The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
House Painting
But a more thorough method is to cut the crack out so that the channel thus made will be wider at its bottom than at the surface of the wall; thus it holds the plaster of paris more securely. Large holes are first filled to within an eighth of an inch of the surface and allowed o harden, and then filled flush; this is to avoid shrinkage. Whiting is powdered chalk; many mix this in equal quantity with plaster of paris, and wet it with glue-size; this mixture does not set quite as quickly as plaster alone. Size is made by soaking a pound of glue over-night in cold water; in the morning pour off the water, and, having the glue in a tin or enameled pail or pan, pour on it enough boiling water to make a gallon. Then stir immediately, and the glue will commonly dissolve at once. To this may be added two to four ounces of alum, previously dissolved in a little hot water. A common practice is to also add a quarter of a pound of any good bar-soap, which should have been cut into shavings to make it dissolve easily. When the size is cold it is ready for use and is applied with a brush. It should be a thin jelly. If it appears to be too thick (glues differ in this) it may be thinned with cold water to a consistency suitable for use with a brush. As has been said, if the wall has been repeatedly papered before, and if the paper comes off very easily, it should be sized before papering, and the size allowed to dry.
It may be well to say that one of the difficulties encountered by the amateur is the very quick drying of the paper on the wall. If it dries slowly, it may, if a mistake is made, be taken off and put on properly; that is, if in beginning to put on a piece it is found that a mistake is made, the end which has been put on may be moved to the right place; but if the work is going on in dry winter weather and the house is hot and dry, the paper must be put on exactly right the first thing, for it will dry enough so it will stick and tear. But if it is done in damp air in summer, when evaporation is slow, it is possible to be more deliberate, and this makes the work easier.
It has been said that size must be made and kept in metal vessels; this is because, if it is put in a wooden pail, that pail will probably never again be clean; and if the glue has begun to decompose in it, it will always be a source of trouble, and it may be of danger. The same is true of paste, and of kalsomine.
