 
 lead before adding any oil to it.) If it is too light, add a little 
 more black by tipping the point of your paint-stick into it, and 
 stirring until of a shade to suit. It is almost impttssible to give 
 a formula of any color that would give a specific quantity of each 
 of its compounds, caused by the variation in strength of different 
 colors. The same amount of a pure color mixed with another, 
 as, for instance, an ounce of pure lampblack, will turn ten 
 pounds of lead a very dark shade ; while a pound of an inferior 
 black would not make the same quantity of lead half as dark. 
 It would not be as clear and transparent as with the pure, but of 
 a muddy, cloudy appearance. Drab color is mixed the same as 
 stone color, with the exception that you add more yellow and 
 red and less black. To make a light brown, add red shaded with 
 brown till of a shade to suit. 
 
 WHITENING CEILINGS OR WALLS. 
 
 To whiten or color a ceiling or wall, place your trussel at one 
 end of the room ; with a bucket of water remove every particle of 
 smoke and soot, using for that purpose an old worn-out coloring 
 brush ; sponge dry. If the ceiling has been previously whitened, 
 remove every particle of it with brush and sponge ; or should it 
 have been whitewashed or scaled, and is hard to remove, first re- 
 move all loose particles with a scraper, and then wash clean, as 
 the cleaner you get it the less trouble you will have in making a 
 good job of work. When the ceilings are thor^oughly cleaned, 
 prepare your color aa follows: Take of best Gilder's whitening, 
 ten pounds ; of best American zinc, dry, four to five pounds. 
 Sift while dry through an ordinary flour seive, and mix with 
 water as thick as you can possibly make it. Put a half pound of 
 good ordinary white glue in a pot, and pour enough cold water 
 on it to cover it. Let it soak for an hour or so, then set it in a 
 pan or pot of boiling w^ater, and stir till entirely dissolved. 
 While your glue is dissolving, take a half bar of ordinary brown '■« 
 soap, and shave it fine in a small quantity of warm water ; 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. \) 
 
 set it on the stove to boil. When your soap and glue are ready, 
 pour them into your bucket of Avhitening. If it is too thick, add 
 a little cold water, if in warm weather, or a little warm water if 
 cold or winter weather. If two persons are engaged, divide the 
 color in two water buckets. Place a stick across the center of 
 each bucket, by cutting it just long enough to press down tight 
 about one inch below the top, as a rest for your brush when 
 not in use, and to wipe out the superfluous color while using. 
 When ready, both mount the scaffold, one at each end, and apply 
 your color, laying it on smoothly and freely, being careful to 
 cover every part of your work, taking a space as large as you 
 can conveniently reach. Remove your scaffold to another stretch 
 in same manner, repeating the operation until the entire ceiling 
 is covered. If there is a cornice or ornaments to the room, after 
 the flat surface is finished, give them a good coat of preparation, 
 using a small three-inch flat brush for the purpose, and your 
 small flat fitch to thoroughly color all the ornamQnts. When 
 your ceiling has become dry — which in good dry weather will be 
 almost as soon as you can go from one side of a ceiling to the 
 other — if you have any of your first coating left, add enough of 
 pure clean whitening and zinc to make the quantity desired. Add 
 a very little white glue well dissolved, stir well together, and 
 then thin with cold water until it is the consistency of milk. Go 
 over your ceiling again, being careful as before to cover every 
 particle of its surface. When dry, your ceiling will present a 
 beautiful white appearance. Finish your cornice and center- 
 piece, and your work is done. 
 
 To kalsomine or color walls use the same process precisely, 
 shading your color or colors to suit the taste, and adding a larger 
 solution of glue, in order to prevent its rubbing off. If your 
 ceilings are very dirty and stained, as is sometimes the case, the 
 addition of a little ultramarine blue will prove of great benefit 
 in making your color cover and look solid and smooth. 
 
 TO MAKE TINTED COLORS. 
 
 To make different colors for walls, or tinted colors, as they are 
 sometimes called, take of your whitening ready prepared for use. 
 To make a pink, add enough of English or French vermillion, well 
 worked in water, as will darken the color to four or five shades dark- 
 er than you want it, when dry and in order. To get the color to suit 
 
10 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 you before applying, spread a small quantity of color on a piece of 
 paper and lay it on the stove to dry. If it is not dark enough, 
 add more red. When of the right shade, strain it through a 
 paint-strainer, to get the color thoroughly mixed. Then apply 
 as before described. 
 
 To make a French gray, add pure ultramarine blue, in quan- 
 tity as your taste desires. Then add dry Indian red, well 
 pulverized, to give it a delicate redish tint, but not enough to 
 make it a purple; add, in very small quantities at a time, pure 
 English drop black until your color is of that peculiar neutral 
 tint in which the black, blue and red are so evenly blended 
 that neither of them will predominate, and yet all of them 
 can be detected. This will make what is called a French gray. 
 Strain as before. 
 
 To make lavender, or lilac, take of best No. 40 carmine, 
 dry enough to make your color as deep as you require. 
 When thoroughly mixed, add enough of French ultramarine 
 blue to let neither blue nor carmine predominate. If you wish 
 it a warm tint, add but little blue, if a cold tint of lilac, add 
 more blue until a required, shade is reached, being careful, in 
 every case, to strain your color before using, as if it is not 
 perfectly mixed it is apt to look cloudy and streaked, and 
 mars the beauty of the work. 
 
 All other shades, both in oil and water color, can be pre- 
 pared to suit the taste in the same manner. If green is 
 desired, and you want a very delicate tint, use the best Paris 
 green to shade with ; or, if a good strong durable green, use 
 any of the best chrome greens, as magnesia or Marseilles. If 
 brown, use Yan Dyke or burnt umber, or red and black. If 
 neither Yan Dyke or umber are warm enough, and you want 
 a very brilliant brown, warm up your color with a little 
 English or French vermillion, or if you do not desire so ex- 
 pensive a color, use the ordinary Yenetian red. If maroon 
 color is wanted, use Indian red shaded with a little Prussian 
 or celestial blue, shaded to suit. And so On through all 
 the different combination of colors that could be thought of or 
 desired. 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 11 
 
 TO MAKE GRAINING COLORS IN OIL. 
 
 If a light color is desired, take as much white lead as you 
 require to do the work. Add yellow ochre until it is as dark as 
 you want it; stir the Japan, wash down the sides of 3^ our 
 pot, and add thinners till ready for use, and then apply. If 
 you wish the base, or any portion of your work darker than 
 the rest, add more ochre and a slight tint of Venetian red, till 
 of the color required. This combination is universally used 
 for graining. But, to make a nice, clean, clear color, take of 
 white lead, ten lbs.; light chrome yellow, a half to one and 
 three quarters lbs. ; and of the best burnt sienna in oil as much 
 as will take the sharpness off of the yellow, being careful to 
 not get too much sienna in your color, as it will be apt to 
 give your graining too fiery a cast. When ready, apply as 
 before. 
 
 TO GRAIN OAK — TOOLS TO BE USED. 
 
 When your groundwork is properly finished and ready for 
 graining, before applying your graining color, sandpaper the 
 work thoroughly, to get it smooth and free from all rough- 
 ness of the paint, and then prepare your graining color as fol- 
 lows : Pure burnt sienna, one lb.; raw umber, half lb.; beeswax 
 dissolved in boiled oil, one ounce ; of pure whitening groMud 
 in oil, to lighten and make your color transparent, one half to 
 three quarters lbs.; stir thoroughly together, and to the proper 
 consistency, thus prepared, as follows : Of pure turpen- 
 tine, three pints ; of boiled oil, one i)int ; of Japan dryer, one 
 half pint, thus — turj^entine and Japan to be first well mixed 
 to prevent curdling ; then add the oil, mixed well by shaking. 
 When the color is ready for use, strain and apply. If too dark 
 for the groundwork, add a little more sienna and whitening; 
 and if not dark or brown enough, add a little more umber ; and 
 if raw umber does not give as brown a cast as you desire, add 
 (thoroughly mixing) a little pure burnt umber, and see that all 
 the ingredients are perfectly mixed. Strain again before 
 using. Then, with a No. 7 or 8 sash-tool dipped in your 
 color, apply some of it to the panel or such portion of the work 
 you propose graining, and with a three and a half inch paste 
 brush thoroughly distribute the color you have put on with 
 
12 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 the sash-tool until it has covered the entire panel, or such por- 
 tion of it as you wish to cover; and so proceed until the entire 
 side of door or the piece of work you propose doing is covered. 
 If you wish to have a portion of panel or rail a little darker 
 than another, as is often found in the natural wood, draw your 
 sash-tool over the portion you wish to darken, and with your 
 blending brush distribute the color evenly and smoothly. 
 When finished and ready for the figuring, if you wish to imi- 
 tate the heart of the w^ood, proceed with apiece of canton 
 flannel of from four to six inches wide and twelve or fifteen 
 long, one corner of which you will have drawn over the thumb, 
 so that the nail may make the vein or imitation, being careful 
 to shift the flannel over the thumb every moment or two so as to 
 always have a clean portion just over the nail. Be sure at all 
 times to have a clearly wiped out and distinct vein. Continue 
 to add vein after vein until your piece of work has as many 
 figures in it as you may think the work requires. Then with 
 your coarse comb strike lightly over the work, being sure to 
 draw your comb along the course the grain pursues, so as to 
 give it an open, crooked appearance of the same figure of oak. 
 Then, with a small camel's hair pencil and some thick grain- 
 ing color, delicately and neatly strike in the dark shades. 
 Comb up the side of your panel, run around the moulding 
 with the fine comb, and the panel wnll be ready for shading. 
 You will then proceed with the next portion, or what is 
 called a light imitation. Finish with your leather, or rubber 
 comb carefully two-thirds of the panel. This will produce the 
 carefully curved appearance of oak wood. Then comb the 
 center a little finer, gently varying the course of the comb by 
 holding it diagonally to the course of the grain to be made ; 
 then with your coarse and medium steel combs comb up the 
 unfinished portion of the panel, being careful to let your 
 lines gradual!}^ grow finer from the center or starting points 
 until they are as fine as your first comb will make it. and 
 with a flannel cloth wipe out the figures or grain of the 
 wood, carefully imitating the pattern you have selected to 
 copy. After completing your panels, do the meeting or cross 
 rails, varying the style of pattern of figure as much as possible, 
 to relieve the work of too much sameness, or too much of one 
 figure, which does not look well. 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 18 
 
 To do graining you should have a full set of combs, consisting 
 of a fine, a medium and a coarse comb, each of one, two, 
 three and four inches wide, a good leather or India rubber 
 comb, one side cut to grain a coarse line, and the other to 
 grain a medium or fine line. A good gralner who knows how 
 to handle and shape his comb to the work can make the first 
 lines by simply modulating the course of his comb, as he draws 
 it over his work. In addition to his set of combs, he wants 
 a duster, a blender, a three and a half inch paste brush, a sash- 
 tool, a top-grainer, two or three small pencils, and his sandiDajDcr, 
 to first smooth off the work before applying color. 
 
