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

Furniture Finishing

Both of these finishing systems are necessarily slow as paints on cypress are slow drying—thick undercoats heavy in oil often scale. Cypress, while noted for its resistance to decay, also contains an oily sap which feels waxy to the touch; to remove or neutralize this for painting, a preliminary wash with benzine is desirable, adding benzole to the first coat in addition, as above mentioned.

All end wood should be sealed with paste white lead so as to prevent penetration of moisture at these vulnerable points, especially on legs.

METAL

Metal outdoor furniture comprises the stands of porch swings and lawn marquees, also lawn chairs and benches. Either two coats of automobile grade lacquer enamel in desired colors or one of these finishing methods may be followed: (1) One coat of baking metal primer (red lead, red oxide or sublimed blue lead base), reduced 3 parts to 1 of turpentine for spraying, 4 to 1 for brushing, and baked 5 hours at 200° F. or force-dried overnight at 110 to 120 ° F., followed by one coat gloss baking enamel, green, gray or dark brown, at 200° F. for two hours, or (2) one coat gloss baking japan, baked one hour at 250° P., or (3) one coat air-drying metal primer (bases as above), air dried in 18 to 24 hours, followed by one coat green or maroon color varnish, air dried forty-eight hours.

Office Furniture


OFFICE furniture in the main is constructed of oak, walnut or mahogany and comprises desks, chairs, filing cases, hat trees, tables and benches. (For Metal, see Chapters IX and X.I

Oak is usually first filled with paste filler or combination stain and filler in paste form, shellaced and given one coat each varnish pigment first coater and flat varnish or lacquer sealer and flat lacquer. The shade of the filler is natural or a very light golden color.

Walnut is customarily stained a medium light shade with oil or water stain, followed by a coat of thin shellac, brown or transparent black wood filler, body shellac and two coats rub- bing varnish or lacquer sealer and gloss or flat lacquer.

Mahogany is water stained a colonial red color, such as obtained by mixing two ounces standard mahogany red with four ounces standard mahogany brown aniline powder in one gallon water; a water stain is essential as an oil or spirit stain would quickly fade under the strong light to which office furniture is subjected. The stain is followed by a wash coat of shellac, a red or transparent black paste wood filler, a body shellac coat and two coats rubbing varnish or gloss rubbing lacquer.