Practical house, wagon and automobile painter, including sign painting, and valuable hints and recipes

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Practical House, Wagon

and Automobile

Painter

Including Sign Painting, and Valuable
Hints and Recipes

BY

W. F. WHITE
§1

SHREWESBURY PUBLISHING CO.
CHICAGO

Copyright, 1919

BY

SHREWESBURY PUBLISHING CO.

• • «

• • •

MAR 12 '23

Z^

{^^/^

INDEX.

PAGE.

Analysis of Yellow Ochi e 3

Brown Hard Spirit Varnishes 89

Blistered Doors, to Repaint 85

Brass, to Clean , . . 88

Black Varnish for Iron 87

Blinds, to Handle when Painting 33

Brass and Copper, to Clean 35

Black Varnish for Iron Si-
Bronze for Metal ■ 85

Benzine, to De-odorize 82

Bronze 144

Blackboard Slating 83

Blackboard Slating, Cheap, but Good 83

Blackboard, to Make on Common Piaster 83

Brush Cleaning Trough 25

Brick, to Clean 38

Brick Painting 28

Crawling Paint 5

Cracks in Walls, to Fill 131

Cleaning a Room 29

Cherry Stain 44

Cracks in Paint and Varnish 20

Cleaning Phseton Cusliions 142

Carriage Painting 134

Damp Walls, to Treat 73

Dipping Paint , 88

Door Plates, to Clean 84

Damar Varnish 26, 91

iii

iv IndeXc

PAGE.

Dry Ochre for Priming 2

Estimating Work 14

Enameled Letters, to Apply to Glass 95

Furniture Varnish 91

Fire-proof Paint for Roofs 86

Fluoric Acid, to Make 132

Gold Varnish 90

Guessing on Work. 8

Glass, to Crystallize 93

Gilding on Glass 8

Gilding on Wood 38

Grease Spots, to Kill 34

Hard Wood Floors, to Finish 33

Hard Putty 121

Japan, Testing 19

Kalsomine 34

Kalsomine, to Make and Apply 121

Liquid Wood Fillers 133

Lacquers for Brass and Tin 91

Leather Varnish (black) 91

Lead Poisoning and Symptoms • 53

Liquid Glue 93

Lamp Black, to Mix 87

Liquid Glue for Kalsomine and Wall Sizing 123

Measuring a Job 17

Mahogany Stain 44, 45

Midsummer Painting 67

Marking Ink 146

Natural Wood Finishing. 47

Old Carriage Work 140

Oil Size for Old Whitewash 37

Old Wall, to Prepare for Paint 124

Oak Stain, dark 45

Oil Rubber Paint for Cloth 83

Painting Cars at Home 153

Plastered Wall, to Paint 127

Index. V

PAGE.

Paste to Hold Labels on Tin. 31

Paint to Prevent Rotting under Ground 82

Paint, to Remove. ,...., 35

Paper Hanger's Outfit 91

Price List and Measurement , 62

Paint, to Clean 84

Porcelain Finish 52

Paper Hanger's Paste 92

Putty, to Soften ..„ 18

Putty, to Color 50

Paste for Painted or Varnished Walls 93

Rust Spots on Marble , 145

Red Saunders Stain 45

Red Wood to Finish 145

Rough Stuff „ 142

Rough and Sandy Walls 129

Sizing Walls 94

Sign Painting. 99, 117

Scaled Work, to Repaint 77

Sixteenth Century Oak 55

Spots on Paint 50

Sandpapering 76

Oak Wood Stain 94

Stencil Border 77

Spirit Varnishes 88, 90

Size Muslin for Lettering 78

Slowing the Drying of Paint 85

Stir Your Paint 41

Stencil Ink (black) 144

Signs on Colored Glass 131

Strainers 34

Silver, to Clean 35

Stencil Staining 26

Success in Painting 7

Symptoms of Lead Poison 55

vi Index.

PAGE.

Tin Roofs, to Paint 2

Tents, etc., to Make Weather-proof 32

Tacky Paint, to Cure 18

Tortoise Shell, to Imitate 61

Varnish to Fix Pencil Drawings 145

Varnish to Imitate Ground Glass 60

Varnish for Rustic Work c 61

Varnish 'Stains , 44

Varnished Paint, to Clean 85

Very Dirty Brass, to Clean 61

Wax Polish 26

Whitewash, to Soften 145

Water Glass for Floors 145

Walnut Stain 44

White Hard Spirit Varnishes 89

Walnut, to Stain Like Mahogany 46

Water Colors, to Mix 78

White Shellac, to :\Iake 49

White Enamel 60

Wall Sizing for Kalsomining 97

Why Do Wall Papers Crack 36

Whitewash for Outside 33

Wax Floor Finish 88

^inc, to Clean 38

Zinc, to Paint on 32

PRACTICAL
HOUSE PAINTER.

The following is an infallible and simple commercial
test of the purity of white lead:

"Take a piece of firm, close-grained charcoal, and near
one end of it scoop out a cavity about half an inch in
diameter and a quarter of an inch in depth. Place in the
cavity a sample of the lead to be tested, about the size of
a small pea, and apply to it continuously the blue or hottest
part of the flame of the blow-pipe; if the sample be strictly
pure it will, in a very short time, say in two minutes, be
reduced to metallic lead, leaving no residue; but if it be
adulterated, even to the extent of ten per cent only, with
oxide of zinc, sulphate of baryta, whiting or any other car-
bonate of lime (which substances are the principal adulter-
ations used) or if it be composed entirely of these materials,
as is sometimes the case with cheap lead (so-called), it can-
not be reduced, but will remain on the charcoal in an
infusible mass.

"A blow-pipe can be obtained from any jeweler at small
cost. An alcohol lamp, star candle, or a lard oil lamp
furnishes the best flame for use of the blow-pipe. This
test is very simple and any one can very soon learn to make
it with ease and skill."

2 Practical House Painter.

JAPAN.

Always cut your japan (in a little turps before you
add it to the paint. An ounce of japan, cut with
turps, will do better work than two ounces in oil
paint, if put in clear. Don't add dryer to any more
paint than you can use up in a few hours, because it
will soon commence to fatten your paint in the pot
and lessen its covering and wearing properties. Many
a job has been spoiled by using old color, doped with
japan. Such paint is liable to mildew.

OBJECTIONS TO THE USE OF CHEAP DRY OCHRE AS A

PRIMER.

1st. It is too dark for light colored work, because
sooner or later it will show through in spots, or
darken the entire work.

2d. It leaves a rough, coarse surface which the
succeeding coats fail to completely level up.

3d. Succeeding coats are liable to scale from
cheap coarse ochre priming.

PAINTING TIN ROOFS.

When paint scales from a tin roof it is not always
the fault of the paint. It stands the painter in hand
to carefully examine a new tin roof before painting
it. When the tinner uses rosin as a flux to make his
solder flow, the rosin is melted and cools again on the
tin. When such is the case, carefully scrape it off
with a knife, otherwise it will be liable to scale off,
and take the paint with it.

Practical House Painter. 3

When acid is used in the place of rosin it is apt to
corrode the tin, hence it is best, if you want a per-
manent job, to clean off the acid. To do this, first
rub the seams with kerosene oil, then wash with soap
suds and rinse with clean water. If the roof is quite
new, and the tin feels greasy, go over it with a wash
made of one pound of sal-soda to six quarts of water,
let it stand one-half day ; then wash the tin with clear
water.

Instead of this method, I have given new tin a
good rubbing with No. 1 sandpaper to make it hold
the paint.

ANALYSIS OF OCHRE.

Below is an analysis of a sample of French ochre,

which is about the average of that pigment:

Parts.

Hydrated oxide of iron 42

Alumina 20

Silica 38

The oxide gives the color; the parts as given
above are in the right proportion to give the most
stable color and durable body to be found in ochre.

Here is an ochre, which was ground in a linseed

oil substitute, and sold to the trade at four cents per

pound in twenty-five pound cans, and retailed to the

painter at seven cents per pound in cans, to-wit :

Parts.

Barytes 58

Whiting 15

Oxide of iron, silicate and alumina 24i

Chrome yellow 2i

4 Practical House Painter.

This so-called ochre could be ground in one-half
the oil it would take to grind yellow ochre.

ANOTHER.

Parts.

Poor chrome yellow 8

Ochre 25

Whiting 67

Ground in snide oil, and sold to Jobbers at five

cents per pound, to painters eight and ten cents.

ANOTHER.

Parts.

Barytes 62.90

Ochre 40.00

Barytes is not ochre, and this was sold as pure
ochre.

ANOTHER.

Sold as French ochre, and reecmmended for prim-
ing:

i-arts.

Oxide ot iron, alumina 19.79

Silica 40.93

Whiting 11.57

Barytes 26.64

ANOTHER IN OIL.

Parts

Chrome yellow 12

Whiting 25

Barytes 63

Oil T 13

The markets are flooded with such imitations of
ochre, both dry and in oil. The quantity of oil

Practical House Painter. 5

required to grind pure French ochre makes it high-
priced, hence there is a motive for putting up barytes,
which takes but little oil in grinding.

YELLOW IRON ORE.

Much of the so-called dry ochre on the market is
a yelloiv. iron ore and not yellow ochre. When mixed
in oil and put on a tin roof it will turn brown inside
of ninety days. I presume you have had experience
with such stuff. This makes a bad primer ; it i? very
liable to scale.

CRAWLING PAINT.

When paint crawls it is because there is not suf-
ficient adhesion between the undercoat and the new
coat, caused usually by too much gloss on the under-
coat. To prevent crawling subdue the gloss on the
undercoat by sandpapering, rubbing, or by the ap-
plication of some material which will have the de-
sired eifect; or, if on the outside, wait until the
gloss has been subdued by the elements. There is
nothing more trying to one's patience than to have
the paint let go and crawl up in bunches after it hae
been carefully brushed out. Hence, it is well to pro-
vide against such trouble in advance. The observing
painter has no doubt noticed that paint is more
liable to crawl under cornices, and upon other shel-
tered positions, than elsewhere; hence, it is best in
all such sheltered places, where the elements do not

6 Practical House Painter.

have full play, to use sufficient turpentine to prevent
a high gloss on the undercoats.

TO PAINT BLINDS AND NOT DAUB YOUR HANDS.

First, have a stick to open and shut the slats with
after you commence to paint. Second, leave a place
on each stile, or side rail, half way between the
hinges, six or eight inches long, unpainted, except to
cut in the edge next the end of the slats to take hold
of when you turn the blind over or set it aside ; also
leave the bottom hinge unpainted. After you have
set up the blind hold it up by the unpainted hinge
until you finish the stiles ; then lean it up against its
support and touch up the hinge. In this way vou
need get no more paint on your hands than you
would in painting a door. No time will be lost,
because you can touch up the stiles in less time than
it would take to wipe your hands and brush handle.

LEGLESS STEP-LADDERS.

Step-ladders without legs for outside work are
good things to have on the job. Say, three of them,
6, 8 and 10 feet long. A man of good height can
paint 14 feet high from the 10-foot ladder. They are
much easier on the feet than a "round" ladder. You
can stand straighter and reach farther when standing
on a step than you can while trying to balance on
a round stick ; besides, a step is a handy place to set
your pail on.

Practical House Painter.

SUCCESS IN PAINTING.

Painting don't pay, eh? No wonder it don't pay,
l)ecause here you are spending half your time growl-
ing. The facts in the case are, "You are not up-to-
date." If there is no possibility of making money
at the trade, how is it that your competitor gets along
so well? Why is it that he accumulates and you
lose? He goes into the same market for labor, ma-
terial and jobs that you do. He comes out every
fall with his pockets full, and you round up poor as
a church mouse. There must be a screw loose some-
where in your management. Will I point one out?
Certainly, we have always been friends, and I can
never do too much for a friend. In the first place
you are too impetuous. You forget for the time that
bills for labor and material will fall due, that you
must live — and you take the job at losing figures.
You ought to realize that the success of a contracting
painter depends upon his business qualifications.
To-wit : Correct and careful estimates, coolness in
bidding, care in selecting materials and men, sys-
tematizing his work so as to keep each man in the
right place. I don't know how much you are get-
ting for this job, but it looks to me that you are
losing money every day by using poor material and
improper handling of your men. The good business
man prefers the strictly pure Dutch process white
lead to the adulterated brands. He uses pure lin-

8 Practical House Painter.

seed oil instead of adulterated mixtures and imita-
tions of it, and he never loses sight of the fact that a
good reputation is a mine of gold to him. If he finds
a man is a good hand on a ladder or swing stage he
keeps him there, and if he finds a man an expert at
inside work he keeps him there, and if he finds a man
is a poor stick in any place he lets him go, rush or no
rush. If he has high work he provides a safe and
easy way to get there. If he has inside work his
step-ladders are equal to the work. He knows when
a man has to reach too far or stand on top of a lad-
der he can't half work. Learn to manage your
men, to keep the right man in the right place. Stop
making ruinous bids. Open your eyes to the fact
that a man who makes a losing bid on a job, to beat
his competitor, acts like an idiot, and is meaner than
flies in paint.

GUESSING ON WORK.

The practice of estimating work by guess has
brought many a painter up with a round turn in the
fall in debt. The curious part of it is that the les-
son is rarely, if ever, learned. Don't be too smart.
Guessing on work is very uncertain business.

GLASS GILDING.

A practical expert in an English journal, the
'Tlumber and Decorator," gives the following as his
process acquired and tested by many years' experi-
ence.

Practical House Painter. 9

The tools and materials required for glass gilding
are the same as used for gilding in oil, excepting the
gold size. Oil gold size would never do for glass
work. In glass gilding the object is to get a size or
mordant which will have the least possible tendency
to destroy or mar the burnish of the gold leaf. This
is absolutely necessary, when we consider that in this
kind of work the size is before the gold, not as in oil
gilding — behind it. For a mordant nothing can be
better than the best isinglass. To prepare this for
use the utmost care and cleanliness should be exer-
cised. The water must be quite pure — free from
grease or impurities of any kind. In preparing the
size the following may be relied upon as a first-class
recipe: Boil about one pint of water in a perfectly
clean pan. Should any scum rise during the opera-
tion remove it with a large spoon. Then add about
as much isinglass as will lie on a dime to the boiling
water. This is best done a little at a time to pre-
vent it gathering in a mass before it has a chance of
dissolving. When the isinglass is dissolved strain the
size through a fine silk handkerchief, folded double
or fourfold, or, better still, through some white blot-
ting paper. This straining or filtering will remove
any bits or impurities that may have lodged unper-
ceived in the isinglass. When cool the mordant is
ready for applying to the glass. Some gilders like
to add spirit in some form — generally spirits of
wine — to their size. Their reasons for doing this are

10 Practical House Painter.

not always very explicit. Some do it because they
have seen others do it. Others add it, they say, to
give the gold a better burnish, or to make it better
adhere to the glass. This is a delusion. The most
sensible reason for its use was imparted to me by a
veteran in the trade. He used spirits of wine to
take out or kill any slight greasiness that may have
been in the water or isinglass. I must confess that
until I learned this, spirits always formed part of my
mordant, becausfe others used it. However, on fur-
ther consideration, its use has been discarded, and,
if anything, a better burnish on the gold is the re-
sult. In making the size it must be borne in mind
that the less isinglass used the brighter will be the
gilding when completed. Of course, if too little
be used, the gold will not adhere to the glass as it
should, and this would cause much damage and an-
noyance when the isinglass size was floated on again
to proceed with the second gilding. When the size
is too strong, or contains too much isinglass, no
amount of burnishing will remove it altogether from
before the gold. These are important points and
should be carefully studied. But a little practice
soon teaches the gilder how to arrive at the happy
medium.

There are a variety of purposes to which orna-
mental glass gilding may be applied besides sign
work, shop fronts or glass doors. It is now much
used for show cases, window tablets, druggists' bot-

Practical House Painter. 11

ties, fixtures and pilasters for shop-fronts. Very
often the design is embossed or bit into the glass,
and worked up with gold and silver leaf, besides be-
ing picked out in colors. This is both a crstly and
effective method of decorating, which shall have full
consideration in a future chapter. For the present
it will, no doubt, be advisable to consider the simpler
form of glass-gilding. When this is thoroughly un-
derstood very little further instruction is needed for
high-class work.

For the sake of example we will suppose a glass
slab about three feet six by twelve inches is the sub-
ject to be treated. This is to have black letters with-
out thickness or shadow on a gold ground. There
are two methods of doing this. One is to first paint
on the glass the letters with japan black and after-
wards gild the plate. The other consists in first
gilding the plate solid and then painting in the
background with japan black. By this method the
lettering is left untouched. The gold on these is
then washed off, the edges trimmed, and the letters
themselves painted black or any other desired color.
This latter is, perhaps, the most satisfactory. How-
ever, a few lines of explanation will be devoted to
each process.

First in order comes a plate, the letters on which
are painted with japan black previous to gilding.
To the learner, no doubt, the plain block letters will
prove an attraction, because of their simplicity. This

12 Practical House Painter.

should be set out correctly on a sheet of lining paper.
It will only be necessary to run in an outline of
the letters. When completed to the satisfaction of
the operator it may be pasted round the edges and
fixed on the face of the glass. The back of the
glass, that is the side upon which the work is done,
should be quite clean. When the plate is fixed on an
easel or stand, which is the most convenient place
for working, the letters will, of course, read back-
wards. In this form they must be painted. When
quite dry and hard, should the outlines of the let-
ters be irregular, they may be set right in a very
simple manner. All that is required to accom-
plish this is a metal straightedge and a sharp
quarter inch joiner's chisel. The straightedge is laid
across the tops and bottoms of the letters and the
chisel is employed to cut them sharp and true. The
sides of the straight letters are then similarly treated ;
curves must be perfected with a writing-pencil. The
paper may now be taken from the face of the glass
and the plate examined all over. Should any
specks of black be found on it they must be re-
moved before the gilding is gone on with. The
smallest speck shows up before the gold-leaf. If
convenient, before gilding, have the plate fixed at
an angle of about 45 degrees. While in this posi-
tion take a flat gilder's mop and float the isinglass
size over the glass. Then take up the cushion, take
out a few leaves of gold from the book, and whilst

Practical House Painter. 13

the glass is wet cover it with gold, lifting the gold
from the cushion as described in the last chapter.
If possible lift a whole leaf at once, but should
this at first prove troublesome try half a leaf. Keep
the glass wet with the size and overlap slightly each
successive leaf of gold until the whole of the glass
is covered.

The glass must now dry before it can be re-
gilded, and must then be gently rubbed with the
finest cotton wool. It is an easy matter to ascer-
tain whether it is dry or not. When wet the gold,
if looked at from the front of the glass, has a dead
look, but if dry it shows up bright. If possible
leave the plate till next day before giving it a sec-
ond coat of gold. The advantage of this delay is
obvious. The gold has time to get hard, which ma-
terially reduces the risk of its being removed when
a second application of size is necessary.

To the novice it will, no doubt, appear at first sight
both a waste of time and gold to gild all over the
work again, but if the plate be held up to the light
it will show many imperfections in the shape of
small holes, cracks and imperfect joinings. An-
other coat of size floated on and another layer of
gold over the whole of the Work should turn out
a so far satisfactory finish. Let the glass dry
again and be subjected to a further examination for
faulty places. Should any be found cover them
with more gold. But if the work is satisfactory it

14 Practical House Painter.

is ready for the burnishing process. The first stage
is to polish the gold by gently rubbing with fine cot-
ton wool, care being taken not to scratch the gold.
This is, of course, only a repetition of the polishing
after the first layer of gold.