 SHADENG. 
 
 After graining has become dry, if you wish to shade it, take 
 a little thick umber and sienna mixed together upon a pallette 
 board or a small piece of window glass, dip the point of your 
 sash-tool into the color, and apply it to the portion of panel or 
 rail you wish to shade; then with your blending brush carefully 
 blend the color all over the part you want darkened, and careful- 
 ly wipe out the portion you want to show light; and with your 
 blender again soften down the edges of the shade, making a clean 
 and distinct line on all portions of both rails and stiles, where 
 they join each other, by laying the square edge of a piece of tin 
 made for the purpose, or a piece of sandpaper, which is always 
 most convenient and will answer as well. Then with your grain- 
 ing cloth wipe off all the shading color that may be left on the 
 portion you wish left without the shade. Darken the mouldings, 
 if there be any to the door or frame, to make a pleasant contrast. 
 Leave work to dry. 
 
 Your work has now received three coats of graining color, 
 and has been grained and shaded; the pores of the wood must 
 necessarily be entirely filled from observation. Should it then 
 require varnishing, you must use a first rate article, or your 
 work will in a very short time be completely ruined by the 
 cracking of the varnish. 
 
 QUALITY OF VARNISH. 
 
 Yarnish sold bj^most of the drug stores is of the cheapest kind, 
 and is not fit for anything that has ever had a coat of paint. 
 
14 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 Kot one dealer in a hundred knows enough of the nature of paint 
 or varnish to give the purchaser the proper instructions as to 
 what he should buy for his work. The jiurchaser does not re- 
 quire much, but wants a good article, and is willing to pay for 
 it. Eight here I may as well state the uses of the different 
 varnishes and their names. First, or cheapest, sold by all 
 dealers, is the No. 1 copal or furniture varnish. This is usually 
 adulterated with rosin, and is almost worthless for any pur- 
 pose, unless it be to fill up the pores of open grained woods by 
 first applying it and afterward scraping it all off. Next, is 
 the extra No. 1 copal, which is made of good, pure, selected 
 gum-copal and made with care ; when a really good article, it 
 is the most serviceable varnish in use, and is used by all fur- 
 niture makers for their first or filling-u]3 coat, and upon which 
 they rub and prepare their work, with the exception of the 
 last or flowing coat, which is alwaj^s of the best (or should be 
 of the best) Zanzibar selected gum. The extra No. 1 copal 
 can be used for all kinds of interior housework where the nat- 
 ural wood is used, and where. the work does not come in contact 
 with the sun, as with window sashes or inside shutters, or the 
 outside of doors or frames. The best and surest varnish for 
 all first or under coats of hard-wood finish, either interior or 
 exterior, is the rubbing body or hard drying coach varnish. 
 This varnish is prej^ared expressly as a foundation or filling 
 varnish for coach work, with hard gum and a little oil, so as 
 to admit of being easily rubbed down to a polishing surface. 
 It also combines durability of wear with quick drying, and be- 
 comes hard enough to rub in from four to five days after the 
 application of each coat. These qualities give it a superior 
 advantage over all other varnishes made, anid should at all 
 times give it a decided preference over any other. 
 
 Where parties desire a good and lasting job of work, it must 
 be borne in mind that the hard drying coach varnish should 
 be finished with a flowing coat of the best Zanzibar, or the best 
 flowing coach or English coach varnish, as a hard- drying var- 
 nish is capable of being rubbed to a polish, and not having 
 as much oil in its combination as the flowing or finishing var- 
 nishes, is apt to go dead, or blind, if left to come in contact 
 with the atmosphere. As our instructions in varnishing hard 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 15 
 
 wood will cover that point, wc will drop it here, and resume it 
 under a more general heading. 
 
 In varnishing grained work, no one should think of using a 
 No. 1 copal, as it is only a fiUing-up varnish, and from its liabil- 
 ity to crack, would ruin any painted groundwork on which it 
 is used, no matter how much boiled oil the painter may use 
 with it— as is often practiced by unscrupulous and rascally men 
 who have no regard for their reputation either for honesty or 
 workmanship. This rascality is practiced every day in this 
 and every other city in the country, and is encouraged by the 
 owners of buildings and contractors, and by worthless stokers 
 and deckhands on steamboats, who daub the spars and buckets 
 with a simple mixture of boiled oil and white lead in any way 
 that will cover the grain of the wood and make it look clean. 
 These fellows, when their occupation is gone by the boat again 
 resuming its regular trips, have the effrontery to aj)2^1y to the 
 first boss for a situation as a full-fledged painter. Being the 
 busy season, and needing help, the boss puts one of these men 
 (fresh from painting his last steamboat bucket) to work prim- 
 ing brick wall, or some other work that he cannot j)Ossibly 
 spoil. The boss soon discovers who his new man is, but, as he 
 is short of help, the man is retained as an assistant until the 
 hurry is over, and is paid off at what he is worth. Having 
 acquired another new idea of painting, the man engages with 
 another boss for a day or two. It is often the case that he will 
 not work for a boss more than an hour. (I have myself dis- 
 charged and set to work three different men in an hour, all of 
 them professing to fully understand the work.) By the time 
 our amateur painter has been employed and discharged by 
 five or six — possibly ten or twelve — shops, he has worked, in 
 that time, say two weeks, and has had an opportunity to see 
 the inside and outside finish of some pretty well painted 
 houses, he considers his education in the painting business 
 fully equal to the best workman in the city. As the busy sea- 
 son is ended, and he can no longer procure work, he is ready 
 to start an establishment for himself. 
 
 Having no proper knowledge of the business, he purchases 
 spurious drugs and inferior oils, makes cheap blind cash con- 
 tracts, ruins half a dozen well painted houses, is found out. 
 
16 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 leaves his bills unpaid, and "jumps the town," to repeat the 
 eame course of daubing and rascality in another locality. 
 
 Kesume. — The painter, in order to make a good and perma- 
 nent job (jf his graining, just done, must give it two good coats 
 of varnish, as follows: the first coat should.be of the best hard- 
 drying or rubbing body coach, applied just thick enough to flow 
 easily and smoothly. When the work is finished, it should be 
 given at least one week to dry, before putting en the last coat, 
 When ready for the last coat, the work should be smoothly 
 rubbed down with very fine sandpaper or a bunch of haircloth, 
 then well dusted off, and a first-rate flowing coat of the best flow- 
 ing varnish, or if great durability is desired, finish with a coat 
 of best medium drying English coach varnish. Much of the 
 varnishing now done is finished with but one heavy coat of flow- 
 ing varnish the first year, and is let stand until the next season, 
 when the last or finishing coat is applied. 
 
 It would be almost impossible to go sufficiently into detail to 
 give an accurate and intelligible description of all the different 
 ways of doing the different kinds of graining now practiced, but 
 if you wish to pursue the business of graining, the best 
 course will be to connect yourself with a competent grainer, 
 one Avell practiced in his business, and remain with him until 
 you have a perfect knowledge of the business in all its branch- 
 es. Eosewood, maple, black and white walnut, cherry, and 
 mahogany, are nearly all done best in distemper or water col- 
 ors. But as we have but little space left us, and all who have 
 practiced graining to any extent know its uses and applica- 
 tion, we will proceed 
 
 TO VARNISH ON THE NATURAL WOODS. 
 
 The painter or varnisher should at all times be careful to 
 remove every stain or spot from his work before priming. 
 Should he find any bruise or stain that he cannot remove, he 
 should at once apply to the carpenter for assistance. When 
 complete and clean, he should commence his work and complete 
 it as follows : All white jDine, cherry or maple should have 
 three good coats of best rubbing body coach, or extra ^o. 1 
 copal varnish (the former being much more durable, and not 
 so liable to crack or lose its polish as the latter) ; the work 
 to be thoroughly and smoothly rubbed down with No. sand- 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 17 
 
 paper after applying each coat, except the last, or third coat, 
 when there should be an interval of at least four or five days 
 between the application of each coat, to enable the under coat 
 to get thoroughly dry. The varnish should be as heavy, and 
 applied as freely, as the judgment of the varnisher (which 
 experience only can teach) will permit, after the last coat has 
 stood not less than four days. (It would be better if it 
 stood ten.) The surface should be rubbed down with a 
 haircloth rubber and No.^, or not coarser than No. 1, pulverized 
 pummice stone and water until it has received a perfectly 
 smooth, even surface. Now lay aside your haircloth rubber, 
 and, with a rubber made of woollen cloth, rub the entire sur- 
 face of the work with a little pummice stone and water, grad- 
 ually working the pummice stone out of the rubber until there 
 is little else than water in it. When the work assumes a 
 bright or polished appearance, wash it down as clean as possi- 
 ble with brush and sj)onge — the brush to remove all particles 
 of pummJce stone from the corners or edges of mouldings, 
 and the sponge to absorb the water — and wipe dry with a cha- 
 mois skin. Your work will then be ready for flowing. 
 
 Should you only desire to finish the wood with the flowing 
 coat, you will, when ready, prepare it by thoroughly cleaning 
 all floors, shelving, or anything that will catch dust or dirt, in 
 the room, and after closing all windows, transoms and 0]3en- 
 ings that would admit of a circulation of air from the outside. 
 Then with brush and water wash the work, using great care 
 to remove every particle of pummice stone or dust from the 
 corners and mouldings that may not have been removed by 
 the first washing. Wipe dry with chamois skin, as before, 
 being careful to clean and sponge the angles of junction with 
 work and floor, so that, in varnishing, your brush cannot pos- 
 sibly come in contact with any particle of dirt. When the 
 washing is finished, sprinkle the floors, and keep them damp, 
 to prevent dust from rising while the work is in progress. 
 
