Graining is generally done with “distemper colour,” that is a kind of paint in which whiting and size are used instead of white lead and oil, for the basis of the colour; but the colours depend on the sort of grain to be imitated, and they are applied in various ways and with different sorts of brushes, some of the colour being occasionally removed with a piece of wash leather, in order to give the appearance of the light marks seen in the “heart” of the wood. The appearance of the “grain” of the wood is effected by the graining comb, a comb with short thick straight teeth, which is drawn along the paint in a wavy line.
Graining Comb. Painter’s Brush.
Marbles are imitated in oil if it is outside work and exposed to the weather, but for inside work distemper colour is frequently used.
Occasionally walls are coloured in distemper, and it then frequently happens that a pattern or some ornamental design is painted in the centres of the panels, or round the mouldings. This is a part of the Painter’s trade which requires much skill, and a knowledge of artistic drawing and design.
Varnishing is an operation requiring great care to perform it properly, since it is necessary not only to choose the right kind of varnish, but also to apply it to the surface of the paint with a light but firm hand. Varnishes are made of gums or resins melted, spirits of wine, oil of turpentine, or strong white drying oil. The hard varnishes dry rapidly, and are made of the harder kinds of gums, such as copal, mastic, &c., and the soft of Canada balsam, elemi, turpentine, &c. The most useful for the House Painter are those of copal, linseed oil, and turpentine.
The brushes used in varnishing are generally flat, so as to enable the workman to lay an even surface on the work. Varnishes are usually kept in wide-mouthed bottles; from which they are poured into little tin pans with a false bottom above the real bottom, the space between the two being filled with sand. The use of this is that when the pan is placed over the fire, the sand becomes heated, and the varnish is kept a long time from becoming chilled.
THE GLAZIER.
