Part 110

«For Fine Steel.»—Take equal parts (by weight) of ferrous sulphate—green vitriol—and sodium chloride—cooking salt—mix both well together by grinding in a mortar and subject the mixture to red heat in a mortar or a dish. Strong fumes will develop, and the mass begin to flow. When no more fumes arise, the vessel is removed from the fire and allowed to cool. A brown substance is obtained with shimmering scales, resembling mica. The mass is now treated with water, partly in order to remove the soluble salt, partly in order to wash out the lighter portions of the non-crystallized oxide, which yield an excellent polishing powder. The fire must be neither too strong nor too long continued, otherwise the powder turns black and very hard, losing its good qualities. The more distinct the violet-brown color, the better is the powder.

For polishing and cleaning fenders, fireirons, horses’ bits, and similar articles: Fifty-six pounds Bridgewater stone; 28 pounds flour emery; 20 pounds rotten stone; 8 pounds whiting. Grind and mix well.

To make iron take a bright polish like steel, pulverize and dissolve in 1 quart of hot water, 1 ounce of blue vitriol; 1 ounce of borax; 1 ounce of prussiate of potash; 1 ounce of charcoal; 1⁠/⁠2 pint of salt, all of which is to be added to one gallon of linseed oil and thoroughly mixed. To apply, bring the iron or steel to the proper heat and cool in the solution.

«Stove Polish.»—The following makes an excellent graphite polish:

I.—Ceresine 12 parts Japan wax 10 parts Turpentine oil 100 parts Lampblack, best 12 parts Graphite, levigated 10 parts

Melt the ceresine and wax together, remove from the fire, and when half {598} cooled off add and stir in the graphite and lampblack, previously mixed with the turpentine.

II.—Ceresine 23 parts Carnauba wax 5 parts Turpentine oil 220 parts Lampblack 300 parts Graphite, finest levigated 25 parts

Mix as above.

III.—Make a mixture of water glass and lampblack of about the consistency of thin syrup, and another of finely levigated plumbago and mucilage of Soudan gum (or other cheap substitute for gum arabic), of a similar consistency. After getting rid of dust, etc., go over the stove with mixture No. 1 and let it dry on, which it will do in about 24 hours. Now go over the stove with the second mixture, a portion of the surface at a time, and as this dries, with an old blacking brush give it a polish. If carefully done the stove will have a polish resembling closely that of new Russian iron. A variant of this formula is as follows: Mix the graphite with the water glass to a smooth paste; add, for each pound of paste, 1 ounce of glycerine and a few grains of aniline black. Apply to the stove with a stiff brush.

«POLISHES FOR WOOD:»

See also Polishes for Furniture, Floors and Pianos.

In the usual method of French polishing, the pad must be applied along curved lines, and with very slight pressure, if the result is to be uniform. To do this requires much practice and the work is necessarily slow. Another disadvantage is that the oil is apt to sweat out afterwards, necessitating further treatment. According to a German patent all difficulty can be avoided by placing between the rubber and its covering a powder composed of clay or loam, or better, the powder obtained by grinding fragments of terra cotta or of yellow bricks. The powder is moistened with oil for use. The rubber will then give a fine polish, without any special delicacy of manipulation and with mere backward and forward rubbing in straight lines, and the oil will not sweat out subsequently. Another advantage is that no priming is wanted, as the powder fills up the pores. The presence of the powder also makes the polish adhere more firmly to the wood.

«Oak Wood Polish.»—The wood is first carefully smoothed, then painted with the following rather thickly liquid mass, using a brush, viz.: Mix 1 1⁠/⁠2 parts, by weight, of finely washed chalk (whiting), 1⁠/⁠2 part of dryer, and 1 part of boiled linseed oil with benzine and tint (umber with a little lampblack, burnt sienna). After the applied mixture has become dry, rub it down, polish with glass powder, and once more coat with the same mixture. After this filling and after rubbing off with stickwood chips or fine sea grass, one or two coats of shellac are put on (white shellac with wood alcohol for oak, brown shellac for cherry and walnut). This coating is cut down with sandpaper and given a coat of varnish, either polishing varnish, which is polished off with the ball of the hand or a soft brush, or with interior varnish, which is rubbed down with oil and pumice stone. This polish is glass hard, transparent, of finer luster, and resistive.