There are several methods in general use for ob-
taining that brilliant burnish so much admired in
glass gilding. But the one that meets with most
favor and success is what is called the "hot water
burnish.^^ It will be advisable to practice on the
glass under consideration. After the cotton wool
polishing is completed warm the glass either by hold-
ing it before a fire or gently pouring warm water over
it. This is only a precaution against breakage by
sudden expansion. Now let it dry, and while warm
polish again with the cotton wool. Repeat the pour-
ing of water, hotter than the last, and when the
glass is dry, after this operation, gently rub it again
with cotton wool. This hot water flushing should
be carried on until the burnish is quite satisfactory.
But it must be very carefully done, else the gold runs
a risk of being washed off in patches.

HOW TO ESTIMATE WORK.

Measure your work with the tape-line and be sure
you get all there is in it; projections, depressions,
mouldings, edges, etc.

Many a painter has dropped his profits by not
taking in these little particulars. Every bead, sunken

Practical House Painter. 15

or raised panel makes an edge to paint. The edges
of ordinary weather boarding add ten per cent, to
the surface, to say nothing of the edges of the cor-
ner boards and window and door casings — the pro-
jections and depressions in the panels of an ordinary
fonr-paneled door, add at least ten per cent, to the
surface to be painted. Then let me say to you
again, look closely for edges, projections, depressions,
hollows and rounds. They all count when you paint
them; and it is your fault if they are not included
in the estimate. When you have multiplied the num-
ber of feet around a house by the average height and
reduced it to yards you have only made a start.
Measure the cornice, follow the hollows, rounds and
edges with the line. There is lots of surface in
mouldings. The tape-line is good as far as you can
make it go, but it can't do it all. You must use
judgment in connection with it; and carefully esti-
mate the condition of the work, what per cent, is slow
to paint, or high and difficult to reach. For instance,
what is the condition of the surface, is it porous and
full of cracks ? Is every joint gaping for putty ? Is
the putty on the windows rough and broken? Is
the old paint cracked, blistered and scaling? Is the
cornice ornamented with dentils, brackets and
panels ? You may lose a day or a week of extra time
on a high tower or cupola if you fail to put it into
your estimate as extra hard to reach. Make the price
accordingly. Are the blind-slats stuck fast and dif-

16 Practical House Painter.

ficult to paint ? Is the work to be done in the busy
season when labor and material are high priced and
good men are hard to get ; or in the dull season, when
dealers will cut prices and good men are hunting
for work? Bidding on specifications must be done
with care. You can figure the number of yards to
be painted, but there are many points which the com-
pleted job can alone disclose. A provision in your
contract to cover all changes in specifications comes
mighty handy on the day of final settlement. It is
not safe to make anything like a close bid on speci-
fications, until the following questions have been set-
tled and put in your contract. To-wit : Will the
building be delivered to you at a specified time, fin-
ished and cleaned out and put in good condition for
the painter ; or will you be expected to commence be-
fore the work is finished and paint as the work is put
up, and spend as much time dusting and sweeping
as you do at painting? Will the machine-dressed
lumber, including mouldings, doors, window-stops,
etc., be put in as it comes from the factory rough and
fuzzy, or will it be redressed and made smooth and
ready for the paint? These points may look to you
like small matters, but they count when 3^ou come to
paint the work. If you are to do a fine job stipulate
in your contract that the wood-work, etc., shall be
finished in good shape. If you are to paint the work
as you find it have it so stated in your contract. Paste
this motto in the top of your hat and read it often :

Practical House Painter. 17

"It is always better to lose a job tban to get it and
lose money on it."

Two houses may be of equal dimensions, yet it
may be worth 50 per cent, more to paint one than the
other; hence any definite scale of prices for work by
the yard is liable to be misleading. We may deter-
mine by the line how much there is of the work, but
we must rely upon our judgment and experience to
determine how much it will cost to do it.

ONE WAY TO MEASURE A JOB.

Find the surface measure of the entire job, in-
cluding all edges and projections, and estimate how
much it is worth per yard, on the basis that it is all
plain work, easy to get at. Next we will proceed by
what we may call special measurement. Suppose the
cornice measures 60 yards, and is finished with
blocks, moulded panels and brackets, and we estimate
that the cost of painting it will be three times that
of a plain cornice, hence we will add two measures
or 120 yards to the general or first measurement.
Next, suppose each window and casing measures
three yards, and there are 20 of them to be trimmed
in colors, we estimate the work of painting them
double that of plain work; hence we add to our
special measurement 60 yards. If there is a cupola
high and difficult to reach we estimate that it will
be worth double the cost of painting ordinary work
to do it. Say, it measures 50 yards, we will add

18 Practical House Painter.

50 yards to the general measurement, and so we will
go on until we have taken in all parts of the work
which will cost more than ordinary plain work.

To illustrate: The building measures 600 yards,
and as plain work we estimate it worth twenty cents
per yard to paint it. We amount our special meas-
urement which we will say adds up to 300 yards,
which added to the 600 yards general measurement,
makes 900, which at twenty cents per yard, makes
$180. The same system may be used inside.

TO SOFTEN HARD^ LUMPY PUTTY.

Break the putty into lumps ; put it in a kettle with
enough water to cover it ; add a little raw oil, and boil
and stir well while hot. The putty will absorb the
oil ; pour off the water, let the putty cool, then work
it, and your putty will be as good as new.

TACKY PAINT ON CHURCH SEATS, ETC.

During my experience as a painter, T have been
called upon to repaint tacky seats in at least half
a dozen churches. Such seats are an unmitigated
nuisance. Tacky paint may be the result of putting
too much japan in oil paint, or of using fat oil, or
paint which had been mixed a long time, especially
if it had very much japan in it, or by mixing oil and
varnish, or by putting varnish on oil paint, especially
if the paint had not been given time to dry hard
before it was varnished. To harden tacky paint try

Practical House Painter. 19

this: Take one part japan and three parts of tur-
pentine, and give the work a coat of the mixture.
That will usually effect a cure, unless the paint is
soft clear to the wood. A coat of shellac will some-
times^ do the work all right. Such seats usually
seem all right until warmed by the heat of the body ;
hence we may be satisfied that the fault is in the
oil used in the paint or varnish. It is best on that
account to use but little if any oil when painting
seats of any kind. Coat up with color ground in
japan and thinned with turps ; varnish the part which
comes in contact with the body with shellac varnish.

I have painted seats this wa}^, and never heard of
any further trouble with them.

To repaint tacky seats the best way is to burn off
the old paint, and coat up as above ; because, if a hard
drying paint is put over the old soft paint it is liable
to crack. It is well, however, to see if the turpentine
and japan will work a cure, or if a coat of shellac
will stop the trouble. To do this it is well to first
experiment on one seat, or upon a small surface.

I have killed tacky paint by rubbing it with a
cloth wet with ammonia; when dry, try it, and see
if the "tack" is gone ; if not, go over it again ; when
dry, put on a coat of shellac varnish ; this is a pretty
sure cure.

TESTING JAPAN.

If japan smells of benzine don't buy it. Mix it
with clear oil; if it curdles, you don't want it. Mix

20 Practical House Painter.

drop black with some of it; as stiff as good drop
black ground in japan; then thin with turps and
make a painting test, to see if it is a good binder.
To see if it will crack, paint on glass, let it dry and
hold the glass between your eye and the light. If
you see fine cracks don't buy any of it.

When 3'OU go to buy japan, ask the dealer v.ho
made it. If he don't know, make up your mind at
once that it is a fatherless waif without a name,
and likely to be worthless. When a man makes a
good thing he is apt to send his name along with it
as an advertisement. This applies to all material.
There is a great deal of bad japan on the market,
and a great amount of work ruined by it. Buy
none unless it bears the brand of a reputable maker
and will stand these tests.

I do not need to tell the practical painter that there
is a great amount of bad japan on the market, and
that a great deal of paint is ruined by it. Buy no
japan unless the can bears the name of some reputa-
ble manufacturer, and will stand the above tests.

WHY DO PAINTS AND VARNISHES CRACK?

The following paper was read by Mr. A. P. Sweet,
o± Zona, Mich., at a meeting of master car painters :

SUBJECT :

"Tf/ji/ do paints and varnishes crack, and what is
the reason that cracks in the latter are usually at
right angles to the grain of the wood?"

Practical House Painter. 21

The subject, as I understand it, relates to the
cracking of varnishes, etc., as experienced in connec-
tion with passenger car work, and as such I introduce
it for discussion before this association.

There are many theories as to the cause of the
cracking of paints and varnishes. Some are well de-
fined, others are not satisfactorily explained.

I do not anticipate being able to add much to what
is already known, but will advance a few thoughts,
which may call forth the views of others on the sub-
ject.

The old adage, "It takes two to make a quarrel,''
is as true when applied to paints and varnishes as it
is to individuals. A single coat of either seldom, if
ever, produces cracks. These make their appearance
only after two or more coats have been applied ; con-
sequently, it is necessary to have a body of color or
varnish, consisting of two or more coats, before any
trouble of this kind makes itself manifest.

This being the case, it follows that the cause of
the difficulty must be sought for in the coatings
themselves, either in the quality of the material
employed or in the mode of applying them.

Poor and cheap oils and japans — especially the
latter — are a fruitful source of cracking in paint;
but by far the most prolific one, in my opinion, is
the hurried application of the succeeding coats before
the preceding ones are dry enough to receive them.

22 Practical House Painter.

If sufficient time is not given, cracks will inevitably
follow such a mode of procedure.

I am of the opinion, also, that very little blame
can be attached to the wood used in the construction
of cars, as most of it is comparatively well seasoned,
and its expansive and contractive force is not suffi-
cient to cause serious trouble. If green wood was
used there might be room for this excuse, especially
where the cracks run in the direction of the grain,
and are large and deep.

Before pursuing this subject further, it may be
well to examine a little into the theory of the drying
of paint. It is purely a chemical process, not a me-
chanical one, as some suppose. Paint dries by the
evaporation of its volatile parts and its absorption
of oxygen; it is heavier when dried than when in
the liquid form, having attached to itself a sufficient
amount of oxygen to very perceptibly increase tlie
weight some 6 per cent.

The best grades of linseed oil are said to contain
from 70 to 80 per cent of substance called linoleine,
a resinous and slow-drying oil and acid which im-
parts to the oil its elasticity.

In the process of drying, contraction occurs. The
various atoms of which the coatings are composed
move closer and closer together ; and as this con-
tracting force is easier with than across the grain,
cracks at right angles to it are formed. This fact
suggests the necessity of so adjusting the elasticity

Practical House Painter. 23

of the various coats that the force exerted in drying
may be as nearly equalized as possible, as their con-
tracting force is continued until all elasticity has left
the paint and oxygen ceases to be absorbed, all the
oil acid has disappeared, and nothing but a hard,
brittle surface remains.

Under the microscope, in the first stage of crack-
ing, the surface presents nothing unusual except that
the cracks appear clean cut and sharp on the edges.
As months pass by and the surface is exposed to the
atmospheric changes of heat and cold, wet and dry,
the cracks become more numerous; and in the last
stage, when the oil is entirely destroyed, the surface
assumes the appearance of innumerable rectangular
masses, higher in the center than at the edges, like
small mounds raised by the process of contraction
and adhesion.

Cracking in color coats may, by careful attention
to preliminaries, be reduced to a minimum, pro-
vided good first-class materials are used and sufficient
time is given to each coat to dry.

Where varnish is to be applied as a finish, all coat-
ings should have oil in their composition and yet be
mixed to dry flat. They should be applied very
evenly and thinly, even if it necessitates an extra
coat, to cover and make a solid job.

Striping and ornamenting should be done on flat
color, which gives time for hardening, and fits it for

24 Practical House Painter.

the varnish coats to follow. If work is done in this
way, I think very little fear of premature cracking
need be entertained; at least, not until time and
weather have sufficient opportunity to play havoc with
its beauty, and natural decay of the materials them-
selves necessitates a thorough overhauling and repair-
ing.

Rubbing varnishes are another source of trouble,
causing the succeeding coats of finishing varnish to
show signs of cracking long before they otherwise
would, as it does not agree with the slower drying
varnishes usually applied above it, being of a harder
and more brittle character, serving the purpose of
producing a fine, smooth surface, but sacrificing the
durability of the job.

Concerning the cracking of varnish, I have not
much to say. It seems to me that many of the rea-
sons given above will apply to it as well as to the
paint.

Poor material in the shape of varnish is poor in-
deed. A first-class article only will give first-class
results.

It must be elastic, or it will crack easily and badly,
no matter how good the under coats of paint may be.

Good varnish on good color coats will not give
any signs of cracking until, by repeated varnishings,
it has accumulated a thick coating of brittle, unelas-
tic gum.

Practical House Painter, 25

No painter can say truthfully that his cars never
crack, as it is a natural consequence of decay, and
will come, sooner or later, to the best of material.

That varnish cracks to a great extent at right
angles to the grain of the vi^ood, I think is due, in
some degree, to the same reasons as given above for
the cracking of paint, and after its elasticity is de-
stroyed by age. Vibration has a great effect upon
the hard and brittle coating of gum that remains,
coupled with expansion and contraction caused by
variations of temperature and the disintegrating in-
fluences of the weather.

BRUSH CLEANING TROUGH.

To make such a trough, take a piece of planed
board, 6 inches wide and 18 inches long, and nail on
side pieces 2 inches wide; this makes the trough.
Nail this trough on a bench, box, or table, and let one
end of it project over the edge of the bench, box or
table, and place your slush bucket under the project-
ing end of the trough. To clean a brush, lay it in
the trough, keep hold of the handle with one hand
and with the other take a dull scraper and press the
paint out of the brush and shove it off into the slush-
bucket. The advantage of this method is that you
clean the whole length of the brush and save the
paint, instead of daubing it on the walls of your
shop.

26 Practical House Painter.

FLOOR WAX.

A good preparation for waxing floors may be

obtained as follows :

Yellow Wax 25 oz.

Yellow Ceresin 25 oz.

Burnt Sienna 5 oz.

Boiled Linseed Oil 1 oz.

Turpentine 1 gill

Melt the wax and ceresin at a gentle heat, then
add the sienna previously well triturated with the
boiled linseed oil, and mix well. When the mixture
begins to cool add the oil of turpentine, or so much
of it as is required to make a mass of the consistence
of an ointment.

The burnt sienna may be used in smaller or larger
quantity, according to the tint desired, or may be
replaced by raw sienna, etc.

DAMAR VARNISH.

'N'ever use damar varnish over oil paint.

Never put oil in damar varnish. See to it that
your dealer does not draw it into an oil measure, and
that you do not keep it in an oily or rancid can.
Why? BeeauRe it is liable to dry tacky under any
of the above conditions.

STENCIL STAINING.

Ordinary plain staining can be done by almost any
one who can handle a common paint brush. Yet it
is not generally known, even to skilled decorators,
that stain, on sound white wood, evenly planed, can

Practical House Painter. 27

be applied to imitate the most intricate of artistic
desigtis; such, however, is the case. A decorator
if asked to imitate in stain on white wood a piece of
parquetry or inlaid wood, might reply that such a
thing was impossible, alleging as a reason that by
employing liquid stain in the same way as a distem-
per— that is to say, by the aid of a stencil to repro-
duce the pattern — the stain, as soon as it became ab-
sorl)ed would be found to "run," and so giving to the
pattern imitated an indistinct or blurred edge. Yet
the most elaborate patterns are successfully stenciled
direct on to pine, and the figured work on this wood
has invariably come out distinctly and naturally as
to be almost indistinguishable from the inlaid work
they have so successfully sought to imitate. The
great difficulty to be overcome in stenciling with
stains is undoubtedly the "running," but with a very
little care and patience this can be easily obviated.
Say a painter has a border to stain round an ordinary
pine floor in imitation of a selected pattern of par-
quetry, the colors of which are generally in two or
more shades of oak, the first thing he has to do after
having properly prepared the floor — namely, making
the part to be stained as smooth and as even as pos-
sible by filling up the crevices and nail holes — is to
stain over the work in the lightest shade shown in
his pattern; this can be done by diluting the ordi-
nary liquid oak stain with water to the desired tint.
Next let him cut out of a piece of lining, paper in

28 Practical House Painter.

the form of a stencil — the pattern he has to repro-
duce on the floor — care being taken to oil the stencil
in order to strengthen and preserve it. He should
then mix the stain into a stiff paste or to the con-
sistency of a distemper used for ordinary stenciling;
place a portion of this mixture on a smooth piece
of wood, take up a very small quantity of it on a
stencil brush and apply through the stencil plate in
the same way he would a distemper. If a very dark
shade is required apply more stain before removing
the stencil plate.

PAINTING BRICK.

Objections: Chipping of the brick, and scaling of
the paint.

The chipping may be on account of defective brick
or otherwise.

Scaling may be caused by poor paint, or by damp-
ness in the hrick.

When called upon to paint brick, first see if the
brick is dry. See that there is no place where water
leaks in from the roof or cornice and soaks into the
brick. A brick wall may look dry and still be damp
inside. If you want paint to stay on brick, give the
brick time to dry, after heavy and driving rains. It
is always a bad plan to paint brick in the fall, after
the autumn rains. The only real safe time to paint a
brick wall is in summer, after a spell of hot, dry
weather. You can not always wait for that, but you
can tell the owner that it is unsafe to paint a brick

Practical House Painter. 2S

Wall until it has had time to dry. Why ? Because in
winter the moisture, which is shut in by the paint,
will freeze, expand and throw off the paint or chip the
brick.

Prime brick w^ork with a thin coat of good paint
mixed in pure linseed oil. Flow on the priming
freely, and brush it well into the brick; for second
coat, whatever paint you use, put in at least one-
fourth white lead; make this coat one-third turps,
and rub it well out. Give it a good body. For the
last coat, use your color regardless of lead, unless
you' want it in to get your color. If you want a
gloss, mix this coat with all boiled oil, and flow on.
For flat, if your colors are ground in oil, use one-
fourth oil and three-fourths turps, and if it don't
show fiat when painted, it will flat in a short time.
The last coat may admit of more oil or may not take
as much, and flat. This depends upon the work
when started, etc. Some painters make brick flating
by breaking up the pigment in japan, and elastic
varnish for a binder, and thin with turps. I prefer
the oil for a binder, and have made the last coat
one-half oil, and had a nice flat in a few weeks. I
always ridicule the idea of painting brick flat, be-
cause it will not stand as long as an oil finish, and
the oil finish will be flat enough in a few months.

, CLEANING UP A ROOM.

Now, if I were going to teach a boy to clean up a
room, the first thing would be how to prepare himself

30 Practical House Painter.

for the job. In the first place, he wants a damp
sponge with a string through it to tie over his head,
to hold the sponge over his mouth and under the nose
to catch the dust, because it is a great deal more pleas-
ant and a "sight" more healthful to carry lime and
other dust in a sponge than in nostrils and windpipe.
Then he wants a cotton cloth cap, large enough to
draw down over his head and ears, bib overalls and
jacket to button close about the neck and he is well
fixed. In such a rig he may look peculiar, but he had
better look like a monkey than to skin his nostrils
with dust and fill his ears and hair with lime, sand
and sawdust.

