HOW TO PAINT A PLASTERED WALL.
Prime with lead and raw oil, tinted like succeeding coats. Have the prime thin, not more than five pounds of white lead to the gallon of oil; add a little benzine or turps to make it more penetrating. If the room is cool, warm up your prime before you add the benzine or turps. The idea is to have it penetrate as much as possible; brush the prime well into the wall. If it is a sand wall, brush off the loose sand. If it is a smooth one, putty coated or hard finished wall, see that there are no lumps or grains of sand left on the surface. It is a good idea to pass the hand over the wall to feel the lumps, and to knock off lumps and grains of sand by going over the work with sandpaper.
For second coat use glue size, made as directed on another page.
Third coat. Mix so as to dry with a gloss, have the body fairly thick, and spread it well out. Mix with 3 parts linseed oil to 1 part turps.
Fourth coat.—If this coat is to be flat, mix it thick enough to cover well; mix mainly with turps, if the weather is hot, or from any other cause the paint don’t work well, add a little linseed oil. For an egg shell gloss, use about 1 part oil and 3 parts turps.
If the wall is to be finished in stipple, mix the last coat half oil and half turps, rather thick, and add a little japan. To stipple strike the paint evenly and continuously with the square end of a large brush, made for the purpose; a new clean duster will do. Let the stippler follow the painters. The coat of glue size saves two coats of paint. It is put on after the prime to keep moisture and air from the glue, otherwise it would be liable to decay.
Use boiled oil in all coats except priming coat. Have only enough difference in the color of the different coats, so you can see where you have painted, and not leave holidays; especially in rooms where the light is not very good.
Some painters advocate (especially on hard finished wall) a good filling of clear linseed oil, before any paint is put on to keep the surface from fire cracking.
It is risky business to paint a new hot wall; in such cases if it must be done before the lime has become somewhat neutralized, give it a coat of vinegar, and let it stand a day or so before you put on the prime. The vinegar will neutralize the lime and not hurt the priming.