«Hard Wood Polish.»—In finishing hard wood with a wax polish the wood is first coated with a “filler,” which is omitted in the case of soft wood. The filler is made from some hard substance, very finely ground; sand is used by some manufactures.

The polish is the same as for soft wood. The simplest method of applying wax is by a heated iron, scraping off the surplus, and then rubbing with a cloth. It is evident that this method is especially laborious; and for that reason solution of the wax is desirable. It may be dissolved rather freely in turpentine spirit, and is said to be soluble also in kerosene oil.

The following recipes give varnish-like polishes:

I.—Dissolve 15 parts of shellac and 15 parts of sandarac in 180 parts of spirit of wine. Of this liquid put some on a ball of cloth waste and cover with white linen moistened with raw linseed oil. The wood to be polished is rubbed with this by the well-known circular motion. When the wood has absorbed sufficient polish, a little spirit of wine is added to the polish, and the rubbing is continued. The polished articles are said to sustain no damage by water, nor show spots or cracks.

II.—Orange shellac, 3 parts; sandarac, 1 part; dissolved in 30 parts of alcohol. For mahogany add a little dragon’s blood.

III.—Fifteen parts of oil of turpentine, dyed with anchusine, or undyed, and 4 parts of scraped yellow wax are stirred into a uniform mass by heating on the water bath. {599}

IV.—Melt 1 part of white wax on the water bath, and add 8 parts of petroleum. The mixture is applied hot. The petroleum evaporates and leaves behind a thin layer of wax, which is subsequently rubbed out lightly with a dry cloth rag.

V.—Stearine 100 parts Yellow wax 25 parts Caustic potash 60 parts Yellow laundry soap 10 parts Water, a sufficient quantity.

Heat together until a homogeneous mixture is formed.

VI.—Yellow wax 25 parts Yellow laundry soap 6 parts Glue 12 parts Soda ash 25 parts Water, a sufficient quantity.

Dissolve the soda in 400 parts of water, add the wax, and boil down to 250 parts, then add the soap. Dissolve the glue in 100 parts of hot water, and mix the whole with the saponified wax.

VII.—This is waterproof. Put into a stoppered bottle 1 pint alcohol; 2 ounces gum benzoin; 1⁠/⁠4 ounce gum sandarac, and 1⁠/⁠4 ounce gum anime. Put the bottle in a sand bath or in hot water till the solids are dissolved, then strain the solution, and add 1⁠/⁠4 gill best clear poppy oil. Shake well and the polish is ready for use.

VIII.—A white polish for wood is made as follows:

White lac 1 1⁠/⁠2 pounds Powdered borax 1 ounce Alcohol 3 pints

The lac should be thoroughly dried, especially if it has been kept under water, and, in any case, after being crushed, it should be left in a warm place for a few hours, in order to remove every trace of moisture. The crushed lac and borax are then added to the spirit, and the mixture is stirred frequently until solution is effected, after which the polish should be strained through muslin.

IX.—To restore the gloss of polished wood which has sweated, prepare a mixture of 100 parts of linseed oil, 750 parts of ether, 1,000 parts of rectified oil of turpentine, and 1,000 parts of petroleum benzine, perfumed, if desired, with a strongly odorous essential oil, and colored, if required, with cuicuma, orlean, or alkanna. The objects to be treated are rubbed thoroughly with this mixture, using a woolen rag.

«MISCELLANEOUS POLISHING AGENTS:»

«Polishing Agent which may also be used for Gilding and Silvering.»—The following mediums hitherto known as possessing the aforenamed properties, lose these qualities upon having been kept for some time, as the metal salt is partly reduced. Furthermore, it has not been possible to admix reducing substances such as zinc to these former polishing agents, since moisture causes the metal to precipitate. The present invention obviates these evils. The silver or gold salt is mixed with chalk, for instance, in a dry form. To this mixture, fine dry powders of one or more salts (e. g., ammonia compounds) in whose solutions the metal salt can enter are added; if required, a reducing body, such as zinc, may be added at the same time. The composition is pressed firmly together and forms briquettes, in which condition the mass keeps well. For use, all that is necessary is to scrape off a little of the substance and to prepare it with water.