For tools, he needs a good, new, fine corn broom, a
wide bristle sweeper (a ten or twelve-inch paper-
hanger's smoothing brush will do), a good duster,
a sharp tool to pick out corners, a two-inch chiseled
brush for corners. A sprinkler only turns dust to
mud, to dry in a few hours and become dust again.
When you have swept the floor with your broom and
dusted your woodwork and gone over the floor care-
fully with your wide bristle brush to take what you
brushed from the casings and what the broom left
on the floor, look at the air across this ray of sun-
light ; it is full of dust, soon the most of it will set-
tle on the floor and casings and window stools. What
then? Wait till it settles and ivipe it off luith a cloth
and don't forget the tops of the doors and casings.
"Why use a cloth ?" Well, if you go in and begin to

Practical House Painter. 31

use a dust brush after the dust settles you throw a
portion of it in the air again and it will settle on the
work. And by the way, I want to say that a wiping
cloth is a very important article for a painter to carry.
It always makes me "red hot" to see a painter ( ?),
after he has daubed a key shield or a hinge, try to
wipe it off with his thumb; I could forgive him for
the daub; the best man in the trade may sometimes
do that, but the man who will rub part of it off v\^ith
his thumb and let the rest dry ought to be sent off the
job or suspended long enough to take a lesson in
the art of wiping off daubs.

I want to say further that every well regulated
dusting kit ought to have a dust pan hitched to it
in some way. It will save sweeping the dust out on
tlie steps to be tracked in again, save the time you
would lose in sweeping the dust over thresholds, or
save the time it would take to borrow one.

PASTE FOR LABELING ON TIN.

IMake a stiff flour paste in the usual way, with
flour and water, then add 2 ounces tartaric acid, and
1 pint of molasses ; boil the mixture until stiff, and
put in ten or fifteen drops carbolic acid.

ANOTHER.

Wheat flour 1 pound

Alum • 2 drams

Borax 2 drams

Hydrochloric acid li ounces

Mix the flour, alum and borax in the usual way.

32 Practical House Painter.

to a smooth paste in water, then add the acid and
cook in the usual way with hot water.

TO MAKE TENTS, ETC., WEATHERPROOr.

To prevent tents, wagon covers, etc., from rotting
dissolve 4 ounces sulphate of zinc in 10 gallons of
water, then put in one-fourth pound sal-soda, stir
well until dissolved and add one-fourth ounce tartaric
acid. Let the cloth lie in this one day and night and
hang up to dry. Don't wring it.

TO PAINT ON CANVAS OR MUSLIN WITHOUT SIZING.

First stretch, then wet the cloth. Wipe off the
drops and letter while the cloth is damp with color
mixed with japan and turps.

TO PAINT ON ZINC.

A difficulty is often experienced in causing oil
colors to adhere to sheet zinc. Boettger recommends
the employment of a mordant, so to speak, of the
following composition : 1 part of chloride of copper,
1 of nitrate of copper and 1 of sal-ammoniac are to
be dissolved in 64 parts of water, to which solution
is to be added 1 part of commercial hydrochloric
acid. The sheets of zinc are to be brushed over with
this liquid, which gives them a deep black color ; in
the course of 12 to 24 hours they become dry, and to
their now dirty gray surface a coat of any oil color
will firmly adhere. Some sheets of zinc prepared in
this way, and afterwards painted, have been found
to withstand all the changes of winter and summer.

Practical House Painter. 33

PAINTING BLINDS.

When painting a blind never turn it upon edge
when cutting in the inside of the rail, because the
paint will be likely to run into the pivot-holes and
stick the slats. When you set a blind up to dry, set
the bottom end up, and be sure to have the slats lie
flat side up. Why? Because the bottom end of the
blind when hung is more apt to drag on the window
sill than the top end is to touch the jam above. If
set bottom end up, that end will dry solid and if
there are any sags it will be at the top. Keep the
slats flat side up to avoid flat edges.

TREATMENT FOR HARDWOOD FLOORS.

First see that the floor is clean and smooth; then
give it a coat of best oil, with japan sufficient to make
it dry ; cut the japan in turps. Then put on a good
mineral paste, filler in the usual way by rubbing the
filler well into the wood; then clean off all the sur-
plus. When dry, sandpaper and putty up well with
colored, hard putty, and put on a coat of shellac; if
too glossy, rub down with powdered pumice and oil.
Be careful to have the putty match the floor.

WHITEWASH FOR OUTSIDE WORK.

Take one-half pound of fresh burnt lime. Dip it
in water and let it slack in the open air. Melt two
ounces of bagundy pitch by gentle heat, in six ounces
of linseed oil ; then add two quarts of skim-milk
while the lime is hot, add the mixture of pitch and

34 Practical House Painter.

oil, a little at a time while hot, and stir it in; then
add three pounds of bolted whiting and stir. Add
more milk if too thick for the brush.

THE STRAINER.

Don't forget to use the strainer. After you have
put in your best licks to clean up and sandpaper a
job, it is the height of folly to daub it up with paint
full of skins and specks. Oil paint is liable to be
"skinny" in the keg. Miller's bolting cloth makes
a good strainer, and common cheese cloth at five cents
a yard does very well for ordinary purposes.

TO KILL GREASE SPOTS ON WOOD.

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

KALSOMINE.

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

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

Practical House Painter. 35

TO TAKE OFF THE PAINT.

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

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

CLEANING SILVER^ BRASS OR COPPER.

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

This preparation is a good one:

Paris white ( fine ) 1 pound

Carb. magnesia 2 drama

Cyanuret potash 7 drama

Sulph. ether 3 drams

Crocus martis 1 dram

Soft water li ounces

or sufficient to make a stiff paste.

36 Practical House Painter.

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

WHY DO WALL PAPERS CRACK?

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

Now, if the paper hanger will be careful to secure
the paper uniformly by using sufficient paste on
rough places to hold the paper, and be careful to

Practical House Painter. 37

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

OIL SIZE FOR WHITEWASH.

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

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

I find glutol, manufactured by the Arabol Manu-

38 Practical House Painter.

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

TO CLEAN BRICK.

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

TO CLEAN TARNISHED ZINC.

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

TO GILD ON WOOD.

First get a good body and a smooth surface. The
work should be flat with three coats at least on wood,
and not less than two on iron or tin. The best size
for outside work is oil gold size (fat oil), mixed with
a little medium chrome yellow toned down with white
lead ; put in a very little japan gold size, and thin to
workable consistency with turps; let it stand until
tacky. It must be hard enough to prevent rubbing up
or sweating. The method with the tip, gold knife and
cushion requires considerable dexterity as well as
practice to do good and rapid work. The tip, or lifter,
is only a few camel hairs glued between two pieces of

Practical House Painter. 39

paste board, or other material. The knife is a long
narrow flexible blade, and the cushion is made on a
block, 6 by 8 inches, first covered with a thickness or
two of woolen cloth, and finished by stretching a piece
of chamois skin over it. Hold the gold book in the
left hand, and turn back a leaf of the book, leaving
the gold exposed on the next leaf; press the leaf of
gold againt the cushion and it will remain. Then
straighten out wrinkles by a slight puff of the breath
from above, cut the leaf into the required size with
the gold-knife, and lift the leaf to its place with the
tip. The tip will lift the gold better if occasionally
drawn over the hair of your head.

Another way to prepare the leaf: Cut the book
through at the binding with a sharp knife, which will
leave all the leaves free and separate. Now take up
the top paper or cover, which will leave the gold leaf
on the book ; lay the paper on a board and rub it over
with a piece of wax, paraffine candle, or a piece of
hard soap ; either will do. Place the waxed side on
to the gold, and smooth the paper down gently;
repeat until you have as many leaves prepared as you
need. Then, with good sharp shears cut them in such
shape and size as will best cover your work, and not
waste the gold. Lay the pieces on your board, gold
side up. When ready, lay the pieces on the work, rub
down with the fingers, or a ball of cotton, take off the
paper and the gold will stay on the size. In this way
the gold adheres quite firmly to the waxed paper, and

40 Practical House Painter.

the size must have a strong tack to take the gold off
the paper. Experts lay the leaf directly from the
book, and you had best learn to do it that way for
general work/ if you spoil half a dozen books while
catching on to the knack of it. Try it this way:
Now, here is a stripe half an inch wide, and the size
is ready for the gold. Now hold the book flat in
your left hand with your thumb on top, hold the top
paper firm with your thumb. (If you let it slip, the
leaf under it will be spoiled.) If the stripe is one-
half inch wide, turn back enough of the paper to ex-
pose three-fourths of an inch of the gold leaf, crease
the turned back cover down with the fingers of the
right hand, and hold it with the thumb on the back.
Now cut the leaf with the finger-nail, first rubbing it
dry on your pants; then turn the book carefully
and quickly over on to the stripe, and press the gold
down gently by pressing the book. Then turn down
more of the paper, and repeat until that leaf is gone ;
then take another and so on. If the book gets too
limber towards the last to handle well, have a square
of cardboard to lay under the book next to the hand ;
you will find this is a help even with a full book.
You will, perhaps, waste more gold in this way than
by the transfer method, but you will more than
make it up in time, if you become expert.

1st. Be sure of a good foundation.

2d. ITave your gold size right, and study to know
when the tackiness is just right. If your surface is

Practical House Painter. 41

not perfectly free from tackiness, pounce with a bag
of gilder's whiting before putting on the size, to keep
the gold from sticking outside of the size.

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

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

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

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

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

STIR YOUR PAINT.

It isn't always your material that makes a bad job,
but it seems an easy matter to make even the best of
paint the scapegoat for bad work. The heedless work-

42 Practical House Painter.

man who primes a plastered wall without sweeping
down the loose sand, or is careless about taking the
sand and dust from the tops of casings and the floors,
will, if he stops to examine, find some in the brush
and some of it in his paint pot; and then, to cover
up his carelessness, he can lay the blame on the paint.
The careful painter will, when using heavy pigments,
carry a paddle, and not neglect to use it. To pre-
vent white lead and other heavy pigments from set-
tling in the pot the paint must be well mixed, and
kept mixed by stirring with a paddle as often and as
much as may be necessary to keep the oil or other
vehicle, and the pigment well incorporated. No one
hut a novice, or a careless painter will permit a sedi-
ment to accumulate in the bottom of his pot; no
matter whether the pigment is coarse or fine; or
whether the vehicle used is linseed oil, turpentine or
benzine. The painter who goes to work without a stir-
ring paddle in his pot will be liable to do uneven
work, and find more or less sediment in the bottom
of his paint pot at quitting time, because there is no
white lead made which does not contain more or less
particles sufficiently heavy to commence settling the
minute the paddle stops, and go to the bottom of a
pot of flating, as ordinarily mixed, inside of thirty
minutes, and other particles of smaller size will fol-
low later. If the pigment is mixed with oil the pro-
cess of settling is slower, but no less sure to take
place, and continue, if undisturbed, until eleai oil

Practical House Painter. 43

stands on top of the pigment. Don't try to use your
brush for a paddle; it isn't a good tool to stir paint
from the bottom. Paint made of heavy pigment
must be frequently stirred with a paddle to keep it
of uniform consistency, but this operation is too
often neglected. For instance, a man starts out with
a full pot in the morning and neglects to stir his
paint as he works, hence the heavier particles com-
mence to settle and soon get below the dip of the
brush, and by continual settling keep out of the
reach of it until they reach the bottom. When the
paint is nearly all out, and the sediment at the bot-
tom don't work well, he refills his pot, leaving in the
coarse pigment. At night the boss finds an inch or
less of coarse paint in the bottom of the pot, and
without further inquiry complains that the lead is
sandy.

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

44 Practical House Painter.

TO MAKE CHERRY STAIN.

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

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

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

VARNISH STAINS.

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

MAHOGANY VARNISH STAIN.

Spirits 1 gallon, gum sandarac 1 pound, shellac
■J pound, Venice turpentine 2 ounces, dragon's blood
4 ounces.

WALNUT VARNISH STAIN.

Shellac IJ pounds, spirit 1 gallon, Bismarck brown
1 ounce, nigrosine J ounce. You can, by varying the

Practical House Painter. 46

proportions of the two colors, make the shade as you
like it.

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

MAHOGANY VARNISH STAIN.

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

TO MAKE NEW OAK LOOK OLD.

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

DARK STAIN FOR OAK.

Make a solution of bi-chromate of potash, 1-| ounces
to 2 quarts soft water. Lay on the solution with a
good clean sponge and keep the wood wet with the
solution until it is dark enough to please you. Then
wash off the potash with clean soft water.

ANOTHER.

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

RED SAUNDERS STAIN.

Fill a bottle 1-3 full of red saunders, then fill the
bottle with either wood or grain alcohol. The more
red saunders you put in, the stronger will be the

46 Practical House Painter.

stain ; you can dilute it for the lighter shades. The
longer it stands, the more color will be extracted.
Always strain through muslin before using.

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

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

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

TO CHANGE THE COLOR OF WALNUT TO DARK
MAHOGANY.

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

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

Burnt umber and burnt sienna in oil or varnish

Practical House Painter, 47

make a walnut stain. Use but little of the pigments
in proportion to the oil. Too much pigment gives
the work a muddy color.

NATURAL WOOD FINISHING.

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

Another important point is to take off the surplus
filler before it becomes too hard to wipe off, and
another point is to wipe off the surplus filler and
leave the pores of the wood level full. Hence, it
is important that the filler does not dry too fast,
that the painter puts on no more filler at a time
than he can handle before it dries, and that in wip-
ing off the surplus filler he works his rags across the
grain. Some very open grained wood requires a
second application of filler to make a good job, or at
least to be looked over and touched up. The filler

48 Practical House Painter.

should have at least two days to dry. When dry go
over it lightly with fine sandpaper to take off all
particles of filler left on the surface.

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

Cherry, sycamore, maple, birch, gumwood, red-
wood, cypress, pine, whitewood, poplar and hemlock
are all close grained woods, and need no paste filler.

Practical House Painter. 49

Pine especially should have a coat of shellac to keep
back the pitch.

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

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

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

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

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

TO MAKE BLEACHED OR WHITE SHELLAC VARNISH.

Take powdered white shellac IJ pounds, best grain
alcohol 1 gallon. Add the gum to the alcohol, set
it in a warm place and shake your jug or bottle
occasionally. Don't put it in tin or iron; either of
them will discolor it. You can hasten the process by

60 Practical House Painter.

setting your jug in a sand or water bath, and gently
heating it ; or set it by the stove, or in the sunshine.
To make the common orange shellac of commerce,
dissolve IJ pounds orange shellac in 1 gallon methy-
lated spirit or grain alcohol. This will dry in ten
or fifteen minutes, and makes a hard lustrous varnish
when dry, and stands the weather better than most
gum varnishes. It makes a turbid liquid of orange
brown hue and dries rather a pale brown. For use
on dark wood this is equal to the white shellac, if not
superior.

TO COLOR PUTTY.

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

SPOTS ON PAINT.

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

To provide against this kind of spotting use more

Practical House Painter. 51

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

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

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

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

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

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

For instance, here is a job which shows "laps."
Now, if this prime is right when it is put on single, it
is wrong when it is put on double, because, where the
laps are, the work has at least one more coat than

62 Practiciil House Painter.

the balance of the job, hence the paint is liable to
fade spotted.

PORCELAIN FINISH. — CHINA GLOSS. GLOSS FINISH.

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

Then put on a coat or two of French zinc ground
in damar varnish, thinned with 1 part damar varnish
and 2 parts turpentine. Next put on a coat of damar
varnish mixed with a little zinc ground in
damar, just enough to make the varnish white. Flow
on a coat, and be careful that it does not run on
your work. To avoid runs always commence at the
top of a panel with a full brush and work down so

Practical House Painter. 53

as not to have a surplus. in the lower corners of the
panels; this applies to all parts of the work. It is
quite a knack to put on a full coat of this varnish
and zinc, and not have it run.

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

ANOTHER WAY.

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

LEAD POISOlSriNG HOVP" TO AVOID IT.

White lead may enter the human system in three
ways, to-wit : Through the stomach, the lungs and

54 Practical House Painter.

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

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

Practical House Painter. 55

SYMPTOMS OF LEAD POISON.

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

TO FINISH FURNITURE AND OTHER WORK IN SIX-
TEENTH CENTURY OAK.

First fill the wood with any good filler. Fill it
well, then take Vandyke brown 3 parts, and burnt
sienna 1 part, and mix to a stiff paste with boiled
oil and japan, and thin with turpentine, until you
can brush it on the wood, and not have it look dauby
or muddy. Give the work a light coat, and brush
it out well and carefully. Too much pigment will
make your work too dark. Wherever you want the
light or worn spots to appear, wipe off the stain
with a cloth, and with a badger blender carefully
blend the stain into the edges of the worn or light
spots. Don't stain too much at once, for fear your
stain may set so 5'ou cannot wipe out and blend.
When the stain is dry, sandpaper lightly with No. 0
paper. Finish with two coats rubbing varnish, or

66 Practical House Painter.

with hard oil finish. Polish with rotten stone and
raw oil.

A SUPERIOR GLUE ( WATERPROOF) .

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

A VALUABLE CEMENT.

We find the following recipe good : The compound
of glycerin, oxide of lead, and red lead, for mending
cast-iron that has been fractured with the happiest
results. It takes some little time to dry, but turns
almost as hard as stone, and is fire and waterproof.
For mending cracks in stone or cast-iron ware,
where iron filling cannot be had, we think it is in-
valuable. Take litharge and red lead, equal parts,
mix thoroughly and make into a paste with concen-
trated glycerin to the consistency of soft putty, fill
the crack and smear a thin layer on both sides of the

Practical House Painter. 67

casting so as to completely cover the fracture. This
layer can be rubbed off, if necessary, when nearly dry,
by an old knife or chisel.

LINSEED OIL AND IRON RUST.

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

Linoleic acid, like other acids, has an affinity for
alkalies and the ordinary metallic oxides. It unites
with them, forming neutral compounds. This affin-
ity is said to be electrical; the alkalies and oxides

58 Practical House Painter.

electro-positive, and the acid electro-negative. The
greater the contrast in this respect, the stronger the
affinity; hence, some acids separate others from
their bases and form new salts by precipitation. As
an instance:

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

Linseed oil dries too slowly for general use by the
painter, hence various ways have been devised to
hasten the drying process. If the foregoing theory
is correct, the process which will cause the oil to
dry to a good wearing body in the time desired, and
leave it in the best condition to resist the action of
the elements and the absorption of oxygen, is the
best. 1 regard the lead oxides as the best dryers

Practical House Paiuter. 59

for this purpose — at least according to my experi-
ence. When we add an oxide to linseed oil as a
dryer in the small quantity which experience has
taught us is best to use, it is evident that it is not
sufficient in itself to oxidize the whole of the oil to
an appreciable extent. Writers differ as to the pecu-
liar action of the oxides upon the oil, but I think it
safe to say that the dryer sets up some chemical re-
action which increases the affinity between the lino-
lein and the oxygen of the atmosphere; at any rate,
there is no dispute upon the point that linseed oil
in drying absorbs a large per cent of oxygen.

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

60 Practical House Painter.

WHITE ENAMEL (SELECTED).

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

VARNISH TO IMITATE GROUND GLASS.

An expert has sent the following to the British
Journal of Photography : To make a varnish to imi-
tate ground glass, dissolve 90 gains sandrac and 20
grains of mastic in 2 ounces of washed methylated
ether, and add, in small quantities, a sufflciency of
benzine to make it dry with a suitable grain — too
little making the varnish too transparent, and ex-

Practical House Painter. 61

cess making it crapy. The quantity of benzine re-
quired depends upon its quality — from half an ounce
to an ounce and a half, or even more; but the best
results are got with a medium quality. It is im-
portant to use washed ether, free from spirit.

VARNISH FOR RUSTIC WORK.

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

TO CLEAN VERY DIRTY BRASS.

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

TO COUNTERFEIT TORTOISE SHELL VERY FINELY.

In order to do this well, your foundation or
ground-work must be perfectly smooth and white,

62 Practical House Painter.

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

PRICE LIST.

