The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
House Painting
Not less than four coats of varnish should be applied; the trouble with all floor-finishes is that they are too thin, and wear off too quickly; for a floor has harder usage than anything else. And plenty of time must be allowed for each coat to dry.
Second, we may varnish the floor with shellac varnish. The same rules apply to shellacking floors that have been given in regard to its use on other wood- work; it is the least discoloring of anything that can be put on a floor, and is a very good finish. It is not as hard or durable as a good oleo-resinous varnish, but a thin coat of it, which dries in a few minutes, can be quickly and easily applied once in a month or two (or much less often in rooms little used), and will keep it always looking well. White shellac is usually employed for floor- varnish.
Third, the floor may be waxed. It is common practice to first shellac the floor, one or two coats, and then apply the wax. The wax is not beeswax, but a harder wax; this is softened a little with oil, and then turpentine enough is added to make a paste,and this is put on the floor, and as soon as it is apparently dry it is polished by rubbing with a clean cloth or a brush. For this purpose a heavy-weighted brush, weighing ten to twenty pounds, is used, with a long handle like a mop-handle; with this the floor may be polished. After a week apply another coat of wax and polish again; keep this up for two months; after this it may be considered that the floor is properly waxed, and only a little need be applied. A waxed or varnished floor is always to be cleaned with a brush or with a broom wrapped in a soft cloth to avoid scratches. But the waxed floor, to be kept in fine condition, must be brush-polished every few days; and once in a couple of weeks should be sprinkled with a solution of wax in turpentine; or better, this may be put on with a brush or a cloth. Prepared floor-wax may now be bought everywhere, much better than the amateur can make.
A properly kept waxed floor is certainly the handsomest floor that is known; but if kept well polished it is excessively and, many people think, dangerously slippery.
It is not out of place here to tell of a very singular fact. A floor varnished every six months with a good Kauri varnish will keep buffalo moths out of rugs laid on it; similarly, a varnish of this kind thoroughly used about the woodwork, including the interiors of closets, has a very appreciable influence in keeping all sorts of insects out of a house. Shellac or wax will not do this.