«Silver Polishing Balls.»—This polishing agent is a powder made into balls by means of a binding medium and enjoys much popularity in Germany. It is prepared by adding 5 parts of levigated chalk to 2 parts of yellow tripoli, mixing the two powders well and making into a stiff paste with very weak gum water—1 part gum arabic to 12 parts of water. This dough is finally shaped by hand into balls of the size of a pigeon’s egg. The balls are put aside to dry on boards in a moderately warm room, and when completely hard are wrapped in tin-foil paper.

«To Prepare Polishing Cloths.»—The stuff must be pure woolen, colored with aniline red, and then put in the following:

Castile soap, white 4 parts Jewelers’ red 2 parts Water 20 parts

Mix. One ounce of this mixture will answer for a cloth 12 inches square, where several of them are saturated at the same time. For the workshop, a bit of chamois skin of the same size (a foot square), is preferable to wool, on account of its durability. After impregnation with the soap solution, it should be dried in the air, being manipulated while drying to preserve its softness and suppleness.

«To Polish Delicate Objects.»—Rub the objects with a sponge charged with a mixture of 28 parts of alcohol, 14 parts of water, and 4 parts of lavender oil. {600}

«Polish for Gilt Frames.»—Mix and beat the whites of 3 eggs with one-third, by weight, of javelle water, and apply to the gilt work.

«Steel Dust as a Polishing Agent.»—Steel dust is well adapted for polishing precious stones and can replace emery with advantage. It is obtained by spraying water on a bar of steel brought to a high temperature. The metal becomes friable and can be readily reduced to powder in a mortar. This powder is distinguished from emery by its mordanting properties and its lower price. Besides, it produces a finer, and consequently, a more durable polish.

«Polishing Bricks.»—Stir into a thick pulp with water 10 parts of finely powdered and washed chalk, 1 part of English red, and 2 parts of powdered gypsum; give it a square shape and dry.

«Polishing Cream.»—

Denaturized alcohol 400 parts Spirit of sal ammoniac 75 parts Water 150 parts Petroleum ether 80 parts Infusorial earth 100 parts Red bole or white bole 50 parts Calcium carbonate 100 parts

Add as much of the powders as desired. Mirbane oil may be used for scenting.

«Polishing Paste.»—

Infusorial earth (Kieselguhr) 8 ounces Paraffine 2 ounces Lubricating oil 6 fluidounces Oleic acid 1 fluidounce Oil mirbane 30 minims

Melt the paraffine with the lubricating oil, and mix with the infusorial earth, then add the oleic acid and oil of mirbane.

«To Polish Paintings on Wood.»—According to the statements of able cabinet makers who frequently had occasion to cover decorations on wood, especially aquarelle painting, with a polish, a good coating of fine white varnish is the first necessity, dammar varnish being employed for this purpose. This coat is primarily necessary as a protective layer so as to preserve the painted work from destructive attacks during the rubbing for the production of a smooth surface and the subsequent polishing. At all events, the purest white polishing varnish must be used for the polish so as to prevent a perceptible subsequent darkening of the white painting colors. Naturally the success here is also dependent upon the skill of the polisher. To polish painting executed on wood it is necessary to choose a white, dense, fine grained wood, which must present a well-smoothed surface before the painting. After the painting the surface is faintly coated with a fine, quickly drying, limpid varnish. When the coating has dried well, it is carefully rubbed down with finely pulverized pumice stone, with tallow or white lard, and now this surface is polished in the usual manner with a good solution prepared from the best white shellac.

«Polishing Mediums.»—For iron and steel, stannic oxide or Vienna lime or iron oxide and sometimes steel powder is employed. In using the burnisher, first oil is taken, then soap water, and next Vienna lime.

For copper, brass, German silver, and tombac, stearine oil and Vienna lime are used. Articles of brass can be polished, after the pickling, in the lathe with employment of a polish consisting of shellac, dissolved in alcohol, 1,000 parts; powdered turmeric, 1,000 parts; tartar, 2,000 parts; ox gall, 50 parts; water, 3,000 parts.

Gold is polished with ferric oxide (red stuff), which, moistened with alcohol, is applied to leather.

For polishing silver, the burnisher or bloodstone is employed, using soap water, thin beer, or a decoction of soap wort. Silver-plated articles are also polished with Vienna lime.

To produce a dull luster on gold and silver ware, glass brushes, i. e., scratch brushes of finely spun glass threads, are made use of.

