After applying this kind allow it to dry. Sand-paper the surface flat and apply a second coat of half the strength.
Stains produced from drugs and chemicals include such materials as logwood, bichromate of potash, ammonia, iron sulphate, acetate of iron, etc.
The preparation of the surfaces to be finished is very important and means the removing of any defects, such as scratches, by means of plane, scraper, and fine sand-paper.
These defects always show much more prominently after polishing than before, so that too great pains cannot be taken in preparation. Assuming that the surface is ready, the first question to be considered is whether the wood is open or close grained. If an open grained wood, a coat of filler may be used; if close grained this may be dispensed with. The following list will enable the beginner to decide:
| Open grained woods requiring filler: |
| Oak, ash, chestnut, mahogany, walnut, butternut. |
| Close grained woods; no filler required: |
| White wood, pine, cherry, birch, beech, gum, sycamore or buttonball; maple, cedar, cypress, red wood. |
Filler may be made at home, but it is a staple article to be found in paint stores and it is advisable to buy it ready made. It comes in paste and liquid forms, and the paste is recommended. It must be thinned with turpentine to the consistency of cream and applied with a brush. As soon as it begins to dry, rub off the excess across the grain with a handful of excelsior, waste, burlap, or rags and allow it to stand over night to dry.
When the wood is to be stained the colour is frequently mixed with the filler.
The object of all this is to fill up the pores of the wood to give a flat, solid surface for the polishing. Sometimes even on open grained woods filler is omitted entirely.
Suppose that the work in hand is a footstool or tabourette made of oak and we wish to give it a forest green finish.