 You will then apply the best flowing varnish, made from the 
 pure Zanzibar gum (which the writer has found to be reliable), 
 or the best Noble's & Hoare English coach varnish, using a 
 one inch flat fitch flowing, and a two inch brush of the same 
 material. Commence the work as follows : First rub the 
 2 
 
18 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 surface to be flowed thoroughly by drawing the palm of your 
 hand over it, letting the fingers clean all the small surfaces of 
 the angles of every particle of dust that may have settled upon 
 the work. Then, with your small brush, lay the varnish on 
 your mouldings, running entirely around the ]Danel. When 
 the moulding is finished, carefully remove with a dry brush 
 any little saging or settling that may develop itself or accumu- 
 late in the corners. When you find the varnish perfectly set, 
 proceed in the same manner with the two inch or large brush, 
 to lay the varnish upon the panel until every particle of the 
 surface is covered. Then lay it off" by carefully drawing your 
 nearly dry brush up and down, in order to draw out or obliter- 
 ate all brush marks that may be left after the first application 
 of varnish. Eepeat this operation on each panel of the door, 
 until finished. In like manner, with a large No. 3-0 brush (to 
 be perfectly clean and free from specks), flow the low or bottom 
 rail of the door ; then the small center rail between panels ; 
 then the lock rail ; thQn the center rail between two upper 
 panels ; then the top rail ; then the two side rails (bringing 
 them down evenly at the same time to the bottom), and your 
 door is finished. When you commence upon the rails, get over 
 them as fast as possible, to prevent your varnish from setting 
 at the ends of the rail joining the side, and to avoid laps of 
 the varnish. In flowing the side rails (and this is the reason 
 for doing the bottom rail first), you will work to the top, as the 
 work on the upj^er portion of the door is most seen, and 
 imperfections noticed, and does not show so readily at the 
 bottom. The writer could hardly find room on paper to state 
 all the different phases that occur to the workman in this one 
 branch of the painting business — caused by the position of the 
 work, the temperature of the weather, the cleanliness of the 
 air from minute particles, and many other things which must 
 be taken advantage of and be guarded against by the skill and 
 tact of the workman, in order to insure a perfect job of work. 
 
 The painter should at all times have with him a small cup 
 partly filled with varnish, and a small brush, to be used in re- 
 touching those parts of his work not perfectly clean, or where 
 he has doubts of its perfect cleanliness, such as carvings and 
 angles coming in contact with the floors or ceilings. He 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 19 
 
 should make it his first duty to attend to those places, so as to 
 set or fasten particles of dirt that may not have been removed 
 hy the washings. By this precaution he will avoid soiling his 
 brushes and prevent his varnish from becoming thick or dirty. 
 
 "White walnut, oak, ash and chestnut, being of coarse, open 
 grain, must have at least two more coats than pine or cherry, 
 and in addition to that should have a cojtt of patent filling and 
 shellac, as follows : Prime the work with a good coat of filling, 
 and after standing a day or two to dry, give it a light coat of 
 pure white shellac varnish. When this has become thoroughly 
 dry, rub the surface with almost smooth sandpaper, or old 
 pieces that have been used before. Then apply a coat of the 
 best hard drying coach or rubbing body coach, as near full 
 strength as you can. When this coat is thoroughly dry, again 
 rub the surface of the varnish smooth, and repeat until you 
 have applied at least four coats, giving as much time between 
 each coat to dry, as the nature of your work will permit. If 
 after applying four coats, you find that the pores or soft parts 
 of the grain are not thoroughly filled, which will be more 
 probable with ash, oak xind chestnut (except it be veneers), 
 sandpaper it again, and give it another ooa*t. Hub it as before 
 directed. 
 
 As perfect rubbing is an art only acquired by long practice 
 and experience, I would recommend any one proposing to do 
 a fine piece of work to first obtain the services of the best 
 practical varnish rubber and polisher he can find, and put him- 
 self entirely under his instruction. After the work has been 
 filled and rubbed, you should desire to polish instead of flow- 
 ing the surface, give the work a flowing coat of the best piano 
 polishing varnish, and let it dry for at least ten days. When 
 thoroughly dry, take a cloth rubber, with pummice stone and 
 water, and remove the top of gloss from the varnish. When 
 perfectly smooth, again rub very carefully and thoroughly with 
 pulverized rotten-stone and water, cleaning off and giving the 
 final polish with the palm of the hand, which must be very 
 soft and smooth and free from dirt or grit, as the slightest j)ar- 
 ticle of either will make scratches that will ruin its appearance 
 and necessitate the re-rubbinsr of the entire work. 
 
20 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 BLACK WALNUT. 
 
 Black walnut, to give it an oil polish or French polish, as it 
 is sometimes called, should first have a coat of patent filling 
 well rubbed in and cleaned off. It should then have four good 
 coats of brown shellac varnish applied at intervals of three or 
 four days. When thoroughly dry, rub down with very fine 
 smooth sandpaper and boiled linseed oil until you get a hard, 
 smooth and impervious polish. 
 
 To finish without polish, first fill the grain of the wood with a 
 coat of patent filling, and when dry, finish by rubbing oil and 
 shellac into the wood with a cloth rubber, and adding oil and 
 shellac until your work has a smooth, dead, solid finish, which, 
 ■when well done, has a very pleasant effect in contrast with other 
 woods that are varnished and have a high polish. It has also an 
 advantage over the first process, as it enables the painter to finish 
 his work at once and without delay. Both processes admit of a 
 a great deal of practice, as the party rubbing is apt (as in the 
 varnish) to rub through the different coats to the wood. A 
 practical eye can at once easily detect a place that has been cut 
 in rubbing. All other kinds of wood can be finished in oil by 
 the same process, but light-colored woods do not look so well in 
 oil as with the varnish finish. 
 
 VARNISHING ON PAINTED WORK, 
 
 In varnishing wood that has had paint upon it, none but the 
 best flowing varnish should be used, and to make the work look 
 well the painter should apply his varnish as freely as it will con- 
 sistently bear, blending it out carefully and evenly. When his 
 piece ot work is finished, he should look over all the corners of 
 mouldings and ends of panels, wiping up, with a dry brush, all 
 runs or anything that tends to settle. When he is satisfied that 
 the varnish has so far set as to have no further tendency to run, 
 he will leave it to become hard and dry. Should he find in the 
 varnish a tendency to crawl or not properly adhere to the work, 
 as is often the case in chilly or damp weather, he will add one 
 tablespoonful of spirits of ammonia to each pot of varnish, which 
 will make his varnish adhere without further trouble. But he 
 must be careful not to put too much ammonia in it, as it will 
 make it too strong and have a tendency to mar or dampen the gloss. 
 After the work is varnished, and has stood for three or four days, 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 21 
 
 to become thoroughly dry, and you should wish it to look extra 
 well, rub the surface of the work with haircloth until all the gloss 
 has been removed. Then dust off well, and apply another smooth 
 flowing coat of clean varnish. Your work will then have a pol- 
 ish and a durability of wear that will repay you for the trouble 
 and cost of the extra coat. By the application of a third coat, 
 after due time is given for the last, or second coat to dry, he will 
 have a sufiicient body of varnish to rub and polish, should he 
 desire to go that far. 
 
 The painter will bear in mind that he can put on paint a coat 
 every day, one over the other, until his work has received the 
 required number of coats, and do his work no especial harm. 
 But with varnish he will find (especially if he desire a nice job> 
 and wishes to rub it down) that he must give it time to become 
 perfectly dry before putting one coat upon the other ; and also 
 that he must have a sufficient number of coats (according to the 
 nature of the wood) to enable him to do so without rubbing his 
 work through the varnish. Pine and cherry being of a close 
 fine grain, will look well with two coats of good extra No. 1 
 copal, and a last or flowing coat, while white walnut, black wal- 
 nut and mahogany will require four coats and a coat of filling. 
 Ash, oak and chestnut will require a coat of filling and four coats 
 of hard drying or extra No. 1 copal (whichever you may choose 
 to use), to fill them up to a sufficient surface to rub down perfect- 
 ly ; and frequently this is not enough to make a perfect polish- 
 ing surface to work upon. In doing a nice job of this kind of 
 work, when a polish is required, too much care cannot be taken 
 to make it perfect. 
 
 To owners of buildings who intend using the hard-wood finish 
 of their natural color, I would say, spare no pains in getting a 
 first-class workman, and see that the full number of coats of the 
 right kind of varnish is applied ; also, that they are put on at 
 the proper time and in a workmanlike manner, as it is the easiest 
 thing in the world to entirely ruin the grain of the prettiest wood 
 by employing inferior workmen, or by improper application. 
 
 GLAZING 
 
 Is a branch so intimately connected with the Painter's trade as 
 to be indispensable to it. No Painter thinks of having a sign 
 over his door without the words " Painter and Grlazier," and yet 
 
22 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 not one Painter in a hundred can be called a perfect Glazier. 
 To be a good and fast Glazier is a fine thing, and is a sure foot- 
 hold to a steady and permanent situation, and the possessor of 
 this accomplishment is always sure to be a favorite in the shop. 
 
 The manner of running putty on is so simple that it is 
 unnecessary to describe the process. The Glazier must have a 
 good, clean cut, nearly square-edged putty-knife; his putty must 
 be well mixed, and of a consistency to be easily molded under 
 the fingers. As practice alone will make a perfect Glazier, we 
 leave him to graduate in that way. 
 
 CLEANING OLD VARNISH. 
 
 'No old varnish should ever be done over, or revarnished until it 
 has been perfectly cleaned. Rub it lightly with a cloth rag and 
 pummice stone and water, in the usual manner. Washing with 
 soap and water will not entirely remove the smoke that always 
 accumulates uj^on work that stands for any length of time in this 
 climate. Before varnishing, the work should be well washed 
 with a short brush and sponge, and wiped with chamois, to make 
 it clean and free from all particles of pummice stone that may 
 have been left on the work in cleaning. Old varnish that has 
 been previously well done, when cleaned and varnished in this 
 manner, has a splendid gloss, and looks a great deal better than 
 any unrubbed work can look. The old varnish being well dried, 
 it gives a hard, smooth foundation to finish on. 
 
 WAXING. 
 
