Photograph by Helen W. Cooke
Staining and Polishing.
The process would be as follows:
Prepare the stain by mixing a small quantity of chrome yellow and Prussian blue on a piece of wood. Mix thoroughly with a putty knife or old chisel and thin with boiled linseed oil and turpentine; add blue or yellow until a beautiful dark green is obtained. Add this to the filler, using turpentine for thinning, until the whole mass of liquid is the desired colour and as thick as cream. Paint the footstool all over with this filler. As soon as it starts to dry, rub off as explained.
The next day sand-paper smooth and give a coat of shellac. When hard, sand-paper flat and give a second coat of shellac.
From this point on the process depends on whether a glossy polish is desired or a dead flat surface. For an article of furniture like a footstool a highly polished surface would be a mistake, as it would soon be scratched, and while furniture is not to be abused, it is to be used, and shoe nails make scratches.
A dead flat surface may be obtained by rubbing down the third coat of shellac with fine ground pumice stone or rotten stone and water. If too flat, rub the surface with raw linseed oil and wipe dry.
Some boys will obtain a better finish with two coats of shellac than others will with four.