The prices of labor, and cost of material vary so
much in different localities that it seems impossible
to make a reliable price list for general work. The
position, condition, and shape of different jobs all

Practical House Painter. 63

go towards making a general price list, an unreliable
guide ; also the quality of work demanded may make
50 per cent difference in price. I have half a dozen
printed price lists before me, and they generally
agree to about the following prices for painting and
glazing, to-wit:

Per Yard.
1 coat on new work 8 to 10 cents

1 coat on old work 10 to 18 cents

2 coats on new work 18 to 20 cents

2 coats on old work 20 to 25 cents

3 coats on new work 25 to 28 cents

Brick walls, 2 coats 20 to 30 cents

Penciling 10 to 15 cents

PRIMING AND GLAZING SASH.

Per Light.

10x14 and under 5 to 6 cents

12x16 7 to 9 cents

14x24 10 to 12 cents

18x24 15 to 18 cents

24x30 20 to 25 cents

36x40 35 to 50 cents

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

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

64 Practical House Painter.

JAPANNED TIN SIGNS.

Gold. Plain.

3x14 inches $1.25 $ .75

6x 8 inches 1.50 .75

8x10 inches 1.75 1.00

10x14 inches 2.50 1.50

11x17 inches 3.00 2.00

11x17 inches, 3 lines 3.50 2.55

14x20 inches 4.00 2.50

14x20 inches, 3 lines 4.50 3.00

18x24 inches G.OO 3.50

18x24 inches, 3 lines 7.00 4.00

Frames additional.

GLASS SIGNS ON WINDOWS AND DOORS.

In Silver or Gold Per Foot.

Letters up to 0 inches in height $ .75

Letters 6 to 10 inches in height 1.00

Letters 10 to 14 inches in height 1.50

Shaded, one color, 25 per cent extra.

DRUM SIGNS.

Gold. Plain.

10x14 inches $ 3.50 $ 2.50

11x17 inches 4.00 3.00

14x20 inches 5.00 3.50

18x24 inches 7.00 5.00

.20x24 inches 8.50 0.50

24x30 inches 10.00 7.00

30x3G inches 12.00 8.50

36x48 inches 15.00 10.00

The above include moulding and urns and
putting up.

Drilling holes in iror extra.

Practical House Painter. 65

MUSLIN SIGNS.

Per Foot.
Up to 1 foot high, black 8 cents

1 to 2 feet, black 10 cents

2 to 3 feet, black 12 cents

Colored one-half extra.

Muslin furnished.
Frames extra,

OIL CLOTH SIGNS.

Per Foot.
Up to 1 foot 20 cents

1 to 2 feet 25 cents

2 to 3 feet. 30 cents

Oil cloth furnished.

Frames extra.

BOARD SIGNS.
Including three coats of paint and lettering.

Gold. Plain.

6 inches X 4 feet $4.00 $2.50

8 inches X 6 feet 5.00 3.50

10 inches x 8 feet 6.00 4.00

1 foot X 12 feet 7.50 5.00

1 foot X 15 feet. 8.50 5.00

14 inches x 16 feet 8.50 5.00

14 inches x 18 feet 9.00 6.00

14 inches x 20 feet 9.50 - 6.00

16 inches X 16 feet 9.50 6.00

16 inches x 18 feet. 10.00 6.00

18 inches x 18 feet 10.00 6.00

18 inches x 20 feet 12.00 7.00

18 inches x 24 feet 15.00 7.00

18 inches x 30 feet 18.00 8.00

Board extra.

Irons and putting up extra.

Shading, 25 per cent additional, one color.

66 Practical House Painter.

WALL SIGNS.

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

2x16 feet $ 6.00

2x20 feet 7.00

2x24 feet 8.00

2x30 feet 10.50

3x16 feet 8.00

3x20 feet 10.00

3x24 feet 12.00

3x30 feet 14.00

4x10 feet 9.00

4x20 feet 12.00

4x24 feet 13.00

4x30 feet 15.00

6x16 feet 12.00

6x20 feet 14.00

6x24 feet 16.00

6x30 feet , 18.00

8x16 feet 14.00

8x20 feet 16.00

8x24 feet 18.00

8x30 feet 20.00

10x12 feet 10.00

10x16 feet 13.00

10x20 feet 16.00

10x24 feet 19.00

10x30 feet 22.00

12x10 feet. 14.00

12x20 feet 18.00

12x24 feet 20.00

12x30 feet 25.00

14x20 feet 20.00

14x24 feet 24.00

14x30 feet , , 28.00

Practical House Painter. 67

16x24 feet $26.00

16x30 feet 39.00

20x24 feet. 30.00

20x30 feet 35.00

20x40 feet . 40.00

21x30 feet. 37.00

24x36 feet 42.00

24x40 feet 48.00

30x40 feet 60.00

30x50 feet 70.00

30x60 feet 80.00

SHOW CARDS.

1 sheet, 22x25 $ 1.50

1 sheet, 14x22 75

1 sheet, 11x14 50

The above prices are based upon white lead at 7 cents per
pound and wages at 33^ cents an hour.

MIDSUMMER PAINTING.

All things considered, which is the best time of the
year to do outside painting? Spring and fall, did
you say ? Well, yes. I know nearly all painters think
so, and the people outside the trade are almost, if
not quite, unanimous in holding the same opinion.
But why? Do the winds of March, the frequent
showers of April and May add very much to the
pleasure and profit of doing outside work in spring?
Do the soaking rains, which come along about the
time of the vernal equinox and drive you off your
job for a week or two and watersoak your unprimed
work, add much pleasure to your recollections of

68 Practical House Painter.

spring painting? Do you remember anything about
the clouds of midges and thousands of little moths
which filled the air, ready and willing to decorate
your paint with their little bodies on every still,
warm mid-day in April and May? Of course, we
are speaking now of climatic conditions from
our own standpoint, the great Northwest, which may
also be true in the Middle and New England states.
The mornings and evenings of spring and fall are
apt to be cool — often frosty ; then the oil stiffens and
the paint rubs out hard and goes on slow, and we
lose time and work harder. Practically, I fav.or mid-
summer for outside work, because the temperature is
more uniformly warm and the paint spreads easily
and evenly at any time of day, and as a rule the
rains are less frequent and give a longer warning of
their approach. The little black flies are not so
plentiful in the hot days of summer as they are in
spring and early fall. They are either dead or seek
the shade of trees and grass. The dew is all gone
in summer before seven o'clock a. m., and does not
commence to fall until after quitting time. A car-
pet of grass and other vegetation covers a large por-
tion of the ground in summer, holding down the
dust. The winds are not usually so high and gusty
in summer as they are in the spring and fall. In
the warm days of summer your work is more apt to
dry quickly, cleanly and evenly; and when you
'T^nock off" from work at six p. m., and the sun is

Practical House Painter. 68

yet two hours above the horizon, you know that your
last ground stretch will soon be out of the way of
dust and rain. In the hot weather of summer the
pores of the wood are all open, and the oil, which is
then soft and thin, goes farther into the wood than
in spring and fall, when the weather is cool. There
are, it is true, some fine days in the fall for outside
work, but the rainy season of the autumnal equinox
and the frosty nights of the later months often re-
tard your work and mar the finish of your job. One
objection urged against summer painting is the
flies, but really are the flies which injure paint any
more numerous in midsummer than they are in
spring and fall? It is true the festive house-fly is
in his glory in the summer, but, as a rule, he is too
smart to get stuck in outside paint. To get inside
is his ambition, and the molasses-cup and sugar-
bowl are his objective points. If the house-fly is an
objection in the summer, it certainly is a greater one
in the fall, for in September and early in October
they are thicker, saucier and more familiar than at
any other time of year; then they want not only to
get at the sugar, but to get in and warm.

A correspondent asks: "Does the reader know
from practical experiment that one season is better
than another for applying outside paint?'' I sup-
pose the writer means the effect upon the wearing
qualities of the paint and the permanency of the
color. I have been experimenting for a practical

70 Practical House Painter.

solution of this question for my own satisfaction
and guidance, and have come to the conclusion that
paint put on the outside in the hot weather of sum-
mer will wear as well and hold its color as long as
paint put on in the cooler days of spring and fall.
I know the idea that paint dries too fast in hot
weather is almost universal, but I think it grows
largely from the fact that a quick-drying paint is
not as good for outside as a slow dryer ; but you must
remember that there is a great difference between a
quick-drying paint and drying a slow paint as
quickly as the ingredients will admit of. Linseed
oil dries or hardens by absorbing oxygen from the
air, and that process goes on more rapidly in hot
weather than in cool weather, because the air in hot
weather is in a condition more freely to part with
its oxygen, or because the oil is in a better condition
to receive it, or both. In other words, a warm atmos-
phere hastens the process of absorption and a
cool air retards it, but in either case the result is
the same: the air gives up enough of its oxygen to
solidify the oil. Now, the question arises, can any
difference be discovered (chemical or otherwise) in
the composition of the paint, whether dried in warm
or cool air? From a business-point of view, I have
long advocated summer as a good time to paint out-
side, and have usually succeeded in converting cus-
tomers to my views upon the subject, and as a con-
sequence have not often had a dull time in mid-

Practical House Painter. 71

summer. We painters in the country know how un-
pleasant and unprofitable it is to have all the work
of the year rushed upon us in the spring and fall,
and I think if painters generally could convince
themselves by practical experiment that, all things
considered, summer time is the best season of the
year to do outside work, and advocate the same to
their customers, backed by argument and practical
illustration, there would soon be less need of com-
plaint about a dull season in midsummer.

TO REMOVE PAINT.

1. An expeditious way is by chemical process, us-
ing a solution of soda and quicklime in equal pro-
portions. The soda is dissolved in water, the lime
is then added, and the solution is applied with a
brush to the old paint. A few moments are suffi-
cient to remove the coats of paint, which may be
washed off with hot water. The oldest paint may be
removed by a paste of the soda and quicklime. The
wood should be afterwards washed vfith vinegar or
an acid solution before repainting, to remove all
traces of alkali.

2. Wet the place with naphtha, repeating as often
as required; but frequently one application will dis-
solve the paint. As soon as it is softened, rub the
surface clean. Chloroform mixed with a small
quantity of spirit ammonia, composed of strong am-
moniac, has been employed very successfully to re-

72 Praetical House Painter.

move the stains of dry paint from wood, silk, and
other substances.

3. To remove paint from floors. — Take one pound
of American pearlash, three pounds of quickstone
lime. Slake the lime in water, then add the pearl-
ash, and make the whole amount about the consist-
enc}^ of paint. Lay the mixture over the whole body
of the work which is required to be cleaned, with an
old brush ; let it remain for twelve or fourteen hours,
when the paint can be easily scraped off.

TO SOFTEN PUTTY AND REMOVE OLD PAINT,

1. Take three pounds of quickstone lime; slake the
lime in water, then add one pound of American
pearlash; apply this to both sides of the glass and
let it remain for twelve hours, when the putty will
be softened, and the glass may be taken out without
being broken. To destroy paint, apply it to the whole
body which is required to be cleaned; use an old
brush, as it will spoil a new one ; let it remain about
twelve or fourteen hours, and then the paint may be
easily scraped off.

2. To remove paint from old doors, etc., and to
soften putty in window frames, so that the glass
may be taken out without breakage or cutting, take
one pound of pearlash and three pounds of quick-
lime, slake the lime in water and then add the
pearlash, and make the whole about the consistency
of paint. Apply to both sides of the glass and let it

Practical House Painter. 73

remain for twelve hours, when the putty will be so
softened that the glass may be taken out of the
frame without being cut, and with the greatest facil-
ity. To destroy paint, lay the above over the whole
body of the work which is required to be cleaned,
using an old brush, as it "will spoil a new one. Let
it remain for twelve or fourteen hours, when the
paint can be easily scraped off.

3. Paint stains on glass. — American potash, 3
parts; unslaked lime, 1. Lay this on with a stick,
letting it remain for some time, and it will remove
either tar or paint.

TREATMENT OF DAMP WALLS.

There are two classes of damp walls, first where
the water comes in from the outside from defective
roofs, bad gutters, defective pipes, and where it comes
through the walls from the ground, as in basements.
In the other class we may include walls which are
dampened by condensation of moisture, in places
shut off from the general artificial temperature of
the room, behind stationary furniture. Such walls
may dry out during hot weather, or they may be kept
damp by a growth of mold or fungus.

When water comes in from the outside, it is im-
possible to keep paint or paper on the wall in good
shape. Look around for the places where the water
comes in, point it out to the owner, and if he fails
to stop the leak have it understood that the work is

74 Practical House Painter.

done at his risk; or, what is better, refuse to do the
work; because, when a job comes off, or turns out
badly, you will take the blame generally, no matter
whether it is your fault or not. A job may be made
to last awhile by a waterproof coating, or by sheath-
ing with thin lumber, but it is only a question of time
when the lining material will become water-soaked
and spoil the paint or paper, to your discredit. I
have usually been too busy to take jobs of this kind.
If the water can be cut off, the next thing is to dry
the wall, which you can do at the surface only by
setting a stove near it, or with the flame of a paint
burner; then, after all your trouble, the water, which
remains in the wall, if of brick or stone, may find its
way to the surface, and destroy your work. Sheet
lead cemented to the wall will answer a good purpose
for a time, but the dampness will finally destroy the
cement and let the metal loose.

Battening out for lath and plaster is the best for
basement or damp stone walls, but that is the plas-
terer's work, and is rarely ever done except in pri-
vate residences.

Battening and canvasing is next best; nail your
battens up and down 18 inches apart. Have the
canvas stitched in sheets the right size to cover the
large blank spaces of the wall. Then stretch and
tack it on the battens, and give it a coat of glue and
alum size.

Practical House Painter. 75

When dampness is caused by condensation the beat
remedy is to remove the cause and dry the wall.

TO PAPER ON A BOARD PARTITION.

When paper is pasted on boards, it must crack,
when the lumber shrinks. If you paste cloth over the
cracks, it must crack, if the cracks open further than
the cloth will stretch. When you tack cloth on a
partition and size it, if the size goes through the
cloth and sticks it fast to the boards, it will be likely
to crack when the lumber shrinks. For a good job
I would advise that you first cover the partition with
paper tacked on, then when you size the cloth, it will
stick to the paper, and not to the boards. I have met
with uniform success in this way ; because the boards
are left free to shrink and swell without breaking the
cloth or paper. I like to sew the cloth together with
a running seam in pieces large enough to cover all
broad spaces, turn the smooth side out, stretch well,
and fasten the edges only; drive the tacks an inch
from the edges of the cloth, so that you can fasten
them down smoothly with paste. When a man has
been unwise enough to put a board partition across
one end of an otherwise fine room, and is willing to
pay for his folly: first, take measurements of the
blank spaces, and sew together some fairly strong
unbleached muslin, stretch on frames, and give it a
coat of glue and alum size, and whiting; when dry,
carefully fit each piece in its place and tack it an
inch from the edges and fasten the edges down

76 Practical House Painter.

smooth with strong flour paste. Tack only at the
edges, and if you are careful to butt edge the differ-
ent pieces over the doors, etc., you can make a nice
smooth job in this way. By using this method the
paste will not stick the cloth to the wall. Use tinned
tacks to prevent rust.

SANDPAPERING.

This is a job none of us like very well, but since
it must be done, it is worth while to be able to do
it to the best advantage. The first thing to look for
is good paper. To test the strength of the sand, rub
two pieces together, and if the sand don't fly off, it
is good in that respect ; next see if the paper is tough
and will not tear easily. Chalk the back of your
paper before you double it and it will not slip.
Don't lose time using old, worn-out paper. New
paper will, of course, cut faster than old paper, and
the difference in the time gained by using sharp
paper will pay for the new paper twice over. Using
old dull paper is like trying to save money by using
an old stub brush. Better use up fifty cents' worth
of paper than to fool away dollars' worth of time
trying to save money by using old paper.

If you have old, hard paint to cut down, which
dry sandpaper will not touch, keep the work wet with
benzine, and you will be surprised to see how fast
the sandpaper will cut the paint. To put on benzine
use a small spring bottomed can, such as is used for
oiling machinery. You can use any grade of sandpa-

Practical House Painter. 77

per, and it will not soak up or gum. No. 1 paper is the
best for this purpose. A good deal of time may be
lost where scrapers could be used to much better
advantage. A broad, flat scraper to shove endwise is
always in order, and a few narrow ones with vari-
ous shaped ends to fit in headings, moldings, etc., are
a great help.

A STENCILED BORDER.

This makes a nice finish for a painted or kalso-
mined room. To make it look at its best, paint a
stripe as wide as your stencil in a pleasant contrast
to the paint on the room and put the stencil on that
in soft harmonizing colors.

REPAINTING SCALED WORK.

To repaint a job which has commenced to scale,
without taking off all the old paint, is very uncertain
work, but if you have to try it, have it understood in
writing, or before witnesses, that it is done at the
owner's risk. First scrape off the loose paint, then
go over the job with raw oil ; put it on freely and let
it stand until dry; then scrape off all the paint loos-
ened by the oil, and coat up with strictly pure white
lead and oil. Avoid zinc, and mixtures of zinc, and
barytes, on jobs of this kind; because they are more
or less liable to crack, and pull off more of the old
paint. White lead and oil lightly tinted will liold
it if anything will. Use raw oil and a little good
japan.

78 Practical House Painter.

TO MIX WATER COLORS.

Light weight colors which will not mix well with
water may be easily mixed to a stiff paste \\dth mo-
lasses or sirup, then mix in glue size for a binder
and thin with water.

TO SIZE MUSLIN FOR LETTERING.

Use a thin size of white glue in water, or a thin
starch paste. For a sign to stand weather, dissolve
white wax in turpentine by heat. Melt the wax in
a kettle, then take it outside and by degrees add suffi-
cient spirits of turpentine and make a thin size.

One ounce of wax to the quart of turps is about
right. Put it on warm with a brush.

ANOTHER FOR WHITE WORK.

Slake a little good, fresh lime in hot water and
mix a size with skim milk. Then strain through
cheese cloth. This size is, when dry, insoluble in
water and will hold lettering as long as the cloth
lasts. May be tinted.

Practical House Painter. 79

No. 4. OLD STYLE EXTENDED.

A B C D E F
G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T

UVWXYZ&,.

abcdefgli
i j k 1 m n o
p q r s t ui V
w X y z 12 3

4 6 6 7 8 9 O

Practical House Painter. 81

TEST OF THE PURITY OF WHITE LEAD.

The following is an infallible and simple commer-
cial test of the purity of white lead :

Take a piece of firm, close-grained charcoal, and
near one end of it scoop out a cavity about half an
inch in diameter and a quarter of an inch in depth.
Place in the cavity a sample of the lead to be tested,
about the size of a small pea, and apply to it con-
tinuously the blue or hottest part of the flame of the
blow-pipe; if the sample be strictly pure it will, in
a very short time, say two minutes, be reduced to
metallic lead, leaving no residue; but if it be adul-
terated, even to the extent of 10 per cent only, with
oxide of zinc, sulphate of baryta, whiting or any other
carbonate of lime (which substances are the prin-
cipal adulterations used), or if it be composed en-
tirely of these materials, as is sometimes the case with
cheap lead (so-called), it cannot be reduced, but will
remain on the charcoal an infuscatible mass.

A blow-pipe can be obtained from any jeweler at
small cost. An alcohol lamp, star candle, or a lard
oil lamp furnishes the best flame for use of the blow-
pipe. This test is very simple and anyone can very
soon learn to make it with ease and skill.

POLISH TO RENOVATE VARNISHED WORK.

One quart good vinegar, 2 ounces butter of anti-
mony, 2 ounces alcohol, 1 quart oil. Shake before
using.

82 Practical House Painter.

BRONZES — COLORS.