 To wax hard woods, instead of oiling or varnishing, have the 
 work well cleaned, using a proportion of one pound of white 
 wax, one pound of boiled linseed oil, one pound spirits of turpen- 
 tine, heated over a slow fire until reduced to a liquid state, being 
 careful not to let it burn or become scorched. Apply with a 
 brush or cloth, and rub well into the pores of the wood. When 
 well filled, rub hard with corkwood until polished. Should you 
 not succeed in perfectly filling the wood by the first application, 
 give it a second coat, polishing off with the corkwood until the 
 surface is smooth and hard. Should you desire to have it per- 
 ^fectly free from stickiness, give it a light thin coat of white shel- 
 ac varnish, and rub smooth with haircloth until dry — always 
 ^ubbing with the grain. 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 23 
 
 In waxing floors, d© not use oil in the wax, but thin up entire- 
 ly with spirits of turpentine, applying it as freely as possible and 
 always while hot, as when cold it does not penetrate the wood 
 so easily. Should too much remain upon the floor to be rubbed, 
 remove it with a large piece of haircloth placed over a block 
 provided with a handle. Rub until the floor is perfectly full and 
 smooth. 
 
 To clean old floors that have been previously waxed, remove 
 every particle of dirt by scraping with a steel scraper (such as 
 is used by carpenters to scrape wood), and wash clean with tur- 
 pentine. Eub well with the haircloth rubber, and wax as before 
 directed. 
 
 TO PAINT BRICK WORK. 
 
 Clean it thoroughly with an old stiff broom or brush, and 
 prime with pure yellow ochre and boiled linseed oil. When 
 ready for the second coat, putty up all the large holes and other 
 imperfections. If you wish to produce a light stone color, take 
 two thirds of pure yellow ochre and one third of pure white 
 lead, add a very little lampblack and a slight tint of Venetian 
 red to give it a warm tint; stir well together; add, while yet 
 thick, sufficient Japan dryer to dry it well, and mix thoroughly. 
 Thin with raw oil to the proper thickness, and apply carefully. 
 When ready for the third or last coat, take what you have left of 
 the second coating, if any, and add as much lead to it as you 
 think it will require, with yellow ochre, and a slight tint each, in 
 very small quantities at a time, of black and Venetian red, until 
 you have the tint desired. Aj^ply as before instructed. 
 
 If you wish to make the cornice of a darker shade, take some 
 of your finishing color and add red, yellow and black to it until 
 of the required shade. 
 
 To paint a tin roof, or any metal work, I would recommend 
 Prince's brown and pure boiled linseed oil. This being 78 per 
 cent, pure iron and perfectly free from all acids, has more affinity 
 for and is better adapted as a covering for all galvanized iron 
 and tin, or other metal work, than any other pigment known. 
 Yellow ochre and Venetian red being of pretty much the same 
 nature, are as good, but no better ; the brown having the prefer- 
 ence on account of its fineness and great covering capacity, cov- 
 ering more space with the same quantity than either the red or 
 yellow. 
 
24 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 LEARNING THE TRADE. 
 
 To young men proposing to learn the House and Sign Paint- 
 ing trade, I would say, apprentice yourself to one who, from his 
 reputation, is known to be not only a good workman, but also 
 strictly honorable and honest in all his dealings. Go to work 
 with the full determination of learning the business thoroughly. 
 Do not loiter or play during working hours, though others and 
 older persons than you do. Obey your boss to the letter ; be in- 
 dustrious, persevering, and careful to do everything as you are 
 instructed, and by all means endeavor to finish your entire term 
 of apprenticeship with the man with whom you first engaged, as 
 in this way only will you succeed in becoming perfect. When 
 you have served your full time, work at least one year, if not two, 
 with other good bosses, in order to become perfectly familiarized 
 with the manner of different bosses in doing their work. 
 
 If you should desire to start the business for yourself, find a 
 friend or acquaintance who has a house to build, make him an 
 offer to do the painting, being sure that your offer will at leasi 
 pay you reasonable days' wages. In making your estimates, be 
 careful to ascertain what all the material and tools will cost, esti- 
 mating for the very best qualities. Be particular to make a first 
 class job of work. And by all means, whether you realize fair 
 days' wages or not, pay every dollar of indebtedness you contract 
 for promptly, and from the start. Show to your customers, and 
 to those from whom your purchase stock, that you are a strictly 
 honest and honorable man. You will find it an uphill business 
 to push against the world, but persevere, and you will eventually 
 succeed. 
 
 Save your earnings by investing them in a good set of tools? 
 such as ladders, buckets, scaffold ropes, and all the different para- 
 phernalia of a well-appointed shop. As fast as your cash accu- 
 mulates beyond jour wants, put it to some good and useful pur- 
 pose, investing it in such material as your trade most demands. 
 Never lose sight of the maxim upon which you base your busi- 
 ness — to do justice to all men, no matter whether it puts money 
 in or takes it from your purse. Should you at any time, while 
 in business, by miscalculation or otherwise, take a job of work 
 by which you will lose money, do not slight the work in the least 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 25 
 
 on that account, but finish it just as well, and use just as good 
 material as if it paid a profit. Show to your customer that, 
 though you do not make anything on his work, you are not 
 taking advantage of him. By pursuing this honest course, it will 
 take but a few years for you to become known, and when 
 this is accomplished, it will no longer remain an up-hill busi- 
 ness with you. Parties will give you their work in full con- 
 fidence, dealers will solicit your trade, and not only offer you 
 credit, but will sell you their best articles at their very lowest 
 prices. 
 
 ADULTERATIONS OF PAINTS, &c. 
 
 With many years of experience as a user and worker of paints, 
 we have learned to think there is no white paint as durable as 
 pure white lead combined with pure linseed oil. This is univer- 
 sally acknowledged as the standard of all white paints; but owing 
 to the great competition — the result of which has been to throw 
 upon the market vast quantities of combinations composed of 
 different white substances, such as china, clay, whitening, zinc 
 and sulphate ofbarytes — to such an extent has this system of 
 adulteration been carried, that the question with manufacturers 
 is not, •' What can we produce as a paint that will preserve and 
 protect from the weather?" but, " How can we produce a paint, 
 or substitute, that will enable us to undersell our neighbor ?" 
 The party who can produce an article the nearest resembling lead 
 in whiteness and bulk, at the least cost of production, will, for 
 the time, be most successful. We find it well to say here, in the 
 language of our worthy co-worker in the paint and oil trade, 
 Mr. Breiniq, that as the margin to the paint-grinder in the pre- 
 paration of pure lead is so very small, the object is to imitate 
 pure lead as near as possible in appearance, size of keg and work- 
 ing. As there is but one article that comes near to the gravity 
 of white lead, and which is universally used for adulteration, 
 viz : sulphate of barytes. This being a pure white, and as heavy 
 as lead, and having no coloring power whatever, is used largely 
 for adulterating all kinds ofj^aintand colors. We speak con- 
 scientiously when we say we do not think one-fifth of all the lead 
 and colors sold in the United States is perfectly free from a more 
 or less per cent, of adulteration with this article. This article 
 
26 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 has no affinity for either lead or oil, and though you may grind 
 it with lead and oil until it is an impalpable powder, its adhesive 
 power will be of no more value as a covering body than so much 
 sand, and will only act as a divider of the particles of lead and 
 oil and make them more susceptible to the rays of the sun and 
 the action of the weather, causing it, in a very short time, to rub 
 off like dust. It is also perfectly useless as a preserver of the 
 wood or other substance to which it is applied. 
 
 We would recommend those who propose painting, to at all 
 times buy of parties in which they have perfect confidence, as 
 there is no article of commerce so easily adulterated and so hard 
 to detect, until practically tested, as white lead and colors. Do 
 not buy an article represented as lead that is sold at a less rate 
 than the regular price for the pure article. If you depart from 
 this rule you will certainly be cheated. 
 
 GENERAL HINTS ON COMBINATION OF COLOR. 
 
 The four principal colors most used by the painters are yel- 
 low ochre, Venetian red, lampblack, and white lead, from which 
 almost every conceivable shade of composite color can be made. 
 All paints are mixed in exactly the same way (or at least should 
 be); — i. e., the dryer, whether it be patent dryer or liquid, should 
 be first perfectly mixed with the base or predominate color before 
 it is thinned up for use, especially if the thinners used is entirely 
 of linseed oil, as is the case for outside work. Japan mixed with 
 color that has been first thinned to a working consistency with 
 oil is of little use, owing to its tendency to coagulate or curdle 
 in coming in contact with the oil, thus losing all, or nearly all, of 
 its drying properties. It also tends to make the color look 
 muddy, and works badly under the brush, from the large amount 
 of gluey or curdled gum left floating on the paint from improp- 
 erly mixing. Japan dryer should never be used in any delicate 
 shade of color, nor should it be used as a dryer for white, except 
 as a priming or first coat, owing to the darkness of its composi- 
 tion. The best English patent dryer is the most commonly used 
 of any other for all white lead zinc, and for all other delicate 
 shades of color, such as violet, ashes of roses, Paris green, pinks, 
 &c., &c., and for the most delicate of white. In flake whites, 
 nothing but sugar of lead should be used as a dryer; white, or 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 27 
 
 zinc lead used as a base for all composite colors that partake of 
 a gray or drab tint. To make a drab, take of white lead the 
 fourth of the quantity you want, and after mixing in your dryer 
 thoroughly, add yellow ochre till of a light cream color, then the 
 slightest possible tint of Venetian red and lampblack. If not 
 yellow enough, add yellow ; if not gray enough, add a little 
 more black ; if not warm enough, add a little red ; and so on 
 until you have the shade desired. By adding either of the above 
 colors, your tint may be made lighter or darker, and to match 
 any color you ivish. The same formula will answer for light, me- 
 dium, or dark stone color, or for light or dark yellow drab. By 
 letting the red and black predominate, you can produce any 
 shade of brown color, and with pure white lead and burnt umber, 
 you can produce the most delicate of all the drab tints. 
 
 White lead and yellow ochre will produce a very pretty shade 
 of oak ground, and is almost entirely used for nearly all the oak 
 graining now done. 
 
 White lead, orange chrome yellow, and a slight tint of burnt 
 sienna, makes the most beautiful shade of color that can be pro- 
 duced for oak graining, and can be made lighter or darker, to 
 suite the taste, by the addition of a proportionate quantity of 
 chrome yellow and sienna. 
 
 The same composition, with the addition of a little English 
 vermilion, or Yenetian red, will make a very handsome shade of 
 salmon or flesh color. White lead, with ultramarine blue, drop 
 black, and Indian red, makes a Frencjh gray. 
 
