The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Furniture Finishing
Since the world war greater color variety has been introduced alike into the bathroom and kitchen furniture. This is due to the fact that both rooms are being given more and more of a decorative treatment in curtains, wall colors and wallpaper patterns. Plain white does not harmonize with these, so that greens, blues and warm grays have become the vogue in order to carry out the scheme fully.
Metal bathroom or kitchen furniture is enameled as outlined under Refrigerators and Kitchen Cabinets, the former by dipping.
School Funiture
SCHOOL desks and seats are usually constructed chiefly of maple, but some oak or birch. Owing to the abuse to which they are necessarily subjected, it is impracticable to do more than give them the toughest finish possible consistent with the fact that any great expense will very likely be wasted. The wood finish which will resist juvenile pocket knives, pens and metal buttons has not yet been invented.
OAK
Oak is usually filled a light brown antique color with paste combination stain and filler. Over this a thin sealer coat of shellac is applied, followed by a coat of clear varnish first coater and a finish coat of flat varnish or print-proof coach left in the natural gloss. The shellac and varnish first coater are lightly sanded and for production work, lacquer sealer and gloss lacquer may be substituted.
BIRCH AND MAPLE
These two woods are close grained and require no filler. They are best stained with a light gray water stain or a shade known as "school brown,' a hazelnut shade readily procurable from leading stain manufacturers. Over this is applied a full coat of orange shellac followed by the varnishes above mentioned. Two coats of clear body lacquer may be sprayed over the sealer where extra durability is desired.
STANDARDS
The cast iron standards for desks and seats are finished by dipping in black, gray or brown baking japan, one coat, to bake at about 275° F. for one hour.
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For a more decorative color finish, as on opera scats, two coats lacquer enamel direct on metal, banded or striped, or crackle finish are sprayed. A one coat baking enamel in an olive tone of green or brown is also employed on steel folding chairs and tube steel.