White,

Silver^

Flesh,

Light Gold,

Dark Gold,

Eich Gold,

Lemon,

Orange,

Fire,

Copper,

Carmine,

Crimson,

Lilac,

Violet,

Brown,

Light and Dark Greens.

BLACK VARNISH FOR IRON.

Asphaltum, 2 pounds.

Boiled linseed oil, 1 pint.

Spirits turpentine, 2 quarts.

Melt the asphaltum with the oil in an iron kettle.
Stir well before removing from the fire. When
partly cool add the turpentine and a little good
japan.

TO FREE BENZINE FROM ITS OFFENSIVE ODOR.

To deodorize benzine, add 3 ounces quicklime to
the gallon of benzine; shake well. Let the lime set-
tle and pour off and filter the benzine.

PAINT TO PRE\^NT WOOD EXPOSED TO THE GROUND
FROM ROTTING.

Take of linseed oil, 4 parts; whiting, 40 parts;
rosin, 50 parts; clean sand, 300 parts; heat together
in a kettle until the rosin melts; then add 2 parts
sulphate of copper; the mass to be well stirred, and
thinned to workable consistency with linseed oil.

Practical House Painter. 83

RECIPES FOR BLACKBOARD SLATING.

Dissolve 1 pound shellac in 1 gallon 95 per cent
alcohol ; then add J pound best powdered ivory black,
5 ounces finest emery flour, 2 ounces ultramarine
blue; mix well and keep air tight. When using stir
frequently. If thick enough to show brush marks,
add more alcohol; work quick with a fine brush.

TO MAKE A BLACKBOARD ON COMMON PLASTER.

Stop all cracks and holes with plaster paris mixed
in glue size. When dry sandpaper until all is smooth ;
then paper the wall with white blank wall paper, butt
the edges, put on with strong paste, and be careful to
rub out all blisters. When dry prime with oil paint,
then sandpaper with fine paper, and put on two coats
of above slating. This makes an excellent black-
board. Boards which I made in this way twenty
years ago are in good shape yet, and will last for
years to come with an occasional repainting.

CHEAP SLATING^ BUT GOOD.

Mix lamp black, 4 parts ; ultramarine blue, 1 part,
by weight, in turpentine, with sufficient good japan
and a very little oil to bind it, then add one part by
weight of fine pumice-stone. Have it thin enough to
flow on and not leave brush marks.

WATERPROOF OIL RUBBER PAINT FOR CLOTH.

Melt 2J pounds of India rubber in | gallon of
boiled oil by boiling. If too thick, add more oil ; if

84 Practical House Painter.

too thin, add more rubber, and a little japan to dry
it. Apply warm.

TO CLEAN PAINT.

Have some whiting on a plate, then dip a piece of
flannel in warm, soft water and squeeze nearly dry,
then take up some of the whiting by dipping the
flannel in it, and rub the paint until it looks clean,
then rub dry with a soft cloth or chamois skin.

GOOD QUICK STAIN FOR A BRICK CHIMNEY.

For red stain, take Venetian red, 2 parts; yellow
ochre, 1 part — both dry — and mix with skim milk.
For yellow stain, use water-lime, tinted with yellow
ochre. Mix as above.

Skim milk when mixed with common quicklime,
Portland cement, or Venetian red, is converted into
an insoluble binder, which renders the mixture water-
proof, so that it will not wash off when wet ; neither
will it rub up when dry. Other pigments can be
added, by way of coloring, up to 25 per cent, without
affecting the insolubility of the paint.

For a brick wall, which has not been rubbed or
painted, Venetian red toned down with yellow ochre,
beats any glue and acid mixture for durability.

TO CLEAN DOOR PLATES.

Put on with a rag a weak solution of ammonia in
water, and rub to dryness.

Practical House Painter, 85

TO CLEAN VARNISHED PAINT.

In a gallon of water, boil a pound of wheat bran,
and wash the varnish with the water.

SLOWING THE DRYING OF PAINT.

In wall painting or otherwise, especially in hot
weather, if the paint dries so fast as to show laps
in spite of your best efforts with the brush, the addi-
tion of a little cotton seed oil will make the paint
dry slower without hurting the gloss; or if you are
using flat color, and it dries too fast, a little cotton
seed oil will make it dry slower, and not make a
gloss. You can, by a little experiment, determine
how much of cotton seed oil to use in each case.

FINE BRONZE FOR METALS.

Eed aniline (fuchsine), 20 parts; purple aniline,
10 parts; 95 per cent alcohol, 200 parts; acid ben-
zoic, 10 parts. Dissolve the colors in the spirit in a
porcelain vessel in a water or sand bath; add the
Qcid and boil until the mixture changes from a green-
ish color to a beautiful bronze color. Lay it on the
bright metal with a brush.

REPAINTING BLISTERED DOORS.

When the paint commences to blister or scale on a
door, it is very liable to keep on blistering and scal-
ing from time to time, as long as any of the old paint
is left on the door, no matter how carefully it may be

86 Practical House Painter.

repainted, because in most cases whatever caused the
paint to scale off in spots, weakened the entire coat
of paint on the door, making it liable to raise up,
or come off in other places, whenever exposed to any
extra strain, such as sun heat, or the drying of new
coats of paint or varnish over it; hence, to have a
sure thing on painting a scaled or blistered door, take
off all the old paint. Put on a thin prime of pure
white lead and linseed oil ; use the priming sparingly
and ruh it out thin; let the prime dry and coat up
with lead and oil paint, mixed with good body; put
in a little turps and spread the paint out thin, so it
will dry solid; rub each coat in the same way; give
each coat time to dry solid. For work to be var-
nished, prime as above, and coat up flat. I think
blistering is often caused by flowing on too much
paint having too much oil in it, in proportion to the
pigment, hence it does not dry solid, the oil is soft-
ened and expanded by heat, and the coating, which is
more of an oil skin than a body of paint, lets go its
hold on the wood and puffs out in a blister to make
room for the softened and expanding oil skin. If
painters will mix their paint with good body, and use
more elbow grease in rubbing it out, they will have
less trouble with blisters.

FIREPROOF PAINT FOR ROOFS^ ETC.

A recipe published thirty years ago in the Maine
Farmer :

Slake stone lime by putting it into a tub to be

Practical House Painter. 87

covered to keep in the steam. When slacked pass the
powder through a fine sieve, and to each 6 quarts
of it add 1 quart rock salt, and water, 1 gallon ; then
boil and skim clean. To each five gallons of this add
pulverized alum, 1 pound; pulverized copperas, ^
pound; then slowly add powdered potash, | pound;
then add hardwood ashes sifted, 4 pounds; now add
any color and apply with a brush. This paint stops
small leaks in roofs, prevents moss, is incombustible,
and renders brick waterproof. It is durable as stone.

VARNISH FOR IRON.

Genuine asphaltum 8 pounds, melt in an iron
kettle, slowly adding boiled linseed oil, 5 gallons;
litharge, 1 pound, and sulphate of zinc, J pound;
continue to boil three hours, then add dark gum
amber, IJ pounds, and boil two hours longer. When
cool thin with turpentine to good working consist-
ency.

BLACK VARNISH FOR IRON.

Genuine asphaltum (not coal tar imitation), 1
pound ; lamp black, ^ pound ; rosin, J pound ; spirits
turpentine, 1 quart. Dissolve the asphaltum and
rosin in the turpentine, then rub up the lamp black
with linseed oil, only sufficient to form a paste, and
mix with the others.

TO MIX DRY LAMP BLACK.

First cut it up in benzine or turpentine to a thick
paste, stir well and add linsoed oil ; if the black is to

88 Practical House Painter.

be used as an oil paint, a little at first, stir well and
you may add more. In this way you will have no
trouble in mixing it with other paint, if you do it
when the paint is rather stiff.

TO CLEAN BRASS.

One-half ounce oxalic acid, 3 ounces rotten stone,
i ounce gum arable, each in powder; made into a
paste with sweet oil. Use sparingly and rub dry with
flannel.

DIPPING PAINT.

Grind dry colors in japan and turps, with only
enough Japan to bind the pigment. When dry varnish,
use any pigment you like, or use bolted whiting and
color as you like.

TO MAKE WAX FINISH FOR FLOORS.

Take 2 ounces pearlash and 2 pounds white wax.
Slice the wax thin, and boil it with the pearlash in
2 quarts of water; stir until the wax is melted and
unites with the water.

Put on the finish with a brush, and polish with
cloth or plush.

This finish will be good only for light service.

SPIRIT VARNISHES.

There are numerous recipes which might be given
here for making the fine elastic varnishes, but it
would not be practicable for the painter to make
them, even if he had the requisite skill and expert-

Practical House Painter. 89

eDce, but with spirit varnishes it is very different, and
the painter can make them by a formula as well as
an expert can. (For formulas for white and orange
shellac varnish see article on wood finishing.) For
inside work, where the family is living at the time
the work is being done, the alcohol varnish is prefer-
able. First, because it dries very quickly, and second,
because it is free from sickening or disagreeable
odors.

Below are several recipes for making varnishes,
which dry hard and lustrous. The spirit used is
wood or grain alcohol ; in either case, the spirit should
be 95 per cent proof.

BROWN HARD SPIRIT VARNISH (SELECTED).

1. Sandarac, 1 pound; shellac, ^ pound; gum
elemi, 4 ounces; Venice turpentine, 4 ounces; spirit,
1 gallon.

2. Gum sandarac, IJ pounds; shellac, 1 pound;
spirit, 1 gallon. After the gums are dissolved, put
in rosin turpentine varnish, 1 pint. This makes a
good varnish, not as quick drying as pure spirit var-
nishes.

A brown varnish may be made by mixing shellac,
IJ pounds; pale rosin, IJ pounds; spirit, 2 gallons.

WHITE HARD VARNISH.

1. Sandarac, 2 J pounds ; gum thus, 1 pound ; spirit,
1 gallon.

90 Practical House Painter.

2. Mastic, J pound; sandarac, 2 pounds; elemi
gum, 4 ounces ; spirit, 1 gallon.

3. Mastic, i pound; sandarac, 1 pound; turps, 2
ounces; spirit, 1 gallon.

These are all prepared by mixing and setting in
a warm place until the gums are dissolved, then they
are ready for use. Shake occasionally. For fine work
strain carefully.

PURE WHITE VARNISHES.

1. Pale manila copal, 8 ounces; gum camphor,
1 ounce; mastic, 2 ounces; Venice turpentine, 1
ounce; spirit, 1 quart.

2. Sandarac, 8 ounces; mastic, 2 ounces; Canada
balsam, 4 ounces; spirit, 1 quart.

3. Sandarac, 8 ounces; damar, 4 ounces; gum"
thus, 8 ounces ; manila copal, 8 ounces ; elemi, 8
ounces; spirit, J gallon. This is a good pale article.

4. Gum thus, 8 ounces; gum benzoin, 4 ounces;
manila elemi, 4 ounces; spirit, 1 quart.

VARNISH PAINTS.

These are made by mixing opaque pigments with
almost any varnish, using sufficient turps to make
them spread well.

GOLD VARNISH.

Shellac, 8 ounces; sandarac, 8 ounces; mastic, 8
ounces ; gamboge, 2 ounces ; dragon's blood, 1 ounce ;
turmeric, 4 ounces; spirit, 1 gallon.

Practical House Painter. 91

FURNITURE VARNISH.

Shellac, IJ pounds; sandarac, 4 ounces; mastic, 4
ounces; spirit, 1 gallon.

DAMAR VARNISH.

Damar, 1 ounce; sandarac, 5 ounces, mastic, 1
ounce; turps, 20 ounces. Digest at gentle heat until
dissolved. If necessary add more turps to bring
down to the proper consistency.

LACQUERS FOR BRASS AND TIN.

Pale gold lacquer. — Spirit, 1 gallon; orange shel-
lac, 1 ounce; gamboge, J ounce.

Deep gold. — Orange shellac, 10 ounces; turmeric,
4 ounces; gamboge, 4 ounces; dragon's blood, -J
ounce; spirit, | gallon.

Brass lacquer. — Shellac, 14 ounces; turmeric, 4
ounces; annotto, 1 ounce; saffron, | ounce; spirit,

1 gallon.

LEATHER VARNISH (bLACK).

Shellac, 12 ounces; gum thus, 5 ounces; sandarac,

2 ounces ; lamp black, 1 ounce ; turpentine, 4 ounces ;
spirit, f gallon.

Mix the ingredients, and give them time to dissolve
in the spirit in a warm place. A shake-up now and
then will quicken the process.

PAPER hanger's OUTFIT.

Bib overalls, large pocket in front, side pockets
for rule and shears, long trimming shears, shorter

d2 Practical House Painter.

wet shears, straight edge, paste board, plumb bob,
rule, paper brush, paste pail, size kettle, step-ladders
and rollers, some sandpaper, soft cloths and long
blotting-paper to use under your roller on seams,
when needed, and a plank for scaffold, when paper-
ing ceilings. For common sized rooms two step-lad-
ders are good in the place of trestles to hold up the
plank. For butt edging I can recommend James
Marks' paper cutters. See description on anothei
page.

PAPER hangers' paste.

Beat up four pounds of sifted wheat flour in cold
water sufficient to make a stiff batter; beat out all
the lumps, then add enough cold water to make it
like pudding batter. Then pour in a little hot water
and stir, then pour in hot water fast, and stir until
the paste swells and thickens, and turns darker. It
is then cooked. To keep the paste from "going
back" and staining the paper, add about two ounces
of powdered or well pounded alum to the boiling
water which you pour on the batter. This will make
three-quarters of a common wooden pail full of paste.
It will do better and go further if you let it cool
before using. Turn a little cold water on the top
to prevent it skinning over while you wait for it to
cool. When ready to use it, thin with cold water,
until it works easily under the brush, and according
to the wall. A very rough porous wall needs a stout
paste and plenty of it, while a hard, smooth wall

Practical House Painter. * 93

should have the paste thinned and less of it. I have
known paper to crack and fall off from a smooth
wall, because too much or too thick paste was put on.
Just enough to cement the paper to such a wall is
best; a bod}^ of paste between the paper and plaster
will decay and peel off, and take the paper with it.
The other extreme must be avoided also. Some
hangers prepare this paste without the alum.

If hanging paper on a glossy painted surface,
leave out the alum and add one-half pint of nice
clear sirup to each gallon of paste.

TO MAKE A PASTE FOR PAPERING OVER PAINTED OR
VARNISHED WALLS.

In a kettle mix some flour in water in the same
way as in the above formula, but make the batter
thinner. To each gallon of the batter add one ounce
of powdered resin. Set the kettle on a moderate
fire, and keep stirring it until it boils and thickens,
and the resin is melted into the paste. When cool,
thin down with a weak solution of gum arable.

LIQUID GLUE.

Fine glue dissolved in alcohol makes a nice binder
for fine water colors.

TO CRYSTALIZE GLASS.

Lay the glass fiat and flow heavy alum water over
it. Let it dry.

94 _ Practical House Painter,

SIZE FOR WALLS BEFORE PAPERING OR KALSOMINING.

One pound good white glue, 1 pound good bar
soap, 2 pounds pulverized alum. Dissolve each sep-
arately in one quart boiling water, having first soaked
the glue. Mix the glue and soap water, and then
slowly add the alum water, stirring all the time.
Add cold water to make one gallon.

STAIN OAK WOOD.

Wash with a solution of bi-chromate of potash and
acid water. One ounce to a quart of water.

SIZING WALLS.

"Anybody can do it !" Yes, but it takes an ex-
pert to do it right. It is not a difficult matter to
make paper stick to whitewash, but the whitewash
splits as far in as the paste goes, and a part of it
invariably sticks to the paper when it comes off and
a part of it is left on the wall. As a rule, if you
size whitewash with flour paste and let it stand a few
days it will crack and roll up. Now, pure glue size
does not have this effect upon whitewash, but, on
the contrary, it not only acts as a binder, but as an
intervening coat between the paste and the whitewash.
In other words, the glue size will stick the whitewash
fast without causing it to crack, and the paste will
adhere to the glue size without bad effects upon
either. Now, in order to bind the whitewash, the
glue should penetrate as far as possible. Hence, the

Practical House Painter. ^5

Size should be put on warm, and the room should be
warm, otherwise the glue will get cold and stiff like
jelly before it has time to penetrate; hence it will
remain on the surface instead of going into white-
wash as a binder. The idea is to get all you can into
the wall and leave as little as possible on the outside.
Another thing to look after is the quality of the
glue. Very much of the white glue found on the
market is not genuine glue. Some of it is adulter-
ated with starch and white clay, some of it is not
glue at all. A glue which will dissolve in cold water
is not good glue, or if it melts readily in hot water
without being soaked an hour or two in cold water,
it is not first-class. If it has a dead white look it is
not good. Good glue should be glossy and semi-
transVrent, and should soften and swell in cold
water, but not dissolve in it. When put into hot
water without being first soaked in cold water, it
should not dissolve at once, but form into a lump
and resist the action of the hot water for some time.

HOW TO APPLY WHITE ENAMELED LETTERS TO GLASS.

An extract from a circular issued by the manufac-
turers of these letters :

Having thoroughly cleaned the window and freed
it from grease, draw with white marking chalk on
front of it the plan or arrangement of outline it is
intended to adopt— straight or curved, as the case
may be. A rule is used for marking the straight lines
and a piece of twine for th^ curved lines. Now divide

96 Practical House Painter.

these guide lines up into as man}^ spaces as there
are letters to go on, carefully proportioning them.
Then apply the cement to the back of the letters with
a knife, laying on equally around both the inside
edges. Place the letter upon the window in the
space marked for it and work it up and down, back
and forth, pressing against the glass, so as to expel
the air and secure a good adhesion, and taking care
to press equally on top and bottom of the letter, as
otherwise there is a likelihood of breaking. It is
advisable, in cementing larger sized letters than six
inches, to leave the letters lay for an hour after
placing the cement around the edges, and then to
give another coat of cement and attach the letters
immediately. The object is to prevent all the cement
from working inside the concave parts of the let-
ters. In affixing larger and heavy letters, small
pieces of beeswax (or, in summer, sealing wax)
should be employed to keep them in position until
the cement sets. As soon as the letters are attached to
the glass take a small stick of wood, sharpen it on
the end and clean away all superfluous cement, keep-
ing the end of the stick constantly wet. Particular
care should be taken to leave no openings between
the letters and the glass (especially around the top
edges) which would allow water to get in between.
If wax has been used, remove it after a few days
and clean with a rag. The sign is then complete for

Practical House Painter. 97

long service. The above method will answer equally
well on any smooth surface such as stone, iron, mar-
ble, wood.

To make the cement, mix two parts of white lead
ground in oil with three parts of dry white lead, and
thin it down to the consistency of soft putty with
some good furniture or copal varnish. Then take
small parts of it and grind them on a stone or glass
plate in the manner of painters grinding color with
a bowl or palette knife. This is to be continued un-
til the cement is entirely smooth and cornless, and
then it is ready for use.

To remove enameled letters, the most convenient
way is to scratch away around the edges all the
cement you can from under the letters. Use for this
purpose a very thin knife or a piece of thin sheet
steel. You will soon reach the soft part of the ce-
ment ; then cut away with a sawing motion and twist
them off. Do not attempt to pry the letters off, or
they may break. If the cement should be very hard,
say after a number of years, use a little kerosene oil,
which is applied on the top edges of the letters, so
as to work in and soften the cement.

V^ALL SIZING FOR KALSOMINING.

There are many things about wall sizing, which
depend largely upon good judgment for success, be-
cause the treatment must be varied according to
the condition of the wall or ceiling. A good size
is made of good white glue, | pound ; alum, 1 pound.

