The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Coloring Finishing And Painting Wood
After a satisfactory polish has been secured on a polishing- or finishing-varnish by use of rottenstone and an oil composed of 1/4 to 1/2. oz. of lemon oil to a pint of neutral oil, the surface should be thoroly cleaned. The human hand, if the skin is in good condition and without callouses, makes the best polishing-pad. The hand should be wet with polishing-oil at the start of the process, and nearly dry at the finish. After rubbing carefully with the lemonoil polish, using a circular motion, the surface should be cleaned in order to remove any particles of rottenstone. The surface may be wiped off with a lemon-oil polish which contains no rottenstone.
"Spiriting-off" may be done with a soft wad of cloth which has been dampened but is not wet with denatured alcohol. The excess of alcohol should be wrung out of the polishing-rag. Great care must be taken in "spiriting-off" the surface, or the alcohol will burn thru the varnish and spoil the finish. The polishing-pad should be kept moving in circles, and not allowed to come to a rest for a moment on the surface. Some finishers dampen the rubbing-cloth with water, then wring it dry. They next dampen the rag with alcohol slightly and wring it nearly dry in order to reduce the strength of the alcohol by putting it on a moist rag instead of a dry one. The quick wiping in the "spiriting-off" process cleans the polishing-oil from the surface and leaves a clean brilliant luster.
234. Varnish-Removers.—Certain liquids when applied to varnished surfaces possess strong enough solvent action to soften the dry and hard films in such a manner that they can be scraped off. Some of the solvent liquids commonly used in varnish-removers are denatured and wood alcohol, benzol, acetone, amyl acetate, butyl acetate, fusel-oil, strong caustic soda solution with water and also ammonia and other alkalies.
Many varnish-removers contain paraffin in various amounts sometimes in quantities sufficient to make the remover appear like a thin paste. The wax is used to keep the volatile liquids from evaporating too rapidly from the varnish-coatings. Such thick paraffin removers are especially useful on vertical and oblique surfaces. Every trace of wax, such as paraffin, must be removed before the surface can be refinished because shellac and varnish will not adhere properly to material that has wax on it. Benzine, gasoline, or turpentine can be added to dissolve and remove the paraffin.
Acetone is often an important ingredient in the better grades of varnish-removers, while cheaper solvents, such as alcohol and benzol, are the chief ingredients in inexpensive removers.
Many formulas for varnish-removers contain liquids that will burn the skin, and all such mixtures must be applied with rubber gloves, or with care to keep the liquid away from the hands entirely.
Varnish-removers that contain alkalies are liable to darken the wood to some extent. The amount of darkening is not usually serious or very objectionable except on very light-colored woods.