 White lead, Indian red, with slight tint of ultramarine blue, 
 makes violet or lavender. White lead or zinc, with carmine, 
 makes peach blossom, and with a little cobalt blue, makes a most 
 delicate shade of lavender. The same combination, with a little 
 ivory black to take off the sharpness of the blue, and carmine, 
 makes the most delicate tints of gray that can be produced. 
 White lead, with a little lampblack, makes a lead color, and so 
 on until, as before remarked, almost any color, or combination of 
 colors can be produced from the proper combining of the whole 
 with the three primary colors, red, black and yellow, or Eochelle 
 ochre. These four ingredients, in the hands of one who is con- 
 versant with the combination and harmony of colors, is capable 
 of producing almost as many varieties of tints as there are letters 
 in the alphabet. 
 
28 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 Prussian blue and chrome yellow make green ; and by their 
 proper combination, all the different shades of chrome green are 
 made. Prussian blue, burnt umber and chrome yellow (the 
 later to be used as the base of the color) make a very delicate 
 shade of bronze green. 
 
 Chrome yellow and lampblack (the later added in very small 
 quantities) will make a ver}' pleasant shade of bronze green, and 
 is that w^hich is most generally used by painters in this city. 
 
 Chrome green and Yenetian red in equal parts make a good 
 groundwork for black walnut, and when stippled with umber 
 and over-grained with Van Dyke brown in distemper, the lights 
 wiped out with a sponge, and again over-grained with an over- 
 grainer, make a most beautiful crotch of black walnut. 
 
 Chrome yellow and red lead makes a mahogany ground for 
 graining, but white lead, chrome yellow and burnt sienna make 
 the best ground for mahogany. 
 
 White lead and chrome yellow make a ground for maple or 
 satinwood. 
 
 Venetian red and chrome yellow make a groundwork for rose- 
 wood, though very little else than the clear Venetian red (always 
 mixed perfectly flat, or without oil), is the article most used by 
 painters. 
 
 Any of the above combinations will answer in distemper or 
 water colors, in coloring walls or ceilings, and produce the same 
 effect, with the exception that in place of white lead (which from 
 its weight is apt to precipitate or settle), Paris white or zinc lead 
 is used, as per formula before given. 
 
 Putty is made from pure Spanish whitening and linseed oil, 
 kneaded like dough until hard or stiff enough for use. To make 
 it dry quickly and hard, add a little letharge ; but it is more lia- 
 ble to last or wear if it is set naturally or without any dryer, as 
 it is very apt to shrink and crack off from drying too fast. All 
 glass set in sky-lights, hot-beds, or green-houses, should be laid 
 or bedded in putty, and well sprigged down. All superfluous 
 putty should be cleaned out from the under side, and the space 
 between the wood and glass on the outside neatly and smoothly 
 pressed down to a perfect level with the glass. No putty should 
 be used in the angles, as is commonly done, but instead, the space 
 that is usually occupied or filled with putty, should be well 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 29 
 
 traced with two good, heavy coats of white lead, yellow ochre, 
 or red lead mixed with nothing but boiled linseed oil. The 
 paint should be put freely in the angle of the sash-bar, or 
 muntin (the wood portion dividing two or more lights) and glass, 
 and should be run on to the glass as far as the putty line of 
 the bedding shows from beneath the glass. Sash glazed in 
 this manner, if properly painted every three or four years, will 
 last without leaking, unless the glass is broken, for a longer 
 time than by tho old process. 
 
 Spanish whiting, red lead, and litharge, combined in equal 
 parts, makes a putty that will dry and harden under water, and 
 is used for glazing aquariums and all other vessels used to hold 
 water. 
 
 BRUSHES. 
 
 The brushes mostly in use by the practical painter are of the 
 round kinds — the 5-0, 6-0, 7-0. A few of them who like a very 
 large brush, use the 8-0 paint brush. 
 
 The sash-tool most used are the French sash, and of the !N'os. 
 5, 6, 7 and 8 ; the latter being the largest size generally used. 
 The flat or paste brushes most used are the three and a half inch, 
 mostly used by grainers for rubbing in their color, and the four 
 and five inch by the painter, for brick work, and for all large 
 surfaces. These brushes are all made of three qualities (except 
 sash-tools and varnish-tools, which are made wholly from white 
 bristles). The qualities of bristles are as follows: The best or 
 Okatka (the name is derived from the place of production) ; the 
 bristles are all white, and are long, stiff, but very flexible. 
 These are put into the most expensive brushes. The second 
 quality is composed of an outer coating of say one third all 
 white bristles, and the inner two-thirds of all gray bristles. 
 The third, or common quality, is composed of a very small outer 
 coating of white bristles of any kind, so they are long enough, 
 and the balance of the space filled with Tampico hemp — a very 
 long, stiff, white grass largely imported from Mexico and the 
 West India Islands. This latter brush is made only for the 
 country trade, and cannot be sold to any one who has had expe- 
 rience in the handling of a paint brush. As all painters, or 
 those who have had any experience, know their uses, as also 
 their difference in quality, we will pass them by, and again refer 
 to varnishes. 
 
30 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 VARNISHES RESUMED. 
 
 There are eight kinds of varnish used in house-painting, as 
 follows: Asphaltum or black varnish, used for backing grate 
 fronts and all kinds of iron work. It is sometimes used, v^^hen 
 diluted with spirits of turpentine, as a stain to imitate black wal- 
 nut. No. 1 copal, or cheap furniture varnish, composed of 
 gum, resin, linseed oil, spirits of turpentine, is of very 
 littlp use, except as a cheap article with which to demor- 
 alize the market and spoil good wood-work. Extra ]No. 1 
 copal or furniture, made of the pure gum copal (entirely a for- 
 eign product, none of it ever having been found in this country), 
 pure linseed oil and spirits of turpentine boiled to a very high 
 deo-ree of heat. This is the only varnish used by furniture ma- 
 kers who have any pretensions to the turning out of a good and 
 well-finished article. The next of the class is the hard-drying 
 or rubbing body coach varnish, made from the same but more 
 carefully selected gum. Linseed oil and turpentine are used as 
 the foundation coats of all coach bodies, and for all finest class 
 house work finished with the natural wood, and is made for the 
 express purpose from which it derives its name, to be rubbed 
 down to a polishing surftice. It is not good as a finishing or last 
 coating varnish, as it is a very hard dryer, which has a tendency 
 to deaden its gloss. 
 
 FloAving varnish is the next best quality, and is made of the 
 very best quality of Zanzibar, with the proportions of oil and 
 turpentine so nicely blended as to make it set or dry in just the 
 time necessary to render it a perfect piece ©f work. It is the 
 varnish with which all nice furniture is finished, and derives its 
 name from its use, as it is always put on or flowed as freely as it 
 can possibly be done without running or sagging. 
 
 Finishing coach body is the next best class of varnish, and, 
 like the flowing, is made of the very best material, the one ex- 
 ception being that the oil is more perfectly boiled and clarified, 
 and there is less turpentine in it than any other varnish, which 
 makes it dry much slower. This varnish is used as the last or 
 finishing coat for all coach bodies, and for all other wood or iron 
 work upon which varnish is put as .a preservative and beauti- 
 fier. 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 31 
 
 The English coach has, so far, from the same cause, borne the 
 best reputation as a wearing and durable varnish, and is largely 
 sold and used in this country by all who desire to produce good 
 work. 
 
 The next varnish used by the house-painter is Damar varnish, 
 and is composed of gum Damar and spirits of turpentine, and 
 can be made either cold or hot, though the heating of the tur- 
 pentine to about 175 to 190 degs. (not higher, as the gas arising 
 from turpentine at a much higher degree is apt to ignite), 
 makesa much quickerand better mixed varnish, and is composed 
 of about four pounds of gum to the gallon of turpentine. This 
 varnish is principally used to varnish all light-colored papers 
 and delicate wall tints, and is the varnish from which, with the 
 addition of Frencli zinc, the porcelain or enamel white is made. 
 When well and properly made, it produces the prettiest white 
 finish ever used in house painting. 
 
 Our next, and very useful varnish, is made from gum lac or 
 shellac, as it is commonly called. This is made from alcohol 
 spirits of 96 per cent, proof, as no less will perfectly dissolve it, 
 and is made by adding three to four pounds of shellac to the 
 gallon, and agitating it until entirely dissolved or taken up by 
 the spirits. This varnish is what our oiled furniture or French 
 polishers finish with (as before described), and is capable of 
 being finished very beautifully. It is also called knotting var- 
 nish, being used as a substitute to kill knots. Pine wood that 
 is to be finished a gloss white or porcelain finish, should always 
 have a coat of shellac varnish before a particle of paint is put 
 on it. 
 
 Lastly, comes the most useful of all — the Japan varnish or 
 dryer. This varnish or dryer enters into the every day con- 
 sumption of the painter to such an extent, and is so universally 
 known, that we will pass it by, with our compliments for its 
 usefulness. 
 
 CONCLUDINtS RDVIARKS. 
 
 We did think we would say something in this little treatise 
 on the plain facts about painting, but we have now extended our 
 little book much further, and said a great deal more than we 
 intended. We should like to have said something about the 
 application of paints to prevent cracking or blistering. As also 
 
32 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 something in regard to the combination and harmony of tints of 
 color in the decorating of walls and ceilings. We cannot, how- 
 over, close without saying a word or two about the varnishing of 
 paper, which has lately become so prevalent. 
 
 VARNISHING PAPER. 
 
 To varnish a delicate tinted paper, and preserve its normal 
 color, great care must be taken in preparing and applying the 
 size. Take of the best A extra white glue, as much as you think 
 you Avill require to give your work two good coats of size. Let 
 it soak for an hour, or over night, in cold water. Then set your 
 pail of soaked glue into a kettle of boiling water, first pouring off 
 the cold water remaining unabsorbed by the glue, and replacing 
 it with boiling water. Stir until entirely dissolved; then dilute 
 with cold water until of proper consistency, apply carefully with 
 a very soft six or eight-inch coloring brush, touching the paper 
 as lightly as possible, and at the same time spreading the size as 
 evenly as you can, until you have given the entire surface of the 
 paper one coat. Let this coat get well dried, and, after thicken- 
 ing your size, go over the paper again, giving it a thorough coat, 
 spreading the color right and left, and laying it off up and down. 
 When dry, give it a good coat of pure white Damar varnish, 
 being careful to have it thinned to its proper consistency. Before 
 you finish each stretch or panel of the work, if the tint will stand 
 the test, and not change its color, you will improve your varnish 
 by adding about a pint to the gallon of the best pale finishing 
 coach varnish, as Damar varnish alone is not a very durable or 
 wearing varnish, and is easily rubbed off. For all dark papers, 
 like oak or walnut, any varnish that you would use on grained 
 work will do. and in fact is better for the work than any other. 
 