98 Practical House Painter.

Dissolve the glue in the usual wa}^; that is, soak
it in cold water until soft, then pour off the cold
water and pour on the hot water; and stir until the
glue is dissolved.

Dissolve the alum in hot water.

Then stir the glue, and put in the alum water.
Thin the mixture with water to the right consistency
to work well.

If one coat is not sufficient, give it two ; or if there
are porous places in the wall, touch them up.

In many cases a simple glue size is sufficient, but
if you use the glue and alum size as above directed,
you ^vill be pretty sure of a good foundation for
kalsomine.

One of the most difficult things to overcome in
preparing ceilings for kalsomine is the water stain,
which is liable to be invisible until developed by a
coat of kalsomine. If you find water stains on a
ceiling and suspect that there may be others which
do not show, go over the ceiling Tvdth a thin wash
of whiting mixed in clear water, which when dry will
develop all hidden stains. To kill a bad stain, first
put on a coat of oil, japan and turps, equal parts;
second, put on a coat of good heavy shellac; third,
give the spots a coat of flat lead. This treatment is
for dark stains; for light stains a coat or two of
shellac will stop the stain. It is best to put a coat
of keg lead thinned with turps over the shellac, be-
cause kalsomine is liable to scale off from shellac.

Practical House Painter. 99

On cheap work, if the stain is not too dark, it may
be kept back by pasting a piece of paper over it. If
the wall has been kalsomined it is always in order to
wash off the old kalsomine. If the work has been
whitewashed, either take it off or first give it a wash
of strong vinegar, then a glue size, which, if put on
thin and plentifully while warm in a warm room,
is about the best size I know of for whitewash. I
have often used it successfully when it was not prac-
ticable on account of the weakness of the ceiling or
other cause to take off the old whitewash. Two
thin coats of good glue size on firm whitewash makes
as fair a foundation for kalsomine as can be made on
old whitewash.

When it will not pay you to wash off the old kalso-
mine, a coat or two of the wall sizing described above
will make a good foundation.

SIGN PAINTING.

To the beginner I will say : Learn the letters ; get
a variety of alphabets in your head; the more you
have the better you will be prepared to do a pleasing
variety of sign writing. A variety of letters arranged
in alphabets are given in the following pages as a
convenient means of reference for the painter who
may desire to refresh his memory, as to the form of
any letter represented, or to make a study of them
with a view of acquiring a knowledge of the forma-
tion of letters generally.

100 Practical House Painter.

No. 1. GOTHIC CONDENSED

ABGDEFG
HIJKLMN
OPQRSTU
VWXYZ£.

Practical House Painter. 101

No. 1. GOTHIC CONDENSED— Continued.

abcdefgh
ijklmnopq
rstuYWXiz
123456
7890/.

102 Practical House Painter.

No. 2. BLANCHARD.

ABCDEFGH
IJKLMNOP
QRSTUVWX

Y Z 6

1234567890
abcdefghij
Kim nopqrs
t u V ^w X y z , .

No. ». ALASKAN.

ABCDEP&M
IJKLMNO f^ Q
RSTUVWXVZ&
1234567890,.

Practical House Painter. 103

No. 4. OLD STYLE EXTENDED.

A B C D E F
G H I J K Iv M
N O P Q R ST

UVWXYZ&,.

abcdefgh.
i j k: 1 m n o
p q r s t i_i V
w X y ^. 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 O

104 Practical House Painter.

No. 5. LINING GOTHIC.

ABCD E
F G H I J
K L M N
OPQRS
T U V \A/
X YZcSc,.
12 3 45
67 890

Practical House Painter, 105

No. 6. CONDENSED DEVINNE.

ABCDEFGH
IJ K L MNO
PQRSTU V

X Y Z & , .
1234567890
abcdef g:h i j

k I m n 0 pqrs
t u V w X y z

106 Practical House Painter.

No. 7. GOTHIC SHADED.

B^%^

i

|L

f

i f
^X ¥ Z

i> <?

11 i

i

f § i

Practical House Painter. 107

No. 8. RONALDSON SLOPE.

ABCDMFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRST

V V W X Y Z & , .

1334567^90

No. 9. FLORENTINE.

ABCDEPGH

I J K L N N O P

Q RSTUVWX

Y Z & , .
123456 7590

108 Practical House Painter.

No. 10. FRENCH OLD STYLE.

ABCDEFGHI

JKLMNOPQR
ST U V W X YZ&,.

No. 11. LIVERMORE.

J JiT X 9/f7f 0 !P Q

d , -. abcdefffhij
kimnopqr a t u v
w xi^ z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Practical House Painter. 108

No. 12. CASLON OLD STYLE.

AB CDE FG
HI J K LMN
OPO R ST U
VWXYZ&,.
1 23456789
oabcdefgh
i j k 1 m n o p q
rstuvwxyz

110 Practical House Painter.

No. 13. SATANICK.

HBCDe
QRSCa

Practical House Painter. m

No. 13. SATANICK— Continued.

abcdcfgb
ijklmnop

qrstuvwx
72123456

7890. ,!?&

112 Practical House Painter.

No. 14. COLUMBUS.

aeeoEFG

HIJKLMN©
PQRSTUYW

\

XYZ&,.I23
4 56 7890a

b c d e f g h i j
klmnopqrs
t u V w X y z

Practical House Painter. 113

No. 15. BRADLEY.

JIDeD€f6RT]K

cmnopaRSCu

UOPXVZabcdH
gbi Ikintttopdrs
t u 0 w X y z ^ , .

No. 16. DORIC ITALIC.

A B C D E F G H i
J K LM NO PQR
STUVW XY Z,,
Stt234367890

114 Practical House Painter.

LIST OF PRICES AND MODE OF MEASUREMENT.

Prices for Painting and Glazing.

SQUARE MEASURE.

Plain weatherboarding. close fencing,
ledge doors. partitions, paling
fences, etc. All common colors, viz.:
White, light yellow, slate, pearl,
light drab or cream color, for each
coat, per yard 8 cents

Each coat of varnish 10 cents

PANEL WORK.

Flush panel work, panel doors, re-
cesses, etc., the above colors, for

each coat, per yard 10 cents

The same in two colors 12 cents

The same in three colors 14 cents

Striping after other work is finished,

per foot, lineal measure 1 cent

For expensive or unused colors, per

yard, additional ] cent

For each coat of varnish, per yard. .12 cents
For each coat of shellac, per yard . . 12 cents

BRICK WORK.

Per Yard.

First coat 15 cents

Second coat 12 cents

Third coat 10 cents

Penciling 15 cents

Mastic or cement, first coat 20 cents

Additional coats, same as brick.

Practical House Painter. 115

INSIDE WALL PAINTING.

Per Yard.

First coat 12 cents

Second coat 10 cents

Third coat 8 cents

STOPPING AND CLEANING.

Ordinary puttying, charge price of first coat for
the several kinds of work. Puttying longitudinal
joints in ceilings, siding, floors, etc., to be charged
from two to four times the price of first coat for
the several kinds of work, at the discretion of the
measurer.

SURFACING^ STAINING AND VARNISHING.

Each coat surfacing 10 cents

Each coat stain 8 cents

Each coat varnish 12 cents

LINEAL MEASURE.

Pilasters, architraves, frames^ jambs, base mould-
ings, etc.: „ T ^

° ' Each Coat

Girth. Per Foot. Varnish.

1 to 4 inches ic |c

4 to 6 inches |c 1 c

6 to 8 inches 1 c l^c

8 to 10 inches Uc Uc

10 to 12 inches l^c If c

12 to 14 inches Ifc 2 c

14 to 16 inches 2 c 2\q

16 to 18 inches 2\c 2ic

18 to 20 inches 2^c 2fc

20 to 22 inches 2|c 3 c

22 to 24 inches 3 c 3|c

116 ' Practical House Painter.

Larger dimensions taken in square measure.

Column mantels as above.

Panel jambs, door casings, etc., to be measured by
the above rule.

Plain rosettes, add one foot to length.

Carved rosettes, add two feet to length.

Other carved or ornamental work at the discretion
of the measurer.

MODE OF MEASURING.

Begin at wall, press line in all quirks to bead at
edge of jamb casing for girth. For jambs take inner
sash rabbet to corner bead, double the height and
measure between jambs for length.

STRING BOARD, ETC.

Per Foot.

Plain, each coat 2 cents

Bracketed, each coat 3 cents

Carved, each coat 4 cents

Staff beads, each coat ^ cent

Edge of shelves, each coat ^ cent

CORNICES AND COLUMNS — PLAIN.

Per Foot.

Girth, 1 to 2 feet, each coat 3 cents

Girth, 2 to 3 feet, each coat 4 cents

Girth, 3 to 4 feet, each coat. 5 cents

Girth, 4 to 5 feet each coat 6 cents

Plain caps on columns, add to length two feet.
Ornamental caps on columns, add to length four
feet.

Practical House Painter. 117

CORNICES WITH BRACKETS.

Per Foot.

Girth 1 to 2 feet, each coat 4 cents

Girth, 2 to 3 feet, each coat 6 cents

Girth, 3 to 4 feet, each coat 8 cents

Girth, 4 to 5 feet, each coat 10 cents

Girth 5 to 6 feet, each coat 12 cents

Larger dimensions in proportion.
Dental cornices, same price as brackets.

MODE OF MEASURING.

For girth, begin at top, press line into all quirks
and over each member to the bottom, and to the
length add one-half the medium girth of the brack-
ets multiplied by their number.

PRIMING OR TRACING AND GLAZING SASH.

EACH SIZE, PER LIGHT.

Old

Priming

or
Tracing.

8 to 10x12 to 14 .$0.0U

12x16 or 18 OU

14x24 02

18x24 03

24x30 $ .05

26x36 06

30x36 08

36x40 10

40x44 12

40x50 14

40x50 16

50x60 18

50x70 20

Glazing

New

and Glass

Glazing.

8. S.

$0.05

$0.20

.08

.35

.10

.40

.14

.50

D.8.

$ .18

$1.00

.20

1.30

.25

1.65

.30

.35

....

.40

• . . •

.50

....

.60

....

.75

• • • «

118 Practical House Painter.

These prices do not apply when called out to glaze
one or two lights.

For back puttying add one-quarter, and for bed-
ding add one-half, to the above rates.

In new glazing cost of glass not included.

All breakage at the risk of the owners, if glass is
furnished by them. To all bills of glass furnished
by the trade 20 per cent, will be charged additional.

PLATE GLASS.

Sizes same as table above, at same prices. Sizes
above to 90 square feet, 5 per cent, on net cost
delivered; 90 to 108 square feet, 8 per cent.; 108
square feet and upwards, 10 per cent.

Removing old glass, same as above. The owner
to pay cost of taking up large glass above first floor.

Unless otherwise provided for, glazier puts glass
in at his own risk of breakage, but cutting will be
at owner's risk.

SANDING.

First coat of sand equal to two coats of paint, in
addition to paint.

Second coat of sand equal to three coats of paint,
in addition to paint.

GRAINING — SQUARE MEASURE.

Per Yard.

Plain oak $0.40

Plain walnut or ash 70

Plain satinwood or maple 70

Plain mahogany or cherry 70

Practical House Painter.

119

Per Yard.

Shaded oak $0.50

Shaded oak 50

Penciled oak or ash 1.00

Penciled chestnut or cherry 1.00

Penciled walnut 1.00

Rosewood 1.00

Oak root 1.50

Girth.
1 to 4
4 to G
6 to

LINEAL MEASURE.

Graining. Varnishing.

.$0.03

$o.ooi

. .04

.01

. .05

.ou

. .06

.Oli

. .07

.01}

. .08

.02

. .09

.02i

. .10

.02^

inches, per foot,
inches, per foot,
inches, per foot.
8 to 10 inches, per foot.
10 to 12 inches, per foot.
12 to 14 inches, per foot.
14 to 16 inches, per foot.
16 to 18 inches, per foot.
Other members in proportion.
Graining edges of shelves, per foot, 1\ cents.
Graining sash, double the price of plain painting;

MARBLING SQUARE MEASURE.

White, per yard $0.75

Other kinds, per yard 1.00

Varnishing, each coat, per yard 12

LINEAL MEASURE.

All members — Per foot —

from Marbling. Varnishing.

1 to 8 inches girth $0.08 $0.01

8 to 10 inches girth 12 .OU

10 to 12 inches girth 16 OU

12 to 14 inches girth 18 .02

14 to 16 inches girth 20 .02i

Larger members in proportion.

120 Practical House Painter.

CLEANING AND KALSOMINING.

Ceilings and walls, per yard $0.16

Plain cornices, 1 to 2 feet girth, per foot 02

Plain cornices, 2 to 4 feet girth, per foot 03

Add to the above for each color, if more than one, 1 cent
per foot.

DEDUCTIONS.

The price of any work measured and not specified
in this list shall be fixed by the measurer.

The measurer is hereby authorized to deduct from
5 to 20 per cent from the price of any work that in
his judgment is not first-class.

FEES FOR MEASURING.

Jobs amounting to $150 or less 5 per cent

Jobs amounting to over $150 and less than $500, .4 percent
Jobs amounting to over $500 and less than

$1,000 3 per cent

Jobs amounting to over $1,000 , 2 per cent

Sign Painting.

FACIA SIGNS.

Gold. Plain.

12 feet long $ 8.00 $ 4.00

14 feet long 9.00 4.00

16 feet long 10.00 5.00

18 feet long 12.00 6.00

20 feet long 15.00 7.00

24 feet long 16.50 8.00

Above includes two coats of paint.

BRASS SIGNS.

Sxl4 inches $ 3.50

4x20 inches 5.00

Practical House Painter. 121

6x 8 inches $ 4.00

6x12 inches 4.50

8x14 inches 5.00

10x14 inches 5.00

12x17 inches 6.00

14x20 inches 7.00

18x25 inches 10.00

24x30 inches 15.00

Sill signs, per square foot 3.50

Square signs, per square foot 3.00

TO MAKE HARD PUTTY.

For Carriage Worlc.

Mix equal parts of dry and keg white

lead with equal parts of rubbing varnish and gold size
japan ; mix thoroughly and pound well.

For Hurried Work.

Mix dry white lead with equal parts of rubbing
varnish and gold size japan. Keep hard putty cov-
ered in water when not in use.

TO MAKE AND APPLY KALSOMINE.

Soak one pound good white glue in cold water until
soft, then pour off the cold water, and dissolve the
glue in hot water. Mix twenty pounds of good whit-
ing in water to a thick paste; dissolve one pound of
alum in water, and add it to the mixture. Before
mixing the glue and whiting, put in your tinting
colors, which should be ground in water. Test your
color by dipping in a piece of paper and letting it

1^2 Practical House Painter.

dry. After you put in the glue, test in the same way
to see if there is enough glue to bind it well, then
set your kalsomine aside to get cold.

Thin to good workable consistency with cold water.

Have in enough glue to hold it from washing up
when you have to put on a second coat. Too much
glue will cause the kalsomine to go on hard, and
crack and scale off when dry. If it dries too fast, add
two ounces of glycerine to one gallon of kalsomine.
Have good staging, and two men for a good sized
room. Use good kalsomine brushes, and work fast.
Lay on the kalsomine freely ; the beauty of the work
will depend upon how you lay it off, and level it up.
Put it on not as you would paint, all one way, but
work your brush in all directions, until your work is
level, then carefully lay it off with light strokes.

For a white job put in a little blue. If you have
never done a job of kalsomining, and have no one to
aid you, practice on the wall in your shop or any
other place, until you get the knack of it. Cover a
small space and see how it comes out.

Always finish lightly with the point of your brush.
If an edge dries, stop and wet it with a clean brush
and clear water; if careful you can join to it without
showing "laps." If you find you have missed any
spots wet the edges in the same way, and carefully
touch them up with kalsomine. If you find after all
your precautions, a water stain has come through your
kalsomine, wet the place with a solution of sugar of

Practical House Painter. 123

iead, made in proportion of 1 ounce sugar of lead to
1 quart of rain water; it may kill the stain. See
article on wall sizing and water stains, page 39.

Eough places in plaster take more color than a
smooth wall, hence they are liable to show spots ; so it
stands you in hand to make such places smooth as
possible ; to do this take off the rough sand with sand-
paper and knife or trowel on a thin coat of plaster
paris, or give the rough places an extra coat or two ot
size. Fill all cracks and holes, and give the filling
time to dry before putting on the size, because other-
wise it will take more color than the balance of the
wall and your work will look spotted.

In the kalsomining season have some large tubs
and mix up as much whiting in hot water as you will
need for several days. Add your color, glue, size and
alum to as much only as you want for immediate use.
In hot weather I use liquid glue.

LIQUID GLUE FOR KALSOMINE AND WALL SIZING.

For use in hot weather, a liquid glue which will
not decompose and smell badly is very desirable to
the workmen and the inmates of the house.

No. 1. To make such a glue fill a bottle a little
more than half full of broken up good white glue, and
fill the bottle with common whisky or equal parts of
alcohol and water. Let it stand a few days and it
will dissolve the glue; this glue will keep for years.
Keep the bottle corked.

No. 2. Melt your glue in the usual way, thick as

124 Practical House Painter,

you will want it for any purpose, then put in J or |
ounce nictric acid to each pound of glue used ; enough
to give the glue a sour taste, like vinegar. The acid
keeps it in a liquid state, and from spoiling. If you
melt the glue in an iron kettle pour it into a wooden
vessel, before you add the acid, otherwise the acid will
act on the iron and blacken the glue. When wanted
for use it can be thinned as desired with cold water ;
a cask full of this made up and kept air tight so the
water will not evaporate will be found very handy to
draw from, when you want a little in a hurry for glue
size or kalsomine. When you make it up in this way
put in at least 1 ounce of acid to the pound of glue
to make sure it will keep liquid, so you can draw it
from the cask.

Acetic acid will answer the same purpose as nitric
acid, but it will take more of it and make the liquid
glue more expensive.

TO PREPARE AN OLD WALL FOR PAINT OR PAPER.

First cut out all the cracks V shape, clean out the
holes and bevel the edges same as the cracks. Then
fill with fine plaster paris mixed with thin glue size.
Fill with care; when dry, sandpaper the fillino-
smooth and level. If the wall is sandy or rough, sand-
paper it smooth as you can. If the holes are large,
have a plasterer stop them, if you can; if you fail
in that, and the job must be done soon, fit in thin
boards, fill around the edges with plaster, and paste
on cloth, or extra paper; but to do a nice job you

Practical House Painter. 125

must insist od having the large holes plastered. If
the hole is up out of reach,, and too large for you to
fill, cement the edges with plaster, stretch a piece of
cloth, or extra thickness of paper over it, and it will
look all right, because the paper will shrink tight
when it dries. If 3'ou find places where the clinches
are broken, and the plaster is loose, press the plaster
back to its place if you can, and cut small holes
through the plaster and turn small broad headed
screws into the lath even with the plaster and cement
around the screws with plaster paris.

If it is a smooth wall with rough, sandy patches,
sandpaper down the patches a little below the level
of the wall, sweep out the loose plaster, give a coat of
glue size, and knife or trowel in a coat of plaster
paris mixed with glue size or vinegar, and when dry,
sandpaper until smooth and level.