Pewter articles are polished with Vienna lime or whiting; the former on a linen rag, the latter on leather.

If embossed articles are to be polished, use the burnisher, and for polish, soap water, soap-wort decoction, ox gall with water.

Antimony-lead alloys are polished with burnt magnesia on soft leather or with fine jewelers’ red.

Zinc is brightened with Vienna lime or powdered charcoal.

Vienna lime gives a light-colored polish on brass, while ferric oxide imparts a dark luster.

«Rouge or Paris Red.»—This appears in commerce in many shades, varying from brick red to chocolate brown. The color, however, is in no wise indicative of its purity or good quality, but it can be accepted as a criterion by which to {601} determine the hardness of the powder. The darker the powder, the greater is its degree of hardness; the red or reddish is always very soft, wherefore the former is used for polishing steel and the latter for softer metals.

For the most part, Paris red consists of ferric oxide or ferrous oxide. In its production advantage is taken of a peculiarity common to most salts of iron, that when heated to a red heat they separate the iron oxide from the acid combination. In its manufacture it is usual to take commercial green vitriol, copperas crystals, and subject them to a moderate heat to drive off the water of crystallization. When this is nearly accomplished they will settle down in a white powder, which is now placed in a crucible and raised to a glowing red heat till no more vapor arises, when the residue will be found a soft smooth red powder. As the temperature is raised in the crucible, the darker will become the color of the powder and the harder the abrasive.

Should an especially pure rouge be desired, it may be made so by boiling the powder we have just made in a weak solution of soda and afterwards washing it out repeatedly and thoroughly with clean water. If treated in this way, all the impurities that may chance to stick to the iron oxide will be separated from it.

Should a rouge be needed to put a specially brilliant polish upon any object its manufacture ought to be conducted according to the following formula: Dissolve commercial green vitriol in water; dissolve also a like weight of sorrel salt in water; filter both solutions; mix them well, and warm to 140° F.; a yellow precipitate, which on account of its weight, will settle immediately; decant the fluid, dry out the residue, and afterwards heat it as before in an iron dish in a moderately hot furnace till it glows red.

By this process an exceptionally smooth, deep-red powder is obtained, which, if proper care has been exercised in the various steps, will need no elutriation, but can be used for polishing at once. With powders prepared in this wise our optical glasses and lenses of finest quality are polished.

POLISHES FOR THE LAUNDRY: See Laundry Preparations.

POMADE, PUTZ: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.

POMADES: See Cosmetics.

POMEGRANATE ESSENCE: See Essences and Extracts.

«PORCELAIN:»

See also Ceramics.

«Mending Porcelain by Riveting» (see Adhesives for methods of mending Porcelain by means of cements).—Porcelain and glass can be readily pierced with steel tools. Best suited are hardened drills of ordinary shape, moistened with oil of turpentine, if the glazed or vitreous body is to be pierced. In the case of majolica and glass without enamel the purpose is best reached if the drilling is done under water. Thus, the vessel should previously be filled with water, and placed in a receptacle containing water, so that the drill is used under water, and, after piercing the clay body, reaches the water again. In the case of objects glazed on the inside, instead of filling them with water, the spot where the drill must come through may be underlaid with cork. The pressure with which the drill is worked is determined by the hardness of the material, but when the tool is about to reach the other side it should gradually decrease and finally cease almost altogether, so as to avoid chipping. In order to enlarge small bore holes already existing, three-cornered or four-square broaches, ground and polished, are best adapted. These are likewise employed under water or, if the material is too hard (glass or enamel), moistened with oil of turpentine. The simultaneous use of oil of turpentine and water is most advisable in all cases, even where the nature of the article to be pierced does not admit the use of oil alone, as in the case of majolica and non-glazed porcelain, which absorb the oil, without the use of water.

«Porcelain Decoration.»—A brilliant yellow color, known as “gold luster,” may be produced on porcelain by the use of paint prepared as follows: Melt over a sand bath 30 parts of rosin, add 10 parts of uranic nitrate, and, while constantly stirring, incorporate with the liquid 35 to 40 parts of oil of lavender. After the mixture has become entirely homogeneous, remove the source of heat, and add 30 to 40 parts more of oil of lavender. Intimately mix the mass thus obtained with a like quantity of bismuth glass prepared by fusing together equal parts of oxide of bismuth and crystallized boric acid. The paint is to be burned in in the usual manner.