 ITEMS OF INTEREST TO THE PAINTER. 
 
 Yermilion is a French word which signifies worm-dye, and was 
 originally so called from the fact that the color was first pro- 
 duced from the dried bodies of a species of small insects, called 
 kcrmes, who feed upon the oaks in the vicinity of the Mediterra- 
 nean Sea. Hence, vermilion has come to be the name of all red 
 colors of its class, even those which are produced from minerals. 
 
 The vermilion of antimony was invented in 1833 by Lampo- 
 dias, and consists of a red sulphuret of antimony, in the form of 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 33 
 
 a very fine, inodorous and insipid powder, insoluble in water, al- 
 cohol and spirits, and subject to but little change by contact with 
 the weak acids, or by the strong mineral acids. It is, moreover, 
 but little affected by ammonia and alkaline carbonates ; but the 
 strong alkalies, potash and caustic soda, affect it more or less, by 
 combining. The vermilion of antimony cannot, therefore, be 
 mixed with colors which have an alkaline reaction, nor will it 
 withstand a high degree of heat, but will blacken under such in- 
 fluence. 
 
 Yermilion is an opaque color. When moistened with water, 
 or mixed with gum or gelatine, it has no lustre, but when com- 
 bined with oil or varnish it becomes exceedingly brilliant and 
 intense in color. It covers well and surpasses in this respect all 
 mineral colors. It presents, perhaps, the very purest hue of red, a 
 hue which never turns orange or crimson, though it generally 
 retains a slight tint of brown. Yerniiliou is not favorable to the 
 drying of oil, although it does not retard its drying to any great 
 degree. — Coach Mahers Magazine. 
 
 INJURIOUS EFFECTS OF TURPENTINE. 
 
 Experience has taught that the so-called lead paralysis, common 
 among painters, in the form of a loss of motion of the wrist joints, 
 is chiefly produced by the habit of washing the hands in turpen- 
 tine. It is probable that it is not the turpentine alone which 
 produces this fatal result, but chiefly the particles of lead or zinc 
 paint on the hands which, by the turpentine, are brought in a 
 condition to penetrate the skin more readily and to be absorbed ; 
 therefore, painters should avoid, as much as possible, the use of 
 turpentine for washing the hands. 
 
 WHITE LEAD. 
 
 The Scientific American recommends the following as the best 
 means of testing the purity of white lead ground in oil : Take a 
 small portion and wash it with spirits of turpentine, to remove 
 the oil, and rinse thoroughly with alcohol. Pour on the sample 
 thus prepared dilute nitric acid. If a residue remains, it is suf- 
 ficient indication of sulphate of baryta. The weight of this sub- 
 stance when separated from the solution by filtering and drying, 
 will, when compared with the weight of the sample, give the pro- 
 portion of this very common adulteration, provided sulphate of 
 lead be not present. The clear solution which has been filtered 
 3 
 
34 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 off, may next be tested for carbonate of lime (chalk or whiting), 
 by evaporating to dryness and treating with alcohol. This will 
 dissolve the nitrate of lime into which the carbonate of lime has 
 been changed by the first treatment with nitric acid. The loss of 
 weight in the residue after treatment with the alcohol, filtering, 
 and drying, will indicate the proportion of carbonate of lime 
 present in lead, provided there is no oxide of zinc present; and 
 the amount of carbonate of lime may be determined by multiply- 
 ing this loss by 56 and dividing the product by 82 ; the quotient 
 will be the weight of carbonate of lime present in the sample be- 
 fore treatment. 
 
 A mixture of lead, carbonate and oxide of zinc, prepared 
 cheaply from an ore found in North Carolina, has been latterly 
 used to adulterate white lead; therefore, oxide of zinc may be 
 present. To test for this salt, add to the alcoholic solution ob- 
 tained in the first washing, sulphide of ammonium, which will 
 throw down all the zinc as a sul^^hide, five-sixths of which will be 
 the amount of oxide of zinc present in the sample, which must be 
 deducted in estimating the carbonate of lime. Sulphate of lead 
 may be present; if so, it will remain undisturbed with the sulphate 
 of baryta, upon the first treatment with nitric acid. It may be 
 washed entirely out of the sulphate of baryta with pure water; 
 the loss in weight ascertained after drying the sulphate of baryta, 
 will then indicate the quantity of sulphate of lead present. In 
 this case the whole of the residue at first left when the nitric acid 
 is added is not the sulphate of baryta, and the latter must be 
 weighed after washing out the lead salt. 
 
 TO BLEACH SHELLAC. 
 
 Dissolve in an iron kettle one part of peariash in eight parts of 
 water; add one part of pulverized shellac or seed lac, and heat 
 the whole to ebullition. When the lac is dissolved, cool the solu- 
 tion and impregnate it with " chlorine " till the lac is precipitated 
 This precipitate is white, but its color is deepened by washing 
 and consolidation. Dissolve in alcohol. Lac bleached by this 
 process yields a varnish as clear as opal. 
 
 HOW COMMON WINDOW GLASS IS MADE. 
 
 If ever you visit Pittsburg, in Pennsylvania, you must go into 
 the window glass factories there; you will find them very curious. 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 35 
 
 Their furnace, in the first place, is built in the ancient style ; it 
 has no chimney, and the smoke from the bituminous coal they 
 burn, pours out in a cloud into the room. There are openings 
 in the roof for it to escape through, and a continual draught of 
 air from the doors carries it upward, so that it is not so bad for 
 the workmen as one would think. Besides, the}^ do not begin 
 to blow off until the smoke is all burnt off. 
 
 There are five pots on each side of the furnace; and you will 
 see five men in a row, blowing all at once, with the regularit}^ of 
 a file of soldiers exercising. Each gathers 30 or 40 pounds of 
 metal on his pipe, which is very long and strong. They stand 
 on platforms, to get room to swing the glass, as they blow it. 
 The five men begin to blow and swing all together. Each blows 
 a great globe of glass, which is stretched out gradually by the 
 swinging motion into a cylinder or roller, as it is called, five 
 feet long. Then the five rollers are swung up toward the fur- 
 nace holes, and five other soldiers spring forward with their guns, 
 — which in this case are iron bars — that they set upright under 
 the five blowing pipes to support them while the rollers arc 
 being reheated in the necks of the pots. The blowers blow in 
 the necks of the pipes with all their might, then clap their 
 thumbs over the holes to prevent the air from rushing out 
 again ; in the meanwhile the end of the roller is softened, so 
 that at last the air, forced in and expanded by the heat, bursts 
 it outward. The glass is then a cylinder, open at one end. It 
 is whirled in the heat until the edges become true, then brought 
 away — the five iron supports dropping to the ground with a 
 simultaneous clang. The cylinders are laid on tables, where 
 the imperfect spherical end about the blowing pipe is cracked 
 off from the rest by a strip of melted glass drawn around it. 
 The cylinder is then cracked from end to end on one side by 
 means of a red hot iron passed through it. 
 
 In the adjoining building is what is called the flattening oven. 
 The cylinders brought there are lifted on the end of a lever, 
 passed in through a circular opening just large enough to ad- 
 mit them, and laid on flattening stones on the oven bottom, with 
 the crack uppermost. The oven bottom is circular, and it re- 
 volves horizontally. As the glass softens, it separates at the 
 crack, and lays itself down gently and gradually on the stone. 
 
36 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 The long cylinder is then a flat sheet, three feet wide and nearly 
 five feet in length. There are four openings around the sides of 
 the oven ; at one the glass is put in, through another a workman 
 sweeps the stone for it, a third workman smooths it down with 
 a block as it comes round to him, and a fourth, at the last open- 
 ing, which is close to the one at which it was put in, lifts the 
 sheet — partly cooled by this time — upon a carriage in the oven. 
 This he does by means of a lever furnished with sharp, broad 
 blades at the end, which he works in under the glass. When 
 the carriage is full, it is run through an annealing oven beyond, 
 
 The opposite end of the annealing oven opens into the cutting 
 room. There the carriages are pushed along a central track, 
 and unloaded at the stalls of the cutters. The cutter has a table 
 before him, with measure marks on its edges. He lifts one of 
 the sheets, lays it on a table, and commences ruling it faster 
 than a school bo}' rules his slate. His ruler is a wooden rod, 
 five feet long, and his pencil point is a diamond. Every stroke 
 is a cut. ^ot that he cuts the glass quite apart ; indeed he seems 
 only to make a scratch. Yet that scratch has the effect of crack- 
 ing the glass quite through, so that it breaks clean 03" at the 
 slightest pressure. In this way the sheets are cut up into panes 
 of the required size. 
 
 I remember, one workman told mc that a single diamond 
 would last him two or three years. It has fifteen or sixteen dif- 
 ferent edges, and when one edge is worn out he uses another. 
 South American diamonds, such as he uses, cost, he told me, 
 from six to thirty dollars each; and when they are worn out for 
 his purpose, he sells them for jewels to be put into watches. — [J. 
 T. Trowbridge. 
 
 CAUSES OF PAINT CRACKING AND FLAKING. 
 
 The cracking and flaking of paint has always been a source of 
 trouble to the carriage manufacturer. As a rule, the painter or 
 the varnishmaker have had to bear all the blame; there is no 
 doubt but they, in too many instances, are responsible, but it is 
 not right that they should be made the scapegoats for the faults 
 of others, or for causes beyond their control. There are a great 
 many theories concerning the cracking and falling off of paint, 
 but as a rule, these theories are false to a greater or less extent. 
 T.o no one cause can this trouble be rightfully charged, but with 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 37 
 
 this, as with everything else, there is a leading cause that over- 
 shadows all others, and which will produce the result, even if 
 every other cause were removed, althoiigh possibly not to the 
 same extent, and a few words in relation to this greatest and 
 most destructive cause will not be out of place. 
 
