Rosewood, Coromandel, or Kingwood (a Bright Finish).—Apply two thin coats of shellac, sand-papering each coat; then apply three or four coats of Zanzibar polishing varnish, laying it on thin, and giving it sufficient time to dry thoroughly. When it is perfectly hard, rub down with pumice and water. Polish with rotten-stone to a fine lustre, clean up with sweet-oil, and vapour up the oil with a damp alcohol rag. The result is a splendid mirror-like polish. This is the method employed in polishing pianofortes in America.
Walnut.—For a cheap finish, apply one coat of yellow shellac. When dry, sand-paper down. Apply with brush; rub in well; clean off with rags. This gives a very fair finish.
For a medium dead finish apply two or three coats of yellow shellac. When dry, rub down with pumice and raw linseed-oil; clean up well; varnish-polish the panels.
For finish. Before using the above filling, give the work one coat of white shellac. When dry, sand-paper down, and apply the above filling. Give two coats of white shellac; rub down with pumice and raw linseed-oil; clean up well with brown japan and spirits of turpentine, mixed. Wipe off. This is a good imitation of wax-finish; it is waterproof, and will not spot as wax-finish does. The panels are to be varnished-polished. This is to be used with the improved filling No. 2.
For finish. Apply three coats of yellow shellac; rub down with pumice and raw linseedoil; clean off well. Varnish-polish the panels. Use this with the oil colour No. 3.
Finishing Cheap Work.—With One Coat of Varnish.—Give the work a coat of boiled linseed-oil; immediately sprinkle dry whiting upon it, and rub it well in with tow all over the surface. The whiting absorbs the oil and completely fills the pores of the wood. For black walnut add a little dry burnt umber. For mahogany or cherry add a little Venetian red, according to the colour of the wood. The application can be made to turned work while in motion in the lathe. Clean off well with rags. The work can then be finished with a single coat of varnish, and for cheap work makes a very good finish.
For varnishing large surfaces, a two-inch oval varnish brush is to be used first to lay out the varnish, and then a two-inch flat badger flowing-brush for a softener. The latter lays down moats and bubbles left by the large brush. A perfectly smooth glass-like surface is thus obtained. When not in use, these tools should be put into a pot containing raw linseed-oil and spirits of turpentine. This keeps them in a better working condition than if they are kept in varnish, making them clean and soft. Standing in varnish they congeal and become hard as the spirit evaporates from the varnish. For shellacing a large surface use a two-inch bristle brush; for small work, such as carvings and mouldings, use a one-and-a-half inch flat brush. These brushes when not in use should be taken from the various pots and deposited in an earthen pot sufficiently large to hold all the shellac brushes used in the shop. Put in enough of raw linseed-oil and thin shellac to cover the bristles of the brushes. Kept in this manner, they will remain clean and elastic, and will wear much longer.
Wax Finishing.—Take ½ gall. of turpentine, 1½ lb. yellow beeswax, 1 lb. white beeswax, ½ lb. white rosin. Pulverise the rosin, and shave the wax into fine shavings. Put the whole into the turpentine, and dissolve it cold. If dissolved by a fire-heat, the vitality of the wax is destroyed. When it is thoroughly dissolved, mix well and apply with a stiff brush. Rub well in, and clean off with rags. When dry, it is ready for shellac or varnish as may be desired.
A Varnish Polish.—Take 10 oz. gum shellac, 1 oz. gum sandarach, 1 drachm Venice turpentine, 1 gall. alcohol. Put the mixture into a jug for a day or two, shaking occasionally. When dissolved it is ready for use. Apply a few coats. Polish by rubbing smooth.
For the commonest kind of work in black walnut a very cheap polish can be made in the following manner: Take 1 gall. of turpentine, 2 lb. pulverised asphaltum, 1 qt. boiled linseed-oil, 2 oz. Venetian red. Put the mixture in a warm place and shake occasionally. When it is dissolved, strain and apply to the wood with a stiff brush. Rub well with cloth when dry. Then take 1 pt. of thin shellac, ½ pt. boiled linseed-oil. Shake it well before using. Apply with cloth, rubbing briskly, and you will have a fine polish.