Varnishing. The art of applying varnishes to various surfaces. .This requires experience and care, both in the selection of appropriate varnishes, and in the manner of applying them.

2972. To Finish Walnut Wood for Varnishing

2972.      To Finish Walnut Wood for Varnishing. Mix, with good whiting, such colors as will produce as near as possible the color of the wood to be filled. This mixture to bo dry. Then give the wood a good coat of oil, and sprinkle the mixture over the work until it is pretty well covered; then, with a soft rag or other soft substance, rub this in well. Wipe off all superfluous material. Let dry thoroughly, and varnish. This mode is far superior to sizing.

2973. Finishing Walnut

2973.    Finishing Walnut. For filling walnut wood, there arc many compounds in use, several of them under patents; that which discolors the wood the least, and at the same time produces a fine finish, is the most simple of them all, being nothing but fine rye flour mixed with boiled oil, Japan and turpentine, ground fine in a paint mill, and slightly colored with burnt umber.

2974. To Varnish Walnut Furniture

2974.   To Varnish Walnut Furniture. In dressing over old furniture, the first thing to be done is to wash it over with lime, or soda and water, to remove all effects of grease from sweaty hands, which will prevent varnish from flowing freely or hardening well. If the work requires refilling, rye flour, wheat flour, corn starch, or Paris white, ground fine in oil and turpentine, will do; but 1 or 2 coats of shellac should be laid on and rubbed smooth before applying the varnish. Work finished in oil, without varnish, should be filled with a harder substance than starch. Some use white wax reduced in turpentine; but what is better is a compound of equal parts, by weight, of whiting, plaster of Paris, pumice stone, and litharge, to which may bo added a little French yellow, asphaltum, Vandyke brown, and terra di Sienna. Mix with 1 part Japan, 2 of boiled oil, and 3 of turpentine. Grind fine in a mill. Lay the filling on with a brash, rub it in well, let it set 20 minutes, then rub off clean. Let it harden 2 or 3 days, then rub smooth, and, if required, repeat the process. When the filling is satisfactory, finish with linseed oil, put on with a brush; wipe off, and rub to a polish with fine cotton; finish with a silk handkerchief, or any fine fabric. When the furniture is cleaned and filled, proceed as directed in the next receipt.

2975. To Varnish Furniture

2975.    To Varnish Furniture. When the work is quite clean, fill up all knots or blemishes with cement of the same color. See that the brush is clean, and free from loose hairs ; then dip it in the varnish, stroke it along the wire raised across the top of the varnish pot, and give the work a thin and regular coat. This must be done as quickly as possible; and yet not quickly enough to cause the varnish to foam or bubble as it leaves the brush, always taking care not to pass the brush twice over the same place, if it can possibly be avoided. Let it stand to dry in a moderately warm place, that the varnish may not chill. Varnish must always be applied in a moderately warm room, where the air is dry and free from dust; and care must be taken never to apply a second coat until the former one has become quite dry. It requires practice to find out how much varnish to take in the brush. Enough must be left on an upright surface to ensure a perfect coating; but too much will settle downwards before it sets and make unsightly ridges as it dries. On a horizontal surface, a trifle more varnish can be applied than on an upright one, but not much more; as a too thick coating, even if it cannot ran, will dry neither hard nor smooth. After giving the work about 6 or 7 coats, let it get quite hard (which you will prove by pressing your knuckles on it; if it leave a mark, it is not hard enough); then, with the first three fingers of the hand, rub the varnish until it chafes, and proceed over that part of the work you mean to polish, in order to take out all the streaks or partial lumps made by the brash; then give it another coat, and let it stand a day or two to harden. The best vessel for holding varnish is sold at color shops, called a varnish pan. It is constructed of tin, with a false bottom; the interval between the two bottoms is filled with sand, which, being heated over the fire, keeps the varnish fluid, and it flows more readily from the brush. There is a tin handle to it, and the false bottom slopes from one end to the other, which causes the varnish to run to one end. It has also a wire fixed across the top, to wipe the brush against.