As we have made so many remarks against painting wood, it is only right that we should give some description of it, which we will now do.
House painting, according to Mr. W. Papworth, in his lecture on “Fir, Deal, and House Painting,” 1857, did not come into general use until about the period of William and Mary, and Anne, up to which time either colouring by distemper or by whitewash had been in vogue for plaster work, leaving inside woodwork more or less untouched.
We think, without wishing to think too loud, that house painting was invented by a bad builder, in the seventeenth century, because
Putty and paint cover a multitude of sins.
The process of graining and marbling may be traced back as far at least as the time of James III. of Scotland (1567-1603), during whose reign a room of Hopetown Tower was painted in imitation of marble. Before that period, imitations were done in “stone” colour, “marble” colour, wainscot colour, &c. In 1676, marbling was executed as well as imitations of olive and walnut woods; and in 1688 tortoise-shell was copied on battens and mouldings. Mahogany was imitated in 1815, and maple wood in 1817. But why imitate mahogany, when the grain of the wood differs so much in texture, and in the appearance of the different and beautiful shades, technically termed roe, broken roe, bold roe, mottle, faint mottle, and dapple.
The following description will give the reader some idea of ordinary painting. The woodwork having been prepared for fixing, has first to undergo the process of “knotting,” in order to prevent the turpentine in the knots of fir-wood from passing through the several coats of paint. One method for best work is to cut out the knot whilst the work is at the bench to a slight depth, and to fill up the hole with a stiff putty made of white lead, japan, and turpentine. There are many ways of killing the knots: the best and surest is to cover them with gold or silver leaf. Sometimes a lump of fresh slaked lime is laid on for about twenty-four hours, then scraped off, a coating of “size knotting” applied, and if not sufficiently killed, they are coated with red and white lead in linseed oil, and rubbed down when dry. The general method is to cover the parts with size knotting, which is a preparation of red lead, white lead, and whitening, made into a thin paste with size. The most common mode is to paint them with red ochre, which is worth nothing. The next process is that of priming, which consists in giving a coat of white and red lead, and a little dryers in linseed oil. This is the first coat, and upon which the look of the paint on completion depends. This first, or priming coat, is put on before “stopping” the work, should that process be required. It consists in filling up with putty any cracks or other imperfections on the surface of the wood. If the putty used in the process of stopping be introduced before the first coat of colour is laid on, it becomes loose when dry. After this first coat, pumicing is resorted to for removing all irregularities from the surface. It is worth recollecting that old white lead is much superior to new for all painting operations. A smooth surface being thus obtained, the second coat is given, consisting of white lead and oil: about one-fourth part of turpentine is sometimes added for quick work. If four coats are to be laid on, this second one has sometimes a proportion of red lead, amounting to a flesh colour; but if only three, it is generally made to assume the tint of the finishing coat. It should have a good body, and be laid even. This coat, when thoroughly dry and hard, is, in best work, rubbed down with fine sand paper, and then the third coat, or “ground colour,” applied of a somewhat darker tint than wanted when finished, having sufficient oil for easy working, but not too fluid: thus two-thirds oil, and one-third turpentine. The “flatting” coat follows, the object of which is to prevent the gloss or glaze of the oil, and to obtain a flat, dead appearance. White lead is mixed with turpentine, to which a little copal is sometimes added, and when the tint is put in it is always made lighter than the ground colour, or it would, when finished, appear in a series of shades and stripes. Flatting must be executed quickly, and the brush is generally, if not always, carried up the work, and not across it.
To clean paint, raw alkalies should not be used, as they will infallibly take off the flatting coat. The best mode of cleaning is by means of good soap, not too strong, laid on with a large brush, so as to make a lather: this should be washed off clean with a sponge, and wiped dry with a leather.
We must draw to a conclusion.
One cause of the decay of modern buildings, and frequent cases of dry rot, is owing to the employment of bad builders. We advise the non-professional reader to employ an architect or surveyor when he desires to speculate in bricks and mortar: it is the cheapest course. If he doubts the truth of what we have written, we can assure him he will be a mere child in the hands of a bad or scamping builder; that is to say, he will obtain a badly-erected house,—a cheap contract, and a long bill of extras.
There are seven classes of bad builders—1st, the bad builder who does not know his business; 2nd, the bad builder who has no money to carry it on with; 3rd, the partial scamp; 4th, the regular scamp; 5th, the thorough scamp; 6th, the “jerry” builder; and 7th, the vagabond. There is an instance of the latter class given by Mr. Menzies in his fine work on ‘Windsor Park,’ 1864. We could give examples of all these classes, and draw the line between each class, impossible as it may seem: they are always looking out for customers, without architects.