 All paint that is to be put upon bare wood is, or should be, 
 mixed with vegetable oil; this oil is the life of the paint which 
 it mixes, and when this is absorbed in any manner from the 
 paint it loses all life and becomes worthless. All kinds of wood 
 will expand and contract when exposed to the atmosphere, ac- 
 cording as the moisture is dryer than the wood; while the paint 
 retains the oil this expansion or contraction does it no injury, 
 but when the wood has absorbed the oil, which it will do in time, 
 the paint loses its elasticity and becomes a thin, hard shell, and 
 can no longer accommodate itself to the action of the wood ; 
 the expansion of the wood, therefore, causes it to crack, and as 
 the wood contracts it is again forced together, until, by continual 
 action of this kind, it becomes loosened from the wood and 
 flakes oif. Take, for instance, a carriage wheel after the wood 
 has absorbed the oil from the lead and the paint has cracked, and 
 strike a quick blow upon a spoke, and see how quick the paint 
 will flake ofi". A few experiments of this kind will convince any 
 one that the lead or pigments forming the paint have no vitality 
 after the oil has been absorbed from them. We presume that 
 there are very few persons who will dispute the fiact that wood 
 will absorb the oil; if there are such let them experiment a little 
 and they Avill soon become convinced of their error. They would 
 find their experience the same as that of a painter who had spent 
 many years in the shop and carefully studied causes and effects. 
 He said: "I primed a set of wheels with oil, and when sufficient- 
 ly dry, sand^^apered them and gave them a coat of the best B. B. 
 English lead, mixed with a large proportion of oil; when dry I 
 puttied them up and sandpapered them, and gave them another 
 coat of lead, then finished them in the usual manner. I saw the 
 carriage some time after, and some portions of the paint had 
 flaked off, and in those places the wood had so completely absorb- 
 ed the oil that, had I not known that oil priming had been used, 
 and that there was a large portion of oil in the lead, I should not 
 have had an idea that oil had been used." 
 
38 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 The best and purest lead will retain the oil the longest, hence 
 it will resist the action of the wood in absorbinij it for the srreat- 
 est length of time, and in proj^ortion to its adulteration it loses 
 its power and tenacity to retain the oil and resist its absorption 
 by the wood. Remember this, you who buy pure lead because it 
 is cheap, and do not blame the unfortunate painter who is com- 
 pelled to use it. — Harness and Carriage Journal. 
 
 BRUSH MAKING. ^ 
 
 There is almost no end to the variety of brushes used in the 
 present age; but all the various styles perform some important 
 office in the economy of civilized life. Brushes are made of a good 
 many kinds of materials; but bristles are the chief reliance of 
 the brush maker in their manufacture. The principal source of 
 supply of bristles is Russia, from whence vast quantities are 
 exported to various countries. England, it is said, alone con- 
 sumes annually over two million pounds of bristles, obtained 
 from Russia, in addition to vast supplies of her own, and con- 
 siderable quantities grown elsewhere. 
 
 Bristles, as they come off the hog's back, are covered with dirt 
 and a sort of gummy substance, that make them very unpleasant 
 to handle. To rid them of these, and also of oifensive odors, they 
 are first thoroughly washed, and after becoming dry are sorted. 
 Each color is placed by itself, and these grades are known to the 
 operative as black, grey, white, and lilies; the latter are a kind 
 almost transparently white, and of exceedingly fine texture. 
 The sorting process also consists of distributing the bristles in 
 such a way that the collection shall be of equal length. Besides 
 the root ends of the bristles must be kept together. The next 
 process is to comb them. By this means they are rendered elas- 
 tic, and receive a beautiful polish. After being again washed, 
 they are ready for the use of the brush maker. 
 
 Brushes are divided into two general classes, known as single 
 brushes and compound brushes. The former are distinguished 
 by one tuft, or bundle of bristles. But a hair brush belongs to 
 the second order, because of its collection of bristle bundles. 
 
 Brushes are also made of the soft hair of animals, such as the 
 sable, badger, and squirrel. Of such are the small paint brushes 
 used for water colors. Other kinds of brushes are made of roots 
 and fibers of certain tropical plants, of horse and goat hair, old 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 89 
 
 rope, cocoanut fiber, broom corn, the fiber of whalebone, and 
 even spun glass. 
 
 Small paint brushes are manufactured as follows: The hairs 
 are first cleaned in alum water, and subsequently soaked in warm 
 water, dried, combed, and assorted. The brush maker takes 
 sufficient of the prepared hair to fill a small groove which holds 
 them tight; while thus placed, the root ends are wound tightly 
 with thread. The soft hairs are then arranged so as to form a 
 point, without leaving a blunt or scraggy end when the brush is 
 wet. This part of the business is generally performed by women 
 or boys, as it requires a very delicate touch to arrange them 
 properly. The handles are made from quills, which are soaked 
 in hot water to swell them sufficiently. When the brush is 
 ready, the hairs are inserted point first, in the large end of the 
 quill. Then, by a contrivance peculiar to the trade, the brush is 
 drawn through until the tied part is brought down to the small 
 end of the quill. This completes the process, and when the quill 
 gets cold it contracts to its original dimensions, and thus secures 
 the br^ish part very tightly. The quills used for handles are of 
 various sizes, and are obtained from geese, turkeys, ducks, and 
 even smaller birds, such as quails, larks, &c. The size of the 
 handle is always proportioned to the size of the brush, and the 
 purposes for which it is made. When the quantity of hair or 
 bristles is larger than can be used to advantage with quills, the 
 bunch of material is put in the tube with wooden handles. Even 
 these, when loo large, are placed in handles made of wood, with 
 perated holes. Bundles of bristles designed for this purpose are 
 secured with strong cord, which has been dipi)ed in glue. 
 
 Hair brushes are of the most complicated manufacture. Holes 
 large enough to admit the bunches of bristles are bored all over 
 the back of the brush part way through; while much smaller 
 holes are bored clear through. A tuft of bristles is doubled over 
 a piece of fine wire. After being thus properly secured, the 
 workmen put the wire in the small hole, and draw the bristles up 
 as far as possible in the big hole. The wire is then carried on to 
 the next hole, until the whole surface is covered over with con- 
 necting lines of ^\ire and tufts of bristles. When thus far com- 
 pleted, the bristles are cut off evenly, and a fancy back is glued 
 on to hide the wire, and give the brush a more finished appear- 
 
40 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 ftnce. Tooth and nail brushes are made in a similar way, hut the 
 holes where the wire is secured are made on the side, and corked 
 up with small plugs of ivory or bone. Some brushes have handles 
 ©f perfumed wood, and are ornamented considerably, at heavy 
 expense. Brushes made of spun glass are used in acids, which 
 will destroy ordinary brushes. — [New York 3Iercantile Journal. 
 
 GUM-COPAL AND COPAL VARNISH. 
 
 The copal Zanzibar is the only article convertible into the fine 
 varnishes now so extensively used throughout the civilized world. 
 It is the product of a tree which still grows there, and the gum 
 is found in two conditions — in a soft state, attached to the tree; 
 and buried in the soil, where it has become hard as it is commonly 
 seen in trade. 
 
 The tree is found on the island and mainland of Zanzibar. It 
 is by no means as some have supposed, a shrubby thorn, its 
 towering bole has formed canoes sixty feet long, and a single tree 
 has suflSced for the kelson of a bridge. The average size, how- 
 ever, is about half that height, with from three to six feet girth 
 near the ground. The bark is smooth; the lower branches are 
 within reach of a man's head. The trunk is of a yellow whitish 
 tinge, rendering it conspicuous among the dark African jungle 
 growths; it is dotted with exudations of raw gum, which is also 
 found scattered in bits around the base; and is infested by ants, 
 especially by a long ginger colored and semi-transparent variety, 
 called by the people "boiling water," from its fiery bite. The 
 copal wood is yellow tinted, and the saw collects from it large 
 flakes; when dried and polished, it darkens to a honeyed brown, 
 and being well veined, it is used for the panels of doors. The 
 modern liahitat of the tree is the alluvial sea plain, and the 
 anciently raised beach; though extending over the crest of the 
 latter formation, it ceases to be found at any distance beyond the 
 land water counter slope, and it is unknown in the interior. 
 
 The raw copal is either picked from the tree, or is found shal- 
 lowly imbedded in the loose soil. To the eye, it is smoky or 
 clouded inside; it feels soft; it becomes like putty when exposed 
 to the action of alcohol, and it viscidizes in the solution used for 
 washing the true copal. Little valued in European technology, 
 it is exported to Bombay, where it is converted into an inferior 
 varnish for carriages and palanquins, and to China, where the 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 41 
 
 people have discovered, it is said, for utilizing it, a process which, 
 like the manufacture of rice paper and Indian ink, they keep 
 secret. Its juice varies from 12 to 27 cents a pound. 
 
 The true or ripe copal is the product of vast extinct forests, over- 
 thrown in former ages; and the gum has been set free by some 
 violent action of the elements; or, it had exuded from the roots of 
 the trees by an abnormal action which exhausted and destroyed 
 them. The gum, buried at depths beyond atmospheric influence, 
 has, like amber and similar gum resins, been bituminized in al' 
 its purity, the volatile principles being fixed by moisture and by 
 the exclusion of external air. That it is the produce of a tree is 
 proved by the discovery of j^ieces of gum imbedded in a touch- 
 wood which crumbles under the fingers; the "goose skin," which 
 is the impress of sand or gravel, shows that it w^as buried in a soft 
 state, and the bees, flies, gnats, and other insects which are some- 
 times found in it, delicately preserved, seem to disprove a remote 
 geologic antiquity. At the end of the rains, it is usually carried 
 ungarbled (unassorted and uncleaned) to Zanzibar. At Zanzibar, 
 after being sifted and freed from heterogenous matter, it is sent 
 to the Indian market or sold to the foreign merchant. It is then 
 washed several times in soda ley. The Americans export the 
 gum uncleaned, because the operation is better performed at 
 Salem. Of late years they have begun to prepare it at Zanzibar? 
 like the Hamburg traders. When taken from the ley, in which 
 from 20 to 37 per ct. is lost, the gum is washed, sun-dried for some 
 hours, and cleaned with a hard brush, which must not, however, 
 injure the goose skin; the dark "eyes" where the dirt has sunk 
 deep, are also picked out with an iron tool. It is then carefully 
 sorted, with due regard to color and size. There are many tints 
 and peculiarities, known only to these whose interest compel 
 them to study and observe copal, which like cotton and Cashmere 
 shawls, requires years of experience. The sizes are fine, medium 
 and large, with many subdivisions; the pieces vary from the di- 
 mensions of small pebbles to two or three ounces; they have been 
 known to weigh five pounds, and it is said at Salem a piece of 
 thirty-five pounds is shown. 
 
 Copal is preferred to other gum resins for making varnish, on 
 account of its hardness. It does not dissolve in water or common 
 alcohol, even when boiling hot; and oil of turpentine dissolves 
 
42 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 only one or two per cent, of it. When heated over a quick fire, 
 it melts into a thin fluid, and in this state it can be mixed inti- 
 mately with linseed oil and spirits of turpentine. Such a mix- 
 ture, with the addition of a little litharge or dried sugar of lead, 
 constitutes copal varnish. Great care and skill are required in 
 manufacture, to avoid accidents from fire, and to produce varnish 
 of a good quality. 
 
