Part 6

When the paint commences to blister or scale on a door, it is very liable to keep on blistering and scaling from time to time, as long as any of the old paint is left on the door, no matter how carefully it may be 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 rub 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 varnished, 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 softened 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 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, ½ pound; then slowly add powdered potash, ¾ 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, ½ pound; continue to boil three hours, then add dark gum amber, 1½ pounds, and boil two hours longer. When cool thin with turpentine to good working consistency.

BLACK VARNISH FOR IRON.

Genuine asphaltum (not coal tar imitation), 1 pound; lamp black, ¼ pound; rosin, ½ 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 linseed oil; if the black is to 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, ¼ ounce gum arabic, 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 experience, 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 preferable. 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, ½ pound; gum elemi, 4 ounces; Venice turpentine, 4 ounces; spirit, 1 gallon.

2. Gum sandarac, 1½ 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 varnishes.

A brown varnish may be made by mixing shellac, 1½ pounds; pale rosin, 1½ pounds; spirit, 2 gallons.

WHITE HARD VARNISH.

1. Sandarac, 2½ pounds; gum thus, 1 pound; spirit, 1 gallon.

2. Mastic, ½ pound; sandarac, 2 pounds; elemi gum, 4 ounces; spirit, 1 gallon.

3. Mastic, ½ 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, ½ 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.

FURNITURE VARNISH.

Shellac, 1¾ 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 shellac, 1 ounce; gamboge, ½ ounce.

Deep gold.--Orange shellac, 10 ounces; turmeric, 4 ounces; gamboge, 4 ounces; dragon’s blood, ½ ounce; spirit, ¾ gallon.

Brass lacquer.--Shellac, 14 ounces; turmeric, 4 ounces; annotto, 1 ounce; saffron, ½ 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, ¾ 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 wet shears, straightedge, 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 papering ceilings. For common sized rooms two step-ladders 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 another 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 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 body 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 arabic.

LIQUID GLUE.

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

TO CRYSTALIZE GLASS.

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

SIZE FOR WALLS BEFORE PAPERING OR KALSOMINING.

One pound good white glue, 1 pound good bar soap, 2 pounds pulverized alum. Dissolve each separately 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 expert 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 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 whitewash 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 adulterated 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-transparent, 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 manufacturers 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 the curved lines. Now divide these guide lines up into as many 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 letters. 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, keeping 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 long service. The above method will answer equally well on any smooth surface such as stone, iron, marble, 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 until 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 cement; 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.

WALL SIZING FOR KALSOMINING.

There are many things about wall sizing, which depend largely upon good judgment for success, because the treatment must be varied according to the condition of the wall or ceiling. A good size is made of good white glue, ½ pound; alum, 1 pound.

Dissolve the glue in the usual way; 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 will 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 with 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, because kalsomine is liable to scale off from shellac.

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 practicable 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 kalsomine, 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 formation of letters generally.

LIST OF PRICES AND MODE OF MEASUREMENT.

Prices for Painting and Glazing.

SQUARE MEASURE.

Plain weather boarding, 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, recesses, 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 1 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.

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 mouldings, etc:

----_Each Coat_---- _Girth._ _Per Foot._ _Varnish._

1 to 4 inches ½c ¾c 4 to 6 inches ¾c 1 c 6 to 8 inches 1 c 1¼c 8 to 10 inches 1¼c 1½c 10 to 12 inches 1½c 1¾c 12 to 14 inches 1¾c 2 c 14 to 16 inches 2 c 2¼c 16 to 18 inches 2¼c 2½c 18 to 20 inches 2½c 2¾c 20 to 22 inches 2¾c 3 c 22 to 24 inches 3 c 3¼c

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.