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Furniture Finishing

For obvious reasons there is little difference in applying enamel or varnish, enamel being a pigment ground in oil with varnish and having the same general qualities as to flowing and drying. If anything enamel sets quicker owing to it being heavier material and cannot be brushed out as much. The next paragraph, on varnish brushing, can be referred to for enamel brushing.

Almost anyone can brush on varnish without getting a rough surface, but there are many things to keep in mind to get the right kind of a job. The varnish must be laid on with a soft, thick, chisel-type brush. This brush must be clean at all times and kept in a solution calculated to keep the brush in excellent shape. Seldom thin varnish for brushing. It is intended to be used just as it comes from the original package, and many varnishes lose their drying qualities or gloss by thinning. They should be right to use as they come, but in very cold weather they should be heated by steam or hot water before using so they will flow out well.

Dip the brush in the pot and work it around until it is thoroughly saturated with varnish and then wipe on the bail or edge to take off surplus material and then apply to the surface, brushing back and forth and criss-cross until well worked into all the pores and does not pull away from any spot covered. After a surface is covered and brushed out well, draw the brush with the grain all the way across the surface at least twice to make the brush marks with the grain. Be sure that the brush does not leave surplus material to run down the edges or sides of a piece. Pick up all runs and sags and retouch all places skipped.

DRYING TIME FOR SECOND COATERS

Ordinarily one would not coat a piece the second time in the same day, but there are times when this can be done and must be done to speed up production or finish some piece hurriedly. All lacquer coatings, whether clear or opaque, can be surfaced any way in about six hours. Where forced drying is used, they may be surfaced in from two to four hours. The same is true of all spirit varnishes, as for example, shellac.

Oil varnishes and enamels are very slow-drying on account of the oils they contain which must dry by oxidation, and for this reason the drying time of these materials depends on the thickness of the coat and the amount of heat employed for their oxidation. In ordinary room temperature, few varnishes or enamels will dry for surfacing in less than twenty-four hours.

Synthetic gum varnishes known under various names such as 4 Hour Varnish. 2 Hour Varnish, Quick Rubbing Varnish, etc., will dry to recoat in four to six hours and can be rubbed the next day in ordinary room temperatures.