The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Furniture Finishing
6.—Combination stain-filler in gray, brown or bright novelty colors, lacquer shading stain, one or more coats of flat lacquer, varnish or wax. If desired a pigment wiping stain may be applied and the work left unfilled for an antique flat lacquer finish.
7.—Lacquer enamel reduced one part to four or more of reducer, white or colored filler, one coat of pale gloss or flat lacquer. The above finishes may be enlivened by high lighting, two toning with paint or a darker shade of stain, hand-painting, vein lining, transfers, imitation marquetry or striping. Oak in addition mav be frosted, banded and stenciled.
Underwaters should be carefully adapted to the nature of the wood. Thus, where soft woods like gum, basswood, magnolia and poplar are employed, the oil primer should be given an extra proportion of boiled oil to satisfy suction, but if the wood is hard like birch or maple, the addition of a little turpentine will increase penetration and insure a firmer anchorage.
Unless the wood is sanded to perfect smoothness and patched where necessary with white lead or lacquer putty, a flawlessly smooth finish is impossible. Moreover the better the grade of undercoater, i.e., the more finely it is ground, the less necessity there will be for sanding and hence danger of cutting through nibs.
OIL ENAMEL
8.—Two coats oil undercoater, tinted to desired shade, followed by one coat eggshell enamel left natural or one coat gloss enamel, rubbed dull. Decorate over top coat with japan color mixed in a little rubbing varnish to even up lustre. On coarser grained lumber an extra coat of enamel is often advisable.
PAINT UNDERCOATER AND VARNISH
9.—Three coats oil undercoater, tinted to desired shade, decorate and protect with one coat rubbing varnish rubbed dull or one coat flat varnish. The varnish will turn the lighter shades of undercoat color somewhat and this should be allowed for in selecting the shade. If desired the third primer coat may be eliminated in favor of a coat of white shellac as a base for decorations, or an extra shellac coat may be applied just prior to the varnish. Flat varnish is not so desirable on table tops as rubbing varnish.
PAINT UNDERCOATER AND CLEAR LACQUER
10.—Same as above except that gloss lacquer or flat lacque is substituted for rubbing varnish and flat varnish. This is speedier, but the materials used in decorating as well as the undercoater itself must be of a nature rendering them adaptable for use under lacquer without softening.
