French Polishing and Enamelling | Page 2

Reviver 86
CHAPTER X.

MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES. Oil Polish 87 Wax Polish 87 Waterproof French Polish 88
Varnish for Musical Instruments 88 French Varnish for Cabinet-work 89 Mastic Varnish
89 Cabinet-maker's Varnish 90 Amber Varnish 90 Colourless Varnish with Copal 90
Seedlac Varnish 91 Patent Varnish for Wood or Canvas 91 Copal Varnish 91 Carriage
Varnish 92 Transparent Varnish 92 Crystal Varnish for Maps, etc. 92 Black Varnish 92
Black Polish 93 Varnish for Iron 93 Varnish for Tools 93 To Make Labels Adhere to a
Polished Surface 94 To Remove French Polish or Varnish from Old Work 94 Colouring
for Carcase Work 94 Cheap but Valuable Stain for the Sap of Black Walnut 95 Polish
(American) for Removing Stains, etc., from Furniture 96 Walnut Stain to be used on Pine
and White-wood 96 Rosewood Stain 97 Rosewood Stain for Cane Work, etc. 97 French
Polish Reviver 98 Morocco Leather Reviver 98 Hair-cloth Reviver 99 To Remove Grease
Stains from Silks, Damasks, Cloth, etc. 99 To Remove Ink Stains from White Marble 99
CHAPTER XI.
MATERIALS USED. Alkanet-root 100 Madder-root 100 Red-sanders 101 Logwood 101
Fustic 102 Turmeric 102 Indigo 103 Persian Berries 103 Nut-galls 103 Catechu 103 Thus
104 Sandarach 104 Mastic 104 Benzoin 104 Copal 105 Dragon's Blood 106 Shellac 106
Amber 107 Pumice-stone 107 Linseed-oil 108 Venice Turpentine 110 Oil of Turpentine
110 Methylated Spirits 110

FRENCH POLISHING
AND
ENAMELLING.
CHAPTER I.
_THE IMPROVING AND PREPARATION OF FURNITURE WOODS._
For a French polisher to be considered a good workman he should, in addition to his
ordinary ability to lay on a good polish, possess considerable knowledge of the various
kinds of wood used for furniture, as well as the most approved method of bringing out to
the fullest extent their natural tones or tints; he should also be able to improve the inferior
kinds of wood, and to stain, bleach, or match any of the fancy materials to which his art is
applied, in a manner that will produce the greatest perfection. The following information
is given to facilitate a thorough knowledge of the above processes.
=Improving.=--Iron filings added to a decoction of gall-nuts and vinegar will give to
ebony which has been discoloured an intense black, after brushing over once or twice.
Walnut or poor-coloured rosewood can be improved by boiling half an ounce of
walnut-shell extract and the same quantity of catechu in a quart of soft-water, and
applying with a sponge. Half a pound of walnut husks and a like quantity of oak bark
boiled in half a gallon of water will produce much the same result. Common mahogany
can be improved by rubbing it with powdered red-chalk (ruddle) and a woollen rag, or by

first wiping the surface with liquid ammonia, and red-oiling afterwards. For a rich mild
red colour, rectified spirits of naphtha, dyed with camwood dust, or an oily decoction of
alkanet-root. Methylated spirits and a small quantity of dragon's blood will also produce a
mild red. Any yellow wood can be improved by an alcoholic solution of Persian berries,
fustic, turmeric, or gamboge. An aqueous decoction of barberry-root will serve the same
purpose. Birch when preferred a warm tint may be sponged with oil, very slightly tinted
with rose-madder or Venetian red; the greatest care should be used, or it will be rendered
unnatural in appearance by becoming too red. Maple which is of a dirty-brown colour, or
of a cold grey tint, and mahogany, ash, oak, or any of the light-coloured woods, can be
whitened by the bleaching fluid (see "MATCHING"). Numerous materials may be
improved by the aid of raw linseed-oil mixed with a little spirits of turpentine. Artificial
graining may be given to various woods by means of a camel-hair pencil and raw oil; two
or three coats should be given, and after standing for some time the ground should have
one coat of oil much diluted with spirits of turpentine, and then rubbed off.
=Matching.=--Old mahogany furniture which has been repaired may be easily matched
by wiping over the new portions with water in which a nodule of lime has been dissolved,
or by common soda and water. The darkeners for general use are dyed oils, logwood,
aquafortis, sulphate of iron, and nitrate of silver, with exposure to the sun's rays. For new
furniture in oak, ash, maple, etc., the process of matching requires care and skill. When it
is desirable to render all the parts in a piece of furniture of one uniform tone or tint,
bleach the dark parts with a solution of oxalic acid dissolved in hot water (about
two-pennyworth of acid to half a pint of water is a powerful solution); when dry, if this
should not be sufficient, apply the white stain (see pp. 11, 12) delicately toned down, or
the light parts