There are several points to be considered and pro-
vided for in filling cracks in a plastered wall prepar-
atory to painting. First, are the edges of the cracked
wall level ? To determine this, lay your rule across the
crack, and if you find the plaster on one side of the
crack higher than the other, it shows that side of
the wall has sprung out of place, because the laths
are loose or the clinches are broken. The first thing
on the program is to get the highest edges back to
"place." Failing in that, the next best thing is to
raise the other side. If that scheme don't work, the
next method is to use sandpaper on a block and rub

126 Practical House Painter.

down the highest side with a wide bevel to match
the lowest, otherwise your filling will be at an angle
more or less acute with the general surface of the
wall, and cast a shadow or reflect the light according
to which way the light falls upon it, and the place
where the crack wa^ will "show" in spite of your best
efforts to conceal it. If you find one edge of a crack
higher than the other, gently press against it, and if
it goes back to place, cement it with plaster paris wet
up in clear water, and it will set in three minutes
hard enough to hold the plaster in place. If the loose
edge will not go back by gentle pressure, lay a piece
of board over it and push hard as you dare to and
not crush the plaster. If it is still obstinate, drill
out a piece and insert a bent wire or other instrument
made on purpose, and see if you can feel the obstruc-
tion and remove it. Failing in this, see if you can
raise up the lower side to a level with the highest
and cement it fast. If the last scheme is too much
for your patience and ingenuity, resort to the block
and sandpaper, and rub down the high side witli a
wide bevel to match the other. The next point is to
prevent the paint near the edges of the crack, and
on the filling which we put in, from drying flat while
the balance of the wall bears out a gloss. To do
this we must find out the cause of the "flatting" near
the edges of the crack and over the "filling." If we
examine into the matter, we will find that when the
wall cracked the plaster adjacent was more or less

Fraetieal House Painter. 127

fractured and made more porous than the uninjured
portions of it. Hence, more oil is drawn from the
paint near the crack than where the wall is solid.
Now, for the remedy: With a small pointed brush
wet the edges of the crack with linseed oil until they
will take no more in. Let the oil dry, and fill the
crack with plaster mixed with thin glue size, but
have the top of the filling one-sixth of an inch below
the surface of the wall. Let the filling dry, and
with a fine pointed brush paint over the top of the
filling and the edges of the crack. Let the paint
dry, and finish filling with hard putty. Let the putty
dry, and sandpaper the job smooth and level. If
you have to bevel the highest edge with sandpaper,
first fill the beveled portion with oil. Let the oil dry,
and fill the pores with hard putty, because the part
beveled with sandpaper will be more porous than
the balance of the wall. Treat and fill all small
holes by the same method. Filling cracks in this
way is a little tedious, I admit; but it is the only
way that I know of to stop a crack in plaster, so it
will stay stopped and not show after it is painted.

HOW TO PAINT A PLASTEKED V^ALL.

Prime with lead and raw oil, tinted like succeed-
ing coats. Have the prime thin, not more than five
pounds of white lead to the gallon of oil; add a lit-
tle benzine or turps to make it more penetrating.
If the room is cool, warm up your prime before you
add the benzine or turps. The idea is to have it

128 Practical House Painter.

penetrate as much as possible; brush the prime well
into the wall. If it is a sand wall, brush off the loose
sand. If it is a smooth one, putty coated or hard fin-
ished wall, see that there are no lumps or grains of
sand left on the surface. It is a good idea to pass
the hand over the wall to feel the lumps, and to
knock off lumps and grains of sand by going over
the work with sandpaper.

For second coat use glue size, made as directed on
another page.

Third coat. Mix so as to dry with a gloss, have
the body fairly thick, and spread it well out. Mix
with 3 parts linseed oil to 1 part turps.

Fourth coat. — If this coat is to be flat, mix it
thick enough to cover well; mix mainly with turps,
if the weather is hot, or from any other cause the
paint don't work well, add a little linseed oil. For
an egg shell gloss, use about 1 part oil and 3 parts
turps.

If the wall is to be finished in stipple, mix the
last coat half oil and half turps, rather thick, and
add a little japan. To stipple strike the paint evenly
and continuously with the square end of a large
brush, made for the purpose ; a new clean duster will
do. Let the stippler follow the painters. The coat
of glue size saves two coats of paint. It is put on
after the prime to keep moisture and air from the
glue, otherwise it would be liable to decay.

Use boiled oil in all coats except priming coat.
Have only enough difference in the color of the dif-

Practical House Painter. 129

ferent coats, so you can see where you have painted,
and not leave holidays; especially in rooms where
the light is not very good.

Some painters advocate (especially on hard fin-
ished wall) a good filling of clear linseed oil, before
any paint is put on to keep the surface from fire
cracking.

It is risky business to paint a new hot wall ; in such
cases if it must be done before the lime has become
somewhat neutralized, give it a coat of vinegar, and
let it stand a day or so before you put on the prime.
The vinegar will neutralize the lime and not hurt the
priming.

TO PREPARE A ROUGH SANDY WALL FOR PAINT OR

PAPER.

If you have a rough brown mortar wall to paper
and want to make the job look smooth as possible,
first go over it lightly with No. 2 paper to knock off
the loose and most prominent grains of sand; then
with No. 2 paper rub down all "cat faces" and trowel
marks ; level up all hollows with plaster paris wet up
in thin glue size or vinegar, and you will be ready to
put on the lining paper. This paper should be soft
and porous so that it will quickly absorb paste and
not blister; good white blank wall paper having but
little color will answer very well for this purpose.
Start in to hang it with half a strip in width so as
to break joints with the next coat ; use sufficient paste

130 Practical House Painter.

to make the paper stick to the wall; butt the edges
and be sure when the paper is dry that there are no
loose places. Eight here is the turning point of your
job for "good or for bad."

Pound the lining paper down so closely that all
the prominent grains of sand will show through,
and be sure to make it stay there until dry. When
the lining paper is dry, go over it with good sharp
No. 1| sandpaper and cut out all the prominent
grains of sand which show through the paper, being
careful to rub no more than is necessary to take out
the sand ; the idea being to cut through to the promi-
nently projecting grains of sand, and rattle them out.
Some walls will need a second coat of lining paper
and another sandpapering, before they are smooth
enough for anything like a fine job. If the owner
refuses to stand the expense of putting on lining
paper, glue size the wall, and when dry, knock off the
prominent grains of sand with sandpaper and knife
in plaster paris putty on the rough places. In
either case, take extra pains with portions of the wall
where there are side lights, which always magnify
rough places. Sandy walls may be leveled and
smoothed somewhat with a coat of kalsomine to hold
light bodied paper.

Make a kalsomine of good white glue, 1 pound to
15 pounds of whiting and half a pound of alum.
Dissolve the glue and alum in the usual way. When
the kalsomine is dry, give the surface a thin coat of

Practical House Painter. 131

glue size to stop the suction. Let the glue size dry,
then put on the paper ; use light paste, and be sparing
of it as you can and make the paper stick. I have
often noticed that too much or too little paste is
used in paperhanging ; some walls and some papers
require more paste than others. Too much paste on
a smooth wall, or too little on a rough one, makes bad
work. If you use a roller for seams have it covered
with short plush. To paint on a wall covered with
lining paper as above described, first put on a coat of
glue size.

TO PAINT OVER NEWLY PLASTERED CRACKS IN WALLS.

When the painter has to paint over holes and
cracks in walls recently filled by the plasterer, he will
be likely to have to deal with plaster made in part of
fresh lime. In such cases, it is always best to soak
the newly plastered places with strong vinegar, to kill
as much as possible the caustic properties of the lime.
Put on the vinegar plentifully and let it soak in;
when dry, give the new plaster a coat of size made of
linseed oil, japan and turpentine ; when dry, put on
a coat of white shellac before painting.

FLASHED GLASS SIGNS.

Flashed glass is clear on one side and colored on
the other ; the colored glass forming only a thin film
on one side of the clear glass. We can make elegant
signs on this glass by etching the letter through the
colored portion of the glass, making the letters clear

132 Practical House Painter.

and the background colored; or by etching out the
background and leaving the letters colored. Lay out
the letters on paper, and place it under the glass as a
guide to work by ; then, with asphaltum varnish cover
the background and leave the letters free and clear;
in other words, "cut around them." If you want a
clear background with colored border and colored let-
ters, cover the letters and border and leave the back-
ground free and clear. Then melt some beeswax,
and when it begins to cool, take up a small portion
of it with a putty knife and scrape it off on the edge
of the glass, and repeat the operation until a wall or
dam is made all around the glass, to hold the acid
you are about to put on the glass, from running off ;
then pour on a little hydrofluoric acid, and it will
etch out the colored glass not covered by the asphalt-
um in about one hour; then you can pour the acid
back into your bottle, to be used again. Next wash
the glass by pouring water over it; then scrape off
the wax, and take off the asphaltum with turpentine.
Some painters use a varnish made by melting togeth-
er equal parts of paraffine and asphaltum and thin-
ning to working consistency with turpentine.

FLUORIC ACID, TO MAKE FOR ETCHING PURPOSE^.

You can make your own fluoric acid (sometimes
called hydro-fluoric) by getting the fluor spar, pul-
verizing it and putting as much of it into sulphuric
acid as the acid will cut or dissolve.

Practical House Painter. 133

Druggists through the country do not keep this
acid generally, but they can get it in the principal
cities. One ounce will do at least fifty dollars worth
of work. It is put in gutta percha bottles or lead
bottles, and must be kept in them when not in use,
having corks of the same material. Glass, of course,
will not hold it, as it dissolves the glass, otherwise it
would not etch upon it.

LIQUID WOOD FILLERS FOR CHEAP WORK.

Corn starch and cheap varnish are the principal in'
gredients of many cheap wood fillers ; the corn starch
is mixed with the varnish and thinned with turps
until workable. You can experiment on this idea.

Corn starch in shellac in proportion of 1 pound to
the gallon doubles its capacity as a filler. I have
made and used a filler for cheap work in this way:
Pale rosin, 2 pounds; boiled oil, 1 gallon; japan, 1
pint. Melt the rosin in the oil, take the kettle outside,
and add | gallon turpentine ; stir and when cold add J
pound of corn starch. Thin with turps until workable.
Add more or less starch, according to the surface
you want to fill. These mixtures are all the better if
run through a paint mill.

ANOTHER PASTE FILLER.

Corn starch mixed to a paste with one part linseed
oil, two parts each japan and rubbing varnish; thin
to working consistency with turpentine.

134 Practloal House Painter.

CARRIAGE PAINTING IN THE VILLAGE SHOP.
NEAV WORK.

Prime with white lead, mixed thin in oil, add a
little japan and turpentine to make the paint dry
hard and quick; when the priming is dry and hard,
putty up with hard putty as directed on another page.
Then follow with two coats of keg lead thinned with
turpentine; add a little Japan to make it dry hard,
and a little oil to make it work well. Carefully mix
and strain your paint. Give the body five coats of
rough stuff, made as directed on page 144 and a
guide coat, and when dry, proceed to cut down the
rough stuff. For this purpose your tools will be sev-
eral pieces of pumice stone, a pail of water, a large
flat file, a good sponge and a chamois. Flatten one
side of your stone for a grinding surface and have no
thin edges, because they will keep breaking off and
be liable to get under the stone, and scratch you?
work. Now, two of the most important things you
will have to guard against is cutting through the
rough stuff and lead coats, and scratching the surface.
There is a great difference in pieces of pumice stone.
Some are hard and full of flint like particles, which
will scratch the work; others are softer and of more
even grit; the light colored and fairly open grained
pieces are the safest to use. You can tell a fast cut-
ting stone by its open grain and lightness. The finer
grades of German rubbing brick and English rub-
bing stone are also used in rubbing rough stuff'. A

Practical House Painter. 135

stone with a broad surfa'^e is preferable for large
surfaces.

Have small pieces to rub around the bolt heads and
other places which are difficult to get at with the
large stone. The practiced workman can tell the
moment a stone begins to scratch, both by the sound
and by the feeling to the hand, and you may train
your ear and nerve to this degree of sensitiveness;
until you do so, you will have to look sharp, and
frequently rub your stone on the file, and clean off
your work with a sponge full of water to see the con-
dition of the work. Also by passing your hand back
and forth across it to determine the condition of it,
or if there is any large grit on it, liable to get under
the stone and scratch. Eub until the brush marks
are gone, etc., which your guide coat will show you.
Use plenty of water while rubbing. Thoroughly
wash the body inside and out. When dry^ sandpaper
lightly over the body to remove any grit which may
be left on, and to clean out around the irons and
panels, also to sand off the irons which you have not
rubbed. Dust and wipe well, and when ready, put
on a coat of drop black, ground in japan. In mix-
ing your drop black, stir it before you add any turps,
then add a little turps, and stir again until it is
beaten to a smooth, soft paste; then add sufficient
turps to make a workable paint, thin enough to go
on easily with a camel hair brush, which for body
work on buggies should be not less than one and one-

136 Practical House Painter.

half inches wide and double thick. Painters disa-
gree as to the use of oil in this coat. I like to use a
very little good raw oil, say a teaspoonful to a pint
of color. It is a good idea to keep a brush on pur-
pose to coat the inside of the body, because it is not
usually made as smooth as the outside. Some prac-
tice putting on the color coat in the morning and the
color varnish towards evening, but I prefer a longer
time, say twenty-four hours at least, and more, too,
especially when I use a little oil in the color coat.
Bub the color with curled hair or hair cloth, dust well,
and put on your color varnish; some say with a
bristle varnish brush, but I prefer to mix it so I can
use a camel hair brush. For this coat mix drop
black to a workable paint with equal parts of turps
and good body varnish. When this coat is dry, give
the body a coat of good rubbing varnish, using a fine
bristle varnish brush. Flow on a free coat, lay off
to right and left, and finish with up and down strokes
across the work. Never put a full brush at the lower
edge of the body, because in that case, you will be
apt to get a fat edge. Watch for sags or runs, which
you can brush out, if discovered before the varnish
gets. If a sag or run should get the start of you on
this coat, and you see it after the varnish begins to
set, squeeze the varnish out of your brush, wet the
point of it in turps, and carefully work out the sag or
run. Now, dust off the running parts, and put on a
coat of color. Some say, have a little more oil in the

Practical House Painter. 137

color for the gear than for the body, but I would not
advise the use of more. When dry, put on a coat
of color varnish. When dry, rub down with hair or
hair cloth, and your gear is ready to stripe.

To paint a wheel, paint one spoke at a time, paint
both sides and the edge next to you, then take your
brush in your left hand and paint the back edge, and
so on, until the spokes are finished. Next paint the
hub, then the outside and inside of the felly, then
finish the gear, being careful to leave no laps. Use
only fine lines for striping a buggy. On the springs,
bars, spoke faces, hubs and tongue is all the striping
needed. Orange chrome, red, gold, bronze and light
green, all harmonize with black, and either may be
used for striping a black rig. When ready to var-
nish, set your gear on trestles. Varnish the wheel
with a fine bristle varnish brush, and flow on a full
coat. When done with a wheel, set it running on
the spindle^ and commence the next, and start it off
again two or three times, while working at the next
wheel, and so on with all the wheels ; by this method
you may avoid runs, and be able to flow on a fuller
coat than you otherwise could. For a finer job, give
the gear a coat or two of clear rubbing varnish, and
rub each coat down with curled hair or hair cloth.
For a cheap job, rub down the body with hair cloth,
but for a finer one, rub it out with finely powdered
pumice stone in water. For this method, you will
need a pail of clear water, some finely powdered

138 Practical House Painter.

pumice stone and a felt pad. The object of this
work is to take the gloss off the rubbing varnish, and
leave a smooth coat for the finishing varnish. The
particular knack is to rub just enough, and then
stop; a little too much will cut through, and spoil
the job; and not enough will not give you the best
possible foundation for your finishing coat of varnish.
Keep the work washed off as you go, so you can see
defective places, and rub them out. When done rub-
bing, the next thing is to wash the body perfectly
free from grit. Your water brush comes in play here
to wash around irons, etc., where the pumice might
lodge ; then with a pail of clear water, rinse the body
and wipe dry with a chamois skin. Eight here is a
good time to give the inside of the body a coat of color
varnish, and to put on your transfers, if you use
any. Some painters use a barrel for a body stand,
but one made on purpose, of boards, is better. You
want to look out for dust in every stage of the work,
but right here you m7Tst be especially careful, be-
cause you are about to put on the finishing coat,
which can neither be sandpapered nor rubbed down.
You will learn from experience, if not before, that
you cannot rely altogether upon the dust brush to
free your work from dust and specks. A large soft
dry chamois kept for the purpose, and never wet, can
be used to advantage to wipe off the dust left by the
brush. A hand bellows is very effective in taking
dust out of corners where the brush or wiper cannot

Practical House Painter. 139

be worked. When you have done all you can with
the brush and wiper, rub the work over with your
hand and the sensitive nerves of your fingers will de-
tect any specks which may still adhere to the surface.
Some other essentials to a good job of varnishing are
a clean room, free as possible from dust, clean
brushes, and cups, and the person of the varnishcr
so dressed that he will not shed material for specks.
Have one cup to hold your varnish and another to
wipe your brush in. Use good varnish and never try
to varnish a body with the temperature below 70 de-
grees F. Have a quill sharpened to a point to pick
out any specks which you may discover on your work,
because it requires very favorable conditions, and a
mighty slick workman to prepare and varnish a body,
and not have it show at least a speck or two. Use a
fine chiseled bristle brush and know that it is abso-
lutely free from specks before you commence. Now,
when you are ready, don't be timid or try to see how
far you can make your varnish go. Keep in mind
from the start that the nearer level — that is, a uni-
form thickness — you can have your coat of varnish the
less liable it will be to sag or run. Puton3^our varnish
with a full brush, laying it on right and left, and
brush as level as you can, then finish with up and
down strokes, being careful to chisel off the surplus
at the lower corner to avoid a flat edge. Note — A
friend of mine, after laying on his varnish right and
left, finished with diagonal strokes across the surface

140 Practical House Painter.

at an angle of 45 degrees, then crossed it again at the
same angle in an opposite direction. He had "uni-
form good success.

For an extra fine job, give the work more coats of
rubbing varnish, and rub each coat with curled hair,
or hair cloth; or you may knife on a coat of putty
made of keg lead and equal parts of turps and japan;
rub it well in with the flat blade of the knife, and
when it sets or flats, scrape off all surplus. Sand-
paper when dry. This may go on in the place of
third lead. You may, when the job requires it, knife
on a coat of hard putty, work it down smooth, let it
dry and cut down with sandpaper.

OLD WORK.

There are so many degrees of badness in repair
work, that it is not possible to cover the entire ground
in a work of this kind. They run all the way from
the touch up and varnish job, to the cracked, scaled
and almost paintless old rigs. For a touch up and
varnish job, at least one which is in decent shape for
such work, wash the body, give it a rubbing down
with fine powdered pumice stone, clean oif and care-
fully putty cracks, dents, etc., if any; then touch up
Vvith color, using a small camel's hair pencil, and
cover only where "viecessary. When dry, give a full
coat of body varnish. For a better job, give the body a
coat of black rubbing varnish (provided the body is
black), then finish with a good coat of wearing body.
The gear may be treated the same as the body if in

Practical House Painter. 141

like condition, but if the felloes are worn bare, lead
them up and color as you would new work, then
touch up the balance and varnish.

The great plague of the paint shop is cracked work,
which is otherwise solid. Where the varnish is hard
but peeling, take it off with ammonia; to do this,
take a side of the body at a time, pour out some am-
monia in a cup, and put it on with a clean brush
kept for the purpose. Keep the side wet, until you
can slice off the varnish with a putty knife; if it
fails to come off, you must keep it wet longer. If
the varnish is dead and soft, sandpaper down to a
solid foundation, then if cracks show sheet up with
quick hard putty made soft enough to put on with
a brush, and scrape off with a knife when set. When
dry, sandpaper and if the cracks are not full, give it
a second application of putty in the same way. Then
for a cheap job give it a coat of color varnish, a coat
of rubbing and a coat of body varnish.

