The Proportions of Materials.
—We come to a consideration of the proper proportions of materials, viz., white lead (or other white), oil, turpentine and driers—the colour we shall speak about shortly—to be used on various kinds of work.
Fig. 4.
A little consideration will make it quite clear that it is impossible to give exact proportions of materials that will suit every job. These proportions are determined by the condition of the work. A new door of good sound pine will be treated differently to one made of an inferior wood, which is knotty and somewhat sappy. Again, a door that has been exposed to the weather for some years, and from which the paint has, perhaps, almost wholly departed, will require a different mixture to a front door from which the accumulation of old paint, extending, perhaps, to over one hundred years, has been burnt off. Precisely in the same way as patent medicines cannot be safely used for any and every complaint, so it is impossible to have paints that will suit any and every purpose. In one case the doctor is consulted and he takes into consideration every symptom and every condition and acts upon his diagnosis or scrutiny of symptoms. In like manner the decorator takes note of every condition of his work, and prepares his paint accordingly. Again, iron would not be painted with the same mixture as wood. Still if we cannot give exact proportions, we can, at least, give some information on the subject, which will form a guide and give some data for the reader to work upon. These we will give under separate heads.