TO FINISH REDWOOD.
Take one quart of spirits turpentine; add one pound of corn starch; quarter of a pound burnt sienna; one tablespoonful raw linseed oil and one tablespoonful brown japan. Mix thoroughly, apply with the brush, let it stand, say, fifteen minutes, rub off all you can with fine shavings or a soft rag, let it stand at least twenty-four hours that it may sink into and harden the fibers of the wood; afterward apply two coats of white shellac, rub down well with fine flint paper, then put on from two to five coats best polishing varnish; after it is well dried rub with water and pumice stone ground very fine; stand a day to dry; after being washed clean with a chamois rub with water and rotten stone; dry; wash as before clean, and rub with olive oil until dry. Some use cork for sandpapering and polishing, but a smooth block of hardwood like maple is better. When treated in this way, redwood will be found the peer of any wood for real beauty and life as a house trim or finish.