PORCELAIN, HOW TO TELL POTTERY AND PORCELAIN: See Ceramics. {602}

PORTLAND CEMENT: See Cement.

PORTLAND CEMENT, SIZE OVER: See Adhesives.

POSTAL CARDS, HOW TO MAKE SENSITIZED: See Photography, under Paper-Sensitizing Processes.

POTASSIUM SILICATE AS A CEMENT: See Adhesives, under Water-Glass Cements.

POTATO STARCH: See Starch.

POTTERY: See Ceramics.

POULTRY APPLICATIONS: See Insecticides.

POULTRY FOODS AND POULTRY DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES: See Veterinary Formulas.

POULTRY WINE: See Wines and Liquors.

POUNCE: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods, under Ink Eradicators.

POWDER FOR COLORED FIRES: See Pyrotechnics.

POWDER, FACE: See Cosmetics.

POWDER, ROUP: See Roup Powder.

POWDERS FOR STAMPING: See Stamping.

POWDERS FOR THE TOILET: See Cosmetics.

«Preservatives»

(See also Foods.)

«Preservative Fluid for Museums.»—

Formaldehyde solution 6 parts Glycerine 12 parts Alcohol 3 parts Water 100 parts

The addition of glycerine becomes necessary only if it is desired to keep the pieces in a soft state. Filtering through animal charcoal renders the liquid perfectly colorless. For dense objects, such as lungs and liver, it is best to make incisions so as to facilitate the penetration of the fluid. In the case of very thick pieces, it is best to take 80 to 100 parts of formaldehyde solution for above quantities.

«Preservative for Stone, etc.»—A new composition, or paint, for protecting stone, wood, cement, etc., from the effects of damp or other deleterious influences consists of quicklime, chalk, mineral colors, turpentine, boiled oil, galipot, rosin, and benzine. The lime, chalk, colors, and turpentine are first fixed and then made into a paste with the boiled oil. The paste is finely ground and mixed with the rosins previously dissolved in the benzine.

«Preservative for Stuffed Animals.»—For the exterior preservation use

Arsenic 0.7 parts Alum 15.0 parts Water 100.0 parts

For sprinkling the inside skin as well as filling bones, the following is employed:

Camphor 2 parts Insect powder 2 parts Black pepper 1 part Flowers of sulphur 4 parts Alum 3 parts Calcined soda 3 parts Tobacco powder 3 parts

«Preservatives for Zoological and Anatomical Specimens.»—The preparations are first placed in a solution or mixture of

Sodium fluoride 5 parts Formaldehyde (40 per cent) 2 parts Water 100 parts

After leaving this fixing liquid they are put in the following preservative solution:

Glycerine (28° Bé.) 5 parts Water 10 parts Magnesium chloride 1 part Sodium fluoride 0.2 parts

In this liquid zoological preparations, especially reptiles, retain their natural coloring. Most anatomical preparations likewise remain unchanged therein.

PRESERVATIVES FOR WOOD: See Wood.

«Preserving»

«Canning.»—There should be no trouble in having canned fruit keep well if perfect or “chemical cleanliness” is observed in regard to jars, lids, etc., and if the fruit or vegetables are in good order, not overripe or beginning to ferment where bruised or crushed. Fruit will {603} never come out of jars better than it goes in. It is better to put up a little fruit at a time when it is just ripe than to wait for a large amount to ripen, when the first may be overripe and fermenting and likely to spoil the whole lot. Use only the finest flavored fruit.

Have everything ready before beginning canning. Put water in each jar, fit on rubbers and tops, and invert the jar on the table. If any water oozes out try another top and rubber until sure the jar is air-tight. Wash jars and tops, put them in cold water and bring to a boil. When the fruit is cooked ready take a jar from the boiling water, set it on a damp cloth laid in a soup plate, dip a rubber in boiling water, and fit it on firmly. Fill the jar to overflowing, wipe the brim, screw on the top, and turn it upside down on a table. If any syrup oozes out empty the jar back into the kettle and fit on a tighter rubber. Let it stand upside down till cold, wipe clean, wrap in thick paper, and keep in a cool, dry place.