WOOD
Decorative Wood-finish.
Paint or stencil wood with white-lime paint. When it has dried slowly in the shade, brush it off and a handsome dark-brown tone will be imparted to the oakwood. Some portions which may be desired darker and redder are stained again with lime, whereby these places become deeper. It is essential that the lime be applied in even thickness and dried slowly, for only then the staining will be red and uniform.
After the staining saturate the wood with a mixture of varnish, 2 parts; oil of turpentine, 1 part; turpentine, 1/2 part. When the oil ground is dry apply 2 coatings of pale amber varnish.
Colored decorations on pinewood can be produced as follows:
The most difficult part of the work is to remove the rosin accumulations without causing a spot to appear. Burn out the places carefully with a red-hot iron. Great care is necessary to prevent the iron from setting the rosin on fire, thus causing black smoke clouds.
The resulting holes are filled up with plaster to which a little light ocher is added to imitate the shade of the wood as perfectly as possible. Plaster up no more than is necessary.
Rub the wood down with very fine sandpaper, taking especial care to rub only with the grain of the wood, since all cross scratches will remain permanently visible.
After this preliminary work cover the wood with a solution of white shellac, in order not to injure the handsome golden portions of the wood and to preserve the pure light tone of the wood in general.
On this shellac ground paint and stencil with glazing colors, ground with isinglass solution. The smaller, more delicate portions, such as flowers and figures, are simply worked out in wash style with water colors, using the tone of the wood to remain as high lights, surrounding the whole with a black contour.