The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Furniture Finishing

PAINT OR LACQUER ENAMEL

On painted furniture, notably breakfast room suites, radio cabinets, odd living room pieces and the like, the body color is built up all over, whereupon a given portion is masked off with heavy manila or oiled paper held taut at the edges with iron weights. A contrasting shade is then sprayed on so as to show only on the outer edge or centre portion, the legs banded to match. A band of gold bronze or paint stripe of a third color may be run wherever the two contrasting shades meet, although this is not essential, if the division is clean, except for additional decorative effect. Stain may be combined with paint as where a table top is stained dark gray and an outer band sprayed on in red, blue or black enamel. Favorite two-tone color combinations are Chinese red and black with gold bronze dividing stripe, ivory and blue striped dark blue, gray and rich blue, gray and pink, white and blue, light green and lavender, black and gold, etc. A shaded mist or stippled glaze coat of a third shade on the border or in the center sometimes lends additional novelty interest.


Carving and Mouldings


IN THIS clay of mass production and popular prices genuine hand carving on furniture is a rarity. When met with wo should keep in mind the injunction not to attempt gilding the lily or painting the rose. Like these two flowers, fine hand carving is beautiful enough in itself to require no further embellishment ; at most for an antique effect we may high-light the stain by sanding or steel wooling lightly when dry. Great care should be taken to pick out with a shoe-handle stiff bristle brush all filler and pumice stone slush or it will show up white and unsightly upon drying. Carvings of open grained woods like oak. walnut or mahogany are not easy to fill with paste wood filler; extra coats of shellac or french polish are usually relied upon to level up the pores.

VARIETIES

Most of the carving seen on modern furniture is made by machine, sometimes pressed from real wood or pulp but often moulded from a composition of sawdust and glue or rosin, whiting and boiled linseed oil and japan dryer. The former especially, where they show the wood grain, may be stained along with the rest of the piece, but the latter and more brittle varieties will not take a stain and must be painted and decorated. Water stain would soften the glue and oil stains turn dark; if necessary to procure a stain effect, shellac lightly and tone with spirit stain of desired shade mixed in shellac. Ormolu imitations are obtained by painting in solid with gold bronze, pale or Roman, mixed with varnish bronzing liquid.