The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Furniture Finishing
Spirit shading stain may be used to advantage by spraying over the shellac, sealer or filler coat provided the body stain color is not too dark. (See Book III, Chapter I.) On carved oak and walnut frames it is often the practice to antique dust in the recesses; frames of Spanish or Italian design are frequently polychromed in gold, red, blue and green.
PAINTED FRAMES
Frames in solid colors may be finished by any of the methods outlined in Chapters VIII and XIV. Book V; the primer coats may be dipped as well as sprayed or brushed. Decoration consists largely of striping and antique or color glazing.
Enameled wood furniture
APART from the special types considered elsewhere in this book, enameled furniture includes bedroom and living room suites, the finish for which will be described first, and bathroom and juvenile pieces. The choice of the method for the former depends largely on the grade and style, the woods being chiefly birch and gum, although mahogany, oak and walnut may also be used provided they are first surfaced with paste wood filler and shellac wash coated.
PAINT AND VARNISH
On lower-priced work of gum a sealer wash coat of shellac or shellac substitute is first applied, sanded in three or four hours, puttied where necessary with white lead-varnish putty and given one coat flat paint undercoater, finely ground so as to require only a light sanding in eighteen hours. Decorations consisting of shading, stipple glazing or decalcomania transfers are then applied, followed by one coat flat varnish to avoid rubbing. For better grade popular furniture an extra coat of paint undercoater may be substituted for the shellac sealer coat and rubbing varnish substituted for flat varnish. It would also be possible to mask off and two-tone on frame, drawer fronts or overlays and add banding or striping to decorations, using a different shade of flat enamel for the former and japan color for the latter.
PAINT AND LACQUER
On high grade work, usually birch, two coats of paint undercoater, each carefully sanded, are followed by shading, then decoration consisting of striping and hand-painting. If desired to spray stipple or shade as well, a coat of 3 lb.-cut white shellac is applied, sanded smooth, followed by two coats of pale body lacquer, both sprayed on the same day, but the second allowed to stand three days before rubbing. Flat lacquer may be used as second lacquer coat to save rubbing.