If you are to do a fine job, and can get pay for it,
and you find the body cracked, burn off the old paint,
and commence at the foundation as in new work. For
a cheap job, lead up the bare places on the gear and
wheels, give a coat of color and a coat of color varnish
and finish with heavy gear varnish. For a fine job,
if the old paint is cracked or scaled, take it off and
work up from the wood as on a new job.

142 Practical House Painter.

ROUGH STUFF.

1. To make one coat per day rough stuff, take
three pounds of Reno's filler and one pound of keg
lead. Mix to stiff paste with equal parts of rubbing
varnish, and first class japan, thin with turps. Some
painters add a little raw oil. Grind the filler fine.

2. French yellow ochre dry, 5 pounds; keg lead
1| pounds. Mix to stiff paste with equal parts gold
size, or best brown japan and rubbing varnish; thin
with turps and add a gill of raw oil. Grind fine.

CLEANING PHAETON CUSHIONS.

This old phaeton cushion is too dusty for any use,
did you say ? I agree with you ; the old cloth-covered
phaeton cushion is one of the unmitigated nuisances
which we are often compelled to tolerate in the paint
shop. When such a cushion is once filled with dust
its capacity for "shedding" seems to be unlimited.
The more you beat it and the longer you brush it, the
more dust comes to the surface. You can take off a
buggy cushion and relegate it to the backroom, but
the genius who invented that complicated vehicle
called a phaeton, nailed the cushions fast to the
body, and we must take them along with the job,
dust and all^ from the cleaning floor to the varnish
room.

When I am so unfortunate as to have an old phae-
ton brought to my shop, about the first thing I do
after cleaning it up is to go for the cushions with

Practical House Painter. 143

the sprinkler and wet them down with clean water,
repeating the operation as often as may be necessary
to keep in the dust.

Spoil the cushions ? No ! When you run the rig
out of the shop the owner will wonder what you
have done to his cushions to make them look so
bright. The same operation works well on an old
cloth-lined top. After you have brushed all you
think you can afford to, and the dust keeps coming
to the front, turn the top bottom side up and give
it a shower from the sprinkler, and I will guarantee
the dust to lie still long enough for you to dress
the top and paint the bows. Dust is^he natural
enemy of the paint shop, and water is one of our
best weapons to fight it with.

MIXING QUICK COLOR.

A quick drying color can be slowed up and made
to dry to any required time without injuring it,
while if ground in a slow drying preparation, it can-
not possibly be quickened without injuring more or
less the working and covering properties. The work-
ing is certainly important, and the covering more so.
The covering property should be strong, because the
fewer coats of color on a job the better. Thus a
quick dryer saves both labor and time.

Japan colors are best when ground stiff, or with
barely enough liquid to bind them firmly, because
after being reduced to thinness with turpentine alone
they will cling to the surface and will not smut.

144 Practical House Painter.

The color will then have its greatest covering power.
Now, by the addition of sufficient pure raw oil to
give the best working property, and being also made
to dry flat, the color is as near perfection as pos-
sible, and the further addition of anything weakens
the covering power. When an excess of japan is
used in grinding, the color is thin, there being less
pigment to the pound; and it is of less value to the
consumer, while it affords more profit to the manu-
facturer than w^hen prepared as it should be.

BLACK VARNISH FOR GASOLINE STOVES, ETC.

Asphaltum two pounds, boiled linseed oil one pint,
turpentine two quarts. Melt the asphaltum in an
iron pot, heat the oil, and add it to the asphaltum
while hot. Stir well. When partly cool, add the
turpentine and four ounces of good japan.

BLACK STENCIL INK.

Shellac two ounces, borax two ounces, soft water
twenty ounces, gum arable- two ounces, lampblack
and indigo sufficient. Boil the shellac and borax in
the water until dissolved, then add the gum arable;
dissolve and take the mixture from the fire; when
cold, add enough lampblack to give it color and
proper consistency, and a little powdered indigo.
Keep in glass or earthenware vessels.

BRONZE FOR BRIGHT METALS.

Red aniline (fuscine) ten parts, purple aniline
^\e parts, alcohol 95 per cent, one hundred parts,

Practical House Painter. 145

benzoic acid five parts. Add the anilines to the
alcohol, and dissolve by placing the vessel in a sand
or water bath. As soon as dissolved, add the benzoic
acid and boil for five or ten minutes, or until the
greenish color of the mixture is turned to a brilliant
light bronze; spread with a brush on bright metal.

VAKNISH TO FIX PENCIL DRAWINGS.

Gum mastic three ounces, alcohol one pint. Dis-
solve and apply with a brush.

RUST SPOTS ON MARBLE.

Apply a mixture of 1 part nitric acid and 25 parts
of water, then rinse with 3 parts water and 1 part
ammonia.

WHITEWASH TO SOFTEN.

To soften old whitewash which you wish to take
off, wet it thoroughly with a wash made of 1 pound
of potash, dissolved in 10 quarts of water.

WATER GLASS FOR FLOORS.

Clean the floor, fill cracks with water glass cement
made of water glass and whiting, then put on a
coat of water glass, to be followed by second coat;
when dry rub the last coat with pumice stone and
oil.

TO FINISH REDWOOD.

Take one quart of spirits turpentine; add one
pound of corn starch; quarter of a pound burnt

146 Practical House Painter.

sienna; one tablespoonful raw linseed oil and one
tablespoonful brown japan. Mix thoroughly, apply
with the brush, let it stand, say, fifteen minutes, rub
off all you can with fine shavings or a soft rag, let
it stand at least twenty-four hours that it may sink
into and harden the fibers of the wood; afterward
apply two coats of white shellac, rub down well with
fine flint paper, then put on from two to five coats
best polishing varnish ; after it is well dried rub with
water and pumice stone ground very fine; stand a
day to dry ; after being washed clean with a chamois
rub with water and rotten stone; dry; wash as be-
fore clean, and rub with olive oil until dry. Some
use cork for sandpapering and polishing, but a
smooth block of hardwood like maple is better.
When treated in this wav, redwood will be found the
peer of any wood for real beauty and life as a house
trim or finish.

MARKING INK.

Asphaltum, dissolved in turpentine to a thin fluid,
will give you an excelbnt marking ink for all pur-
poses; dries quickly, does not spread, and is nearly
indestructible.

FORMULAS FOR MIXING COLORS. (SELECTED.)

It is impossible to give infallible recipes for mix-
ing colors, on acount of the difference in the tone
and color strength of pigments, both dry and in oil,
many samples having as high as fifty per cent, of

Practical House Painter. 147

barytes or other white makewright material, which
not only lessens the color strength of the mixture in
proportion to their volume, but weakens the color,
in a small measure, by their presence as white ma-
terial. Hence, color formulas are made subject to
modification, not only to please the taste of the
mixer, but on account of the presence of poor, weak
and adulterated pigments.

The writer has selected a few formulas from
which the learner may gain some knowledge of
colors, which he can improve upon by experiment.

Plumb, — White leadt 2 parts*; Indian red, 1 part;
ultramarine blue, 1 part. If too dark, add more
white lead. (Outside.)

Brick. — Yellow ochre, 2 parts; Venetian red, 1
part; white lead, 1 part. If too dark, add more
ochre. Don^t depend upon the common ochre of the
stores. It has but little tinting power. Use French
ochre ground in oil. (Outside.)

Bronze Green,. — Chrome green, 5 parts; lamp-
black, 1 part; burnt umber, 1 part. If too dark,
use more green. (Outside.)

Jonquil Yellow. — White lead tinted with chrome
yellow and vermilion.

Lead Color. — White Lead, 16 parts; ultramarine
blue, 1 part; lampblack, 2 parts. (Outside.)

Light Buff. — White lead tinted v/ith yellow ochre
(Outside.)

^NoTE. — Pa^rt means in bulk, not by weight.

148 Practical House Painter.

Lemon. — Lemon chrome yellow, 5 parts; white
lead, 2 parts. (Outside.)

Brown. — Indian red, 3 parts ; lamp black, 2 parts ;
yellow ochre, 1 part. If too dark, use more ochre or
less black. (Outside.)

Chestnut. — Venetian red, 2 parts; lamp black, 1
part; medium chrome yellow, 4 parts. (Outside.)

Lilac. — Light Indian red, 3 parts; white lead, 3
parts; ultramarine blue, 1 part.

Purple. — Light Indian red, 4 parts; white lead, 3
parts; ultramarine blue, 2 parts.

London Smoke. — Burnt umber, 2 parts; white
lead, 1 part; Venetian red, 1 part.

Brown. — Venetian red, 3 parts; drop black, 2
parts; chrome yellow, 1 part. (Outside.)

French Gray. — White, tinted with ivory or drop
black. (Outside.)

Olive Yellow. — Burnt umber, 3 parts; lemon
chrome yellow, 1 part. For lighter shade, add more
yellow.

Pearl. — White lead, 6 parts; Venetian red, 2
parts; lamp black, 1 part. If too dark, add more
lead. (Outside.)

Olive. — Lemon chrome yellow, 10 parts; ultra-
marine blue, 1 part; light Indian red, 1 part.

Cream Color. — White lead, 8 parts; French yel-
low ochre in oil, 2 parts; Venetian red, 1 part. (Out-
side. )

Tan. — Burnt sienna, 5 parts; medium chrome

Practical House Painter. 149

yellow, 2 parts ; raw umber, 1 part. If too red, add
more raw umber.

Pea Green. — White lead, 5 parts; chrome green,
1 part. Vary the proportions to suit.

Drab. — White lead, 10 parts; burnt umber, 1
part. Vary to suit.

Canary. — White lead, 6 parts; lemon chrome yel-
low, 2 parts, or less, as you like it. (Outside.)

Fawn. — White lead, 8 parts; chrome yellow, 1
part; Indian red, 1 part; burnt umber, 1 part. (Out-
side.)

Grass Green. — Lemon chrome yellow, 3 parts;
Prussian blue, 1 part.

Peach Blossom. — White lead, 1 part; light Indian
red, 1 part ; ultramarine blue, 1 part ; lemon chrome
yellow, 1 part.

Light Gray. — White lead, 10 parts; ultramarine
blue, 1 part; lampblack, 1 part. Make lighter or
darker by using more or less white lead, as the case
may require.

Purple Brown. — Dark Indian red, 4 parts; ultra-
marine blue, 1 part; lampblack, 1 part. Light up
with white lead to fancy. If too purple, use less
blue; if too red, use more black. (Outside.)

Leather Broivn. — Venetian red, 2 parts; yellow
ochre, 4 parts; lampblack, 1 part; white lead, 2
parts or more, to suit. If too dark, use less black.
(Outside.)

150 Practical House Painter.

Dregs of Wine. — Tuscan red with a little lamp-
black and white lead.

Leaf Bud. — Equal parts white lead, orange chrome
and chrome green. If too dark, add more lead. (In-
side only.)

Coral Pink. — Vermilion (English), 5 parts; white
lead, 2 parts; chrome yellow, 1 part. (Inside.)

Maroon. — Tuscan red, 3 parts; ultramarine blue,

1 part. If too red, add more blue.

Myrtle. — Dark chrome green, 3 parts ; ultramarine
blue, 1 part. Light up with white lead.

Stone. — White lead, 5 parts ; French yellow ochre,

2 parts; burnt umber, 1 part. Tint to desired
shade with raw umber; a very little will do. (Out-
side.)

Snuff. — Medium chrome yellow, 4 parts ; Vandyke
brown, 2 parts.

Rose. — White lead, 5 parts; carmine, 2 parts.
(Inside only.)

Portland Stone. — Raw umber, 3 parts; yellow
ochre, 3 parts; white lead, 1 part. (Outside.)

Ashes of Roses. — White, lightly tinted with black,
blue and lake. (Inside only.)

Silver Gray. — Tint white lead with lampblack and
indigo.

Fine Chocolate. — Tint the best burnt umber with
Munich lake. (Inside only.)

Fine Maroon. — Tint any deep red lake with a lit-
tle orange chrome yellow.

Practical House Painter. 151

Vienna Smoke. — Tint fine burnt umber with lem-
on chrome yellow and a little Venetian red.

Quaker G^reen. — Chrome green, 3 parts; lamp-
black, 1 part ; Venetian red, 1 part ; medium chrome
yellow, 1 part.

Chamoline. — Lemon yellow, 1 part; raw sienna,
3 parts; white lead, 5 parts.

Clay Drab. — White lead, raw sienna, raw umber^.
equal parts. Tint with chrome green.

Pearl. — White lead, tinted with ultramarine blue
and lampblack.

Copper. — Medium chrome yellow, 2 parts; Vene-
tian red, 1 part; drop black, 1 part.

Buttercup. — White lead tinted with lemon chrome
yellow.

Flesh. — White lead, 8 parts; light Venetian red,
1 part; orange chrome, 2 parts.

Olive Brown. — Lemon chrome yellow, 1 part;
burnt umber, 3 parts.

Deep Buff. — White lead tinted with yellow ochre
and a little Venetian red. (Outside.)

SOME EXPENSIVE COLORS.

Claret. — Carmine, 2 parts; ultramarine blue, 1
part.

Carnation Red. — Carmine lake, 3 parts; white
lead, 1 part.

Chocolate. — Fine burnt umber, 5 parts; carmine
or lake, 1 part.

152 Practical House Paiuter.

French Red. — Indian red and English vermilion,
equal parts, glazed with carmine.

Rose. — White lead, 5 parts ; carmine, 2 parts.

Yellow Lake. — Burnt umber and white lead, equal
parts; tint with chrome yellow and lake.

SUGGESTIONS FOR TINTS AND COLORS.

Delicate Flesh Tints, white predominating. — 1st,
white and light red; 2nd, white, Naples yellow, ver-
milion; 3rd, white, vermilion and light red.

Gray and Half Tints, white predominating. — 1st,
white, vermilion and black; 2nd, white and terre
verte; 3rd, white, black, Indian red and raw umber.

Deep Shades, color predominating. — 1st, light red
and raw umber; 2nd, Indian red, lake and black.

Carnations. — 1st, white and Indian red; 2nd,
white and rose madder; 3rd, white and lake; 4th,
white and Naples yellow.

Carnations, color predominating. — 1st, rose mad-
der and white; 2nd, Indian red, rose madder and
white.

Green Tints. — 1st, white and ultramarine blue,
with any yellow; 2nd, white and terre verte; add a
little raw umber.

Gray Tints. — 1st, ultramarine blue, light red and
white; 2nd, Indian red lake, black and white.

Pearly White, white predominating. — 1st, white,

Practical House Painter. 153

vermilion and black; 2nd, white, vermilion and
black; 3rd, white and black.

Gray. — White, Venetian red and black,
^Yellow. — Yellow ochre and white.

Olive. — Yellow ochre, terre verte and nmberc

Slcy. — French blue and white.

PAINTING CARS AT HOME.

Probably no other subject dealing with the prob-
lem of the motorist has been so little, or to be cor-
rect, so unsatisfactorily treated as the home paint-
ing of cars. Most of the literature dealing with
the subject is written in a technical vein, purely
for the delectation of the professional painter.
This naturally leads the novice to believe, owing to
the great number of coats these writers say is es-
sential for good work, that it is entirely out of the
question for a car owner, without previous experi-
ence in painting, to repaint his car satisfactorily.

Fortunately this is not true. In the first place,
the fewer number of coats that can be applied and
still accomplish the desired result, will make far
the most durable and lasting job of painting. I
maintain, and have proven, times without number,
that if a motorist really is in earnest about want-
ing to paint his cars, the battle is more than half
won. Give this class of motorists the proper ma-

154 Practical House Painter.

terial mixed ready for use with the proper brushes
for their application, and tell him how the}^ should
be used, and 99 times out of 100 he will paint his
ear so well that he will be sorry he had not done
it before.

The quality of the material used in this kind of
painting is of vital importance and unless they are
the very best will give but limited wear. And the
proper brushes to use with the different coats is of
equal importance. About four-fifths the cost of au-
tomobile painting is labor, so that a few dollars
saved in buying the materials is false economy.

The general purpose enamels for sale in stores
have no place on a motor car. They belong to the
home. Probably no other vehicle excepting a loco-
motive has harder service for paint to withstand.
Hence, the necessity for the very best materials.

There is one reputable concern selling repainting
outfits to car owners so that greatly simplifies the
painting problem, if one wishes to do it himself.
These outfits include everything, materials, brushes,
and instructions, and range in price from $6 for a
small runabout to $8 and $10 for a roadster and
touring car. Compared to $35 to upwards of $100
that one has to pay a regular painter, if one wishes
to economize, the painting affords a grand oppor-
tunity.

Practical House Painter. 155

The fenders and hood of a car are subjected to
severe wear and the time is coming when these parts
will always be painted black, regardless of the body
color of the car. In fact, a great many of the new
cars will be painted this way. There are thousands
of cars in use that hardly need repainting, but if
the hood and fenders were done over in black it would
make them look almost like new cars. There is one
concern making these hood and fender outfits and
a novice can do a really creditable Job of painting
with them. They range in price from $3 to $5 and
are in two coats with a suitable brush.

The gases from the motor are a big factor in dull-
ing the paint on hoods. It has the same effect that
ammonia fumes from a stable has on horse-drawn
vehicles. This is one reason why the black paint-
ing of hoods is mighty sensible. ^¥lien your hood
gets dull, instead of laying up your car you can
paint the hood yourself with little trouble and no
loss of time.

For the novice to repaint the average car, for
instance a 30 H. P. touring car, it would require in
labor only a few hours on four or five different days.
The hardest part of the whole operation is pre-
paring the car for paint. It is absolutely necessary
to have it thoroughly clean before applying any
paint. It should be well washed first, and then

156 Practical House Painter.

given a gasoline bath to the parts on which dirt
and grease have been allowed to accumulate. It is
really not so complex a proposition after all. If a
woman can paint furniture with enamels that are
no better than they should be, a man can surely
paint a car if given the proper materials to do it
with, and if he be instructed in their use.

Now as to striping. This is of course out of
the question for the novice. But you can black the
mouldings of the body, seats, doors, hubs and rims
of wheels so that the absence of striping is not no-
ticed. So far as the striping goes, the tendency is
away from it — in fact, the most expensive cars have
hardly any striping. The blacking of the mould-
ings, etc., mentioned makes a harmonious contrast
and takes the place of striping. It looks in no ways
amateurish — rather like the handiwork of the pro-
fessional painter.

In addition to the saving that can be effected by
repainting your car yourself, there is the feeling of
personal pride when the job is finished, of having
dene something well yourself.

As the majority of the new cars have enameled
lamps instead of polished brass as in years past, I
believe a few words on the subject will not be amiss.
In my experience of twenty years in the painting of
vehicles, locomotives and automobiles, I have never

Practical House Painter. 157

had a harder proposition to solve than the enamel-
ing of polished brass lamps, particularly gas head-
lights.

An enamel for this purpose must of necessity be
made highly elastic, so that it will contract and
expand with the metal and stick on the polished
brass surface without any previous roughing. This
means that only the most expensive materials can
be used in the making of such an enamel. There
is one enamel of proven merit for this purpose on
the market and it does not have to be baked. I
have seen a great many motorists who have used
general purpose enamels on their lamps and the
experience has usually been that the enamel leaves
when the lights are lighted. If I were buying aix
enamel for use on the brass parts of my car, I
should be very careful to buy the one that had been
long on the market, for there will undoubtedly be
a large number of new ones offered.

I have made some pretty strong statements in
the foregoing article, and it is no more than right
that I tell you that they are based on my experi-
ence of twenty years in the painting of carriages,
locomotives and automobiles, two 3^ears as the ex-
pert for the largest paint and color house in the
world, and several years in the manufacture of the
highest class of motor car paints.