With Copal or Zanzibar Varnish.—As a substitute for filling, the wood may receive one coat of native coal-oil, thinned with benzine-spirits; then apply one coat of shellac, and follow with varnish, as desired. The time is not far distant when manufacturers must and will use varnish for the finishing of all kinds of furniture on account of the high price of shellac. Furniture finished in the last-named method may be rubbed with either water or oil. Water has a tendency to harden varnish, while oil softens it. If water is used there will be a saving of oil and rags. In the other case shellac, when rubbed with oil, should be cleaned with japan. This removes the greasy and cloudy appearance which is left after the rubbing with oil, and the work will have a clean, dry, and brighter appearance than otherwise.
We suggest another idea for finishing black walnut for a cheap or a medium class of work. In the first place, fill the pores of the wood, and apply one thin coat of shellac to hold the filling in the pores of the wood. Let this stand one day; sand-paper down with fine paper, then with a brush apply a coat of coach japan. Rub well, and clean off with rags. Let this stand one day to dry, then, with some sand-paper that has been used before, take off the moats from the japan. Go over the whole surface with a soft rag saturated with japan; wipe and clean off carefully, and the job is finished. This, though a cheap finish, is a good one for this class of work.
We give one more method of finishing black walnut, that is, with boiled linseed-oil only, and there is no other way of obtaining a genuine oil-finish. Sand-paper the wood down smoothly; apply a coat of boiled linseed-oil over the whole surface; sand-paper well, and clean up dry with rags; let it stand one day to dry, then apply one more coat of oil; rub well in with rags, but do not use sand-paper on this coat. Apply three, four, or more coats in the same way. When the work has received the last coat of oil and is dry, sand-paper down with old paper. Then clean up with the best coach japan with rags, and let the work stand one day to dry. The panels are to be varnish-polished the same as other wood. The work is then finished, and ready for the warerooms.
This method takes a longer time than finishing with either varnish or shellac; but the cost is less both for materials and for labour, the workman being able to go over a greater surface in the same time. The work will stand longer, and the method gives a rich and close finish, bringing out the figure and rich colour of the wood better than in any other method of finishing. It does not cost so much as shellac finish; it only requires a little more time for drying between the coats of oil. In finishing in varnish or shellac, to get the body or surface for polishing three or four coats are frequently applied, which is liable to produce a dull cloudy appearance. For this reason, and having in view the high and increasing price of stock, it seems to us that this really superior method of finishing in oil must take the place of shellac and varnish-finish in good work.
Polishing Varnish.—This is certainly a tedious process, and considered by many a matter of difficulty. The following is the mode of procedure: Put two ounces of powdered tripoli into an earthen pot or basin, with water sufficient to cover it; then, with a piece of fine flannel four times doubled, laid over a piece of cork rubber, proceed to polish your varnish, always wetting it well with the tripoli and water. You will know when the process is complete by wiping a part of the work with a sponge and observing whether there is a fair and even gloss. Clean off with a bit of mutton suet and fine flour. Be careful not to rub the work too hard, or longer than is necessary to make the face perfectly smooth and even. Some workmen polish with rotten-stone, others with putty-powder, and others with common whiting and water; but tripoli, we think, will be found to answer best.
An American Polish Reviver.—Take of olive-oil 1 lb., of rectified oil of amber 1 lb., spirits of turpentine 1 lb., oil of lavender 1 oz., tincture of alkanet-root ½ oz. Saturate a piece of cotton batting with this polish, and apply it to the wood; then, with soft and dry cotton rags, rub well and wipe off dry. This will make old furniture in private dwellings, or that which has been shop-worn in warerooms, look as well as when first finished. The articles should be put into a jar or jug, well mixed, and afterwards kept tightly corked.
This is a valuable recipe, and is not known, the writer believes, outside of his practice.