 A NEW ZINC PAINT. 
 
 According to the Comtes Rendits, M. Artus, of the Vieille Mon- 
 tagne Company, France, has introduced a valuable white zinc 
 j^aint, using silicate of potash instead of oil as a vehicle. It is 
 said to be very durable, and to keep zinc metal roofing very 
 cool; thus furnishing a paint for zinc surfaces, the want of 
 which has been long felt. The details of the preparation are not 
 given, but if the paint prove as valuable as seems to be antici- 
 pated, it will doubtless be introduced ere long into this country. 
 
 The Titusville Herald mentions the following concerning a 
 patent process recently exhibited in Titusville by Mr. B. O'Brien, 
 of Lockport, N. Y., for manufacturing a paint oil from petroleum, 
 which was claimed to fully equal the linseed oil for mixing 
 paints. Mr. O'Brien demonstrated the process to a number of 
 refiners in Titusville, but his negotiations for the sale of the 
 l)atent here was suspended by a call to New York, and a sale was 
 effected to parties in that city. The purchasers pay $75,000 for 
 three fourths of the patent, and furnish the requisite capital to 
 manufacture at least one hundred barrels of the oil per day^ 
 Mr. O'Brien receives $25,000 cash in hand, and $2 per barrel 
 on all oil sold until the balance, $50,000, is paid. He also re- 
 tains a one fourth interest in the business, receiving one fourth 
 of the net profits. 
 
 Mr. James B. Pollock, of Port Eichmond, N. 1"., has invented 
 and patented an apparatus for feeding white lead, etc., from the 
 mixing tub to the millstones. This invention consists of a feeder 
 or conveyor for oily and pasty substances, of which the essential 
 features are a longitudinally grooved cylinder, inclosed in a 
 cylindrical case, and a scraper, arranged in such manner that the 
 paste is forced from the mixer or a hopper into the groove of the 
 cylinder at one side of the case, and carried thereby to the other 
 side, where it is taken out by the scraper, which is caused to 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 43 
 
 drop into the groove, and discharged upon any receiver, prefera- 
 bly a revolving disk, from which it may be discharged by a 
 fixed scraper to any other receiver or conveyor. The case 
 serves as a cut off to remove any excess of the paste, and cause 
 the feed to be regular and even, being the exact quantity the 
 grooves are capable of taking; but the quantity discharged may 
 be varied by varying the speed of the cylinder, or by limiting the 
 discharging scraper into the grooves, so that it will not take out 
 the whole quantity contained in them. 
 
 PAINT AS A PROTECTOR. 
 
 Paint, in the view of utility, is emploj'cd as a protective 
 covering to a body, against the injurious influences of the air, 
 water, and other destructive agencies. Wood and the common 
 metals are especially attacked by oxygen contained in our atmos- 
 phere, of which it constitutes about 21 per cent., being the 
 21-100 part of the whole atmosphere. It is also a component 
 part of water, forming nearly 88-100 of its whole weight. 
 Although its presence is absolutely necessary to the continu- 
 ance of animal life, yet metals exposed to the air are consumed 
 by the oxygen as in a fire. The utility, therefore, of paint as a 
 protector is so apparent that any study of its composition and 
 properties, which will tend to improve it in any degree, is of 
 great importance. 
 
 Paint is understood to be a mixture of a liquid and a solid, 
 in powder. The desirable physical conditions of these are, 
 that the liquid should have a certain amount of viscidity, in 
 order to maintain the powder in suspension, and that the pow- 
 der should be as fine as possible, and nearly of the same 
 specific gravity of the liquid. Linseed oil is undoubtedly the 
 best mixture for paints that are to be exposed to the weather. 
 It absorbs oxygen, and becomes solid and water-proof, and yet 
 it always possesses some elasticity which prevents it from 
 cracking. Theory and the almost united voice of practical 
 painters, after centuries of ex2)erience, have decided that, in 
 view of its inherent properties and its cost, nothing at present 
 known can take its place. There inay be special uses of paint, 
 where some other article may be substituted with advantage, 
 yet we cannot reasonably look beyond the class of substances 
 known as drying oils, for a substitute. Yolatilc oils, and such 
 
44: GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 as resin oils, which oxydize into brittle resins, are altogether 
 out of the question. Nor will any solution or mixture of India- 
 rubber or gutta percha take the place of linseed oil, by reason 
 of expense as well as their inferior properties. Linseed oil, 
 therefore, is the very best liquid for paint. Of the solids used 
 for paint, we may mention lampblack, white lead, red lead, ver- 
 milion, verdigris, o'chres, &c., a certain combination of the dif- 
 ferent substances in projier proportions give the various colors of 
 brown, purple, chocolate, &c. Now the chemical properties of 
 ingredients used in paint are of great importance. The liquid 
 and solid must be such as will not injuriously react on each 
 other, and such as are not destroyed by contact with air and 
 water. The main virtue of paint resides in the liquid ; the solid 
 serves unfavorably to dilute that virtue, and favorably by secur- 
 ing that kind of consistency which permits easy manipulation 
 with the brush, and favorably, also, by preventing the absorption 
 of the liquid when the paint is spread on porous surfaces. 
 
 As a theoretical question, the choice of the solid body in paint 
 is a difficult one; it involves some of the nicest refinements of 
 chemistry ; but as a practical question, the inherent differences of 
 the multitude of admissible substances are slight enough to bring 
 it to the narrow consideration of cost. That substance which is 
 permanent under ordinary influences, and which can be pow- 
 dered and ground with oil, at the lowest cost, will be preferred. 
 Do not the ochres answer to this condition? "VVe suggest here, 
 that metallic oxydes and carbonates generally have a certain 
 affinity for oil, which renders the mixture more easy and inti- 
 mate, so that the resulting dried paint is more compact and less 
 disturbed by friction. The peculiar property of white lead, in 
 mixing with oil, and such j^aint drying up to become a remarka- 
 bly hard and tough body, is well understood, and indicates it — 
 notwithstanding its greater cost over ochres and other cheap 
 substances — as the best material for inside work which is to be 
 exposed to much friction. Lead paint, however, is not suitable 
 for surfaces much exposed to the weather. The ochres are re- 
 commended for cutside work. 
 
 PRUSSIAN BLUE. 
 
 The substance which generally affords the blue color, affords a 
 great vaiietj^ of shades. In regard to durability, the blues pos- 
 
GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 45 
 
 sess one marked characteristic, namely : those which are the 
 purest and most brilliant are the most durable. The blue colors 
 which are used most extensively in painting, are ultramarine, 
 cobalt, Prussian blue, indigo, the different species of azure, etc. 
 la the present article, we shall speak only of the third in this 
 class. 
 
 Prussian blue was discovered in 1720, by Diesbach, in Berlin, 
 and since that time it has been carefully studied by many chem- 
 ists and manufacturers, so that its composition and preparation 
 are well understood. It is the chemical combination of the 
 gaseous substance known as cyanogen, with iron under two dif- 
 ferent kinds of oxidation, that is to say, protocyanide and sesqui- 
 cyanide of iron and a little water. The proportions are variable, 
 and from this cause the color varies, and colors of very different 
 degrees of intensity are found in commerce. 
 
 In the ordinary variety, 3 parts of protocyanide and 2 parts 
 of sesquicyanide of iron are combined with 9 parts of water. 
 
 Moreover, the method of making, the quality of the materials 
 employed, and the oare used, all exert an important influence on 
 the color. When pure and newly precipitated, its color is so 
 deep as to appear black, and later it looks black-blue with a slight 
 reddish tint. 
 
 In order to obtain it pure, a preparation consisting of carbon- 
 ate of potash, calcined with animal matter (usually blood), is 
 added to the blue during the manufacture. We give a brief de- 
 scription of the process of making Prussian blue, as denoted by 
 Boret. The blood is first prepared by heating in a basin and 
 evaporating until it becomes viscid, when it is spread upon ta- 
 bles and exposed to the sun until dry, and it is then pulverized. 
 Ten parts of this are taken, and a solution composed of 1 part of 
 carbonate of potash, 1-100 part of iron filings and a little water. 
 These ingredients are inclosed in a melting-pot which is kept at 
 a red heat for seven or eight hours. During the first part of this 
 process, a large quantity of offensive steam separates, which is 
 succeeded by a light red flame. The matter is then stirred, and 
 when it has reached a state of tranquil fusion and emits no more 
 gases, the pot is again covered and heated for another hour. The 
 product obtained is in the form of a cake, which is next washed 
 with hot water until all the soluble portion has been absorbed. 
 
46 GENERAL HINTS ON HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 This liquid, which is bright yellow and smells very strongly of 
 prussic acid, is not pure cyanuret of potassium, but must be fil- 
 tered and concentrated. After this is done, it is poured, little by 
 little, into a warm solution of one part of alum and seven or eight 
 parts of sulphate of iron, and it gives the color which is known 
 as Prussian blue. When pure it is sometimes known as China 
 or Chinese blue. 
 
 * According to the authority of Mr. Burgeois, who was superin- 
 tendent of a great color factory in France, Prussian blue, next to 
 ultra-marine coblat, affords the purest shade of blue, and though 
 inferior in this respect to these two colors, it surpasses both of 
 them in its wonderful coloring power. Unfortunately, it cannot 
 withstand the action of alkalies, and when combined with a color 
 which contains an alkali, it is liable to change in a very short 
 time, or even to lose its color entirely. It is deep-toned, brilliant, 
 and transparent, possessing the greatest intensity of any of the 
 blues, and in composition it gives the greatest varietj^ of shades. 
 When mixed with white lead, Prussian blue acquires a somewhat 
 greenish shade. Yery beautiful colors may be produced by mix- 
 ing it with 15 or 20 parts (in weight) of chronium yellow, but 
 greens so made are not durable. To obtain a sky-blue, add 1 part 
 of Prussian blue to 20 parts of white, and for a light azure, add 1 
 part of same to 200 parts of white. When mixed with oil, Prus- 
 sian blue should be used soon, else it will become greasy and dif- 
 ficult to work. The cheaper kinds are sometimes adulterated 
 with chalk, china, clay, or starch. When mixed with chalk or 
 other carbonates of lime, their presence may be easily tested by 
 treating tho color with an acid, which will cause the adulteration 
 to effervesce. If starch is added, it will become pasty when 
 mixed with boiling water.. 
 
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