The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Furniture Finishing
Wiping.—With pigment oil stains this is a common practice, using a cheese cloth pad or pouch while the stain is still wet. working on sections of the piece at a time and constantly turning the outer layer of the pad or pouch so as to present a clean surface unclogged with material. The stain is brushed on in a uniform body color, easy wiping being possible in most cases for the next fifteen minutes, thereafter the cloth is best moistened with benzine. The serious drawback to aniline oil stains is that they take dark on porous spots and fail to penetrate hard ones, so that graduated "feathering" is often a problem where the wood is not of uniform texture.
Sanding.—With water and spirit stains the popular practice for hand high-lighting is to let them dry, then employ the abrasives above referred to, but it is also possible to wipe with a rag or pad moistened for the former with water, for the latter with alcohol. Compared to spraying this is tedious work and the danger of scratch marks showing through the finish as well as the risk of getting one part or another too light, necessitating retouching, is ever present. Nevertheless, on small objects in particular, like carvings, half round mouldings, turnings, candle sticks and similar work, a careful hand can turn out very respectable work.
SHADING OVER FILLER, SHELLAC AND LACQUER
For some classes of furniture, alike on panels, frame work and carving, a practice has arisen which bids fair to become commercially standard. The piece is first stained uniformly all over, usually in a rather light or only medium dark tone, then in the case of birch, gum and maple, shellac wash-coated, in the case of modern walnut or mahogany filled as well after the wash coat. If ordered out in a solid tone it is finished up in the regular way in lacquer or shellac and varnish, but if a shaded effect is specified, the piece is spray-shaded directly over the shellac or filler and then given the protective lacquer or varnish coats. Thus stock may be kept on hand to meet either kind of demand.
Aniline Spirit.—An ordinary water, oil or spirit stain, such as would be suitable on bare wood, will not serve—there must be some binder which will make it possible to adhere over filler, shellac, lacquer or varnish. A number of popular formulas follow, which, however, are only fair proof against fading:
(1) 3 oz. walnut spirit stain, 1/2 oz. spirit nigrosene, dissolved in 1 gallon denatured alcohol with 1 quart shellac substitute added.
(2) 1/8 oz. spirit nigrosene, 14 oz. Bismarck brown dissolved in 1 gallon denatured alcohol with 1 quart 4 lb-cut white shellac added.
(3) 11/4 oz. 127 spirit nigrosene, 1/4 oz. spirit loutre brown, 3 oz. Bismarck brown dissolved in 41/2 gallons denatured alcohol, with 1 gallon 4 lb.-cut white shellac added.
