WHITE ENAMEL
A vivid and very effective finish for furniture as well as for the trim of some rooms is white enamel. It is used on new work and also in re-finishing old furniture and other woodwork. In the latter case the old finish, whatever it may be, must be removed and the surfaces thoroughly sand-papered. But whether the wood be old or not, a satisfactory enamel finish cannot be produced by using the white varnish alone, since, like all other varnishes, it is somewhat transparent. It is necessary, first, to coat the wood with flat white—a paint made of white lead with some zinc oxide for hardening and thinned with turpentine. Oil should not be used in any part of the process. Three coats of this paint will generally be needed to produce the right surface for the final finish. Each of these coats should be allowed to dry and become well hardened. Two or three days, better still a week, should be allowed for hardening between coats, since insufficient hardening leads to cracks in the subsequent coats and develops a tendency to chip off. When a surface is ready for the enamel, only one coat of it should be applied, and that should be given not less than one week to harden before it is exposed to wear. Enamel is simply a good varnish coloured with zinc oxide ground in varnish. It may be thinned, if necessary, with turpentine, and it is applied with a brush like any other varnish.