Tarnished Silver Lace.—(p) Sponge over with a weak solution of potassium cyanide. (q) Dab over with a cream of heavy magnesia and water, allowing this to dry, and then brushing it off with a soft-haired brush.
Zinc Vessels.—Zinc articles, if small, can be cleaned by being pickled in spirits of salt (hydrochloric acid) with water added, till the articles are nicely cleaned, in about 3 minutes, without being too strongly attacked, then washed and dried. Large articles like refrigerators are cleaned by being rubbed with a swab, dipped in raw spirits, then washed with water, and finished with whiting.
Paint.—(a) Paint should be more often swept than scrubbed, for too frequent scrubbing causes it to decay. Use as little soap as possible, and wash it off with plenty of clean water to prevent discoloration. To clean paint that has not been varnished, put upon a plate some of the best whiting; have ready some clean warm water, and a piece of flannel, which dip into the water and squeeze nearly dry; then take as much whiting as will adhere to it, apply it to the paint, when a little rubbing will instantly remove any dirt or grease; wash well off with water, and rub dry with a soft cloth. Paint thus cleaned looks equal to new, and, without doing the least injury to the most delicate colour, it will preserve the paint much longer than if cleaned with soap, and it does not require more than half the time usually occupied in cleaning.
(b) When painted work is badly discoloured, put 1 tablespoonful ammonia water into 1 qt. moderately hot water, and with the aid of flannel, wipe off the surface. Rubbing is not necessary.
(c) Take 1 oz. pulverised borax, 1 lb. shavings of best brown soap, and 3 qt. water. Put the soap and borax into the water, allow it to simmer until all the soap has been dissolved, stir it frequently, but do not allow it to boil. Apply it to the paint on a piece of old flannel, and rinse with clean water.
(d) Dissolve ½ oz. glue, and a bit of soft-soap the size of a walnut, in about 3 pints warm water, and with a well-worn whitewash brush well scrub the work, but not sufficient to get off the paint; rinse with plenty of cold clean water, using a washleather; let it dry itself. Work done in this manner will often look equal to new.
(e) First take off all the dust with a soft brush and pair of bellows. Scour with a mixture of soft-soap and fullers’ earth, and use lukewarm water. If there are any spots which are extra dirty, first remove these by rubbing with a sponge dipped in soap and water. Commence the scouring at the top of the door or wainscot, and proceed downwards; dry with a soft linen cloth. When cleaning paint, it is always better to employ two persons, one to scour and the other to rub dry.
Paint-brushes.—(a) To soften brushes that have become hard, soak them 24 hours in raw linseed oil, and rinse them out in hot turpentine, repeating the process till clean. (b) Wash in hot soda and water and soft-soap.
Paper and Books.—(a) The amateur book-cleaner had better begin to practise on some worthless volume, until he acquires the necessary skill. All traces of lime, &c., used in the cleaning process must be removed from the book, else in time it may be completely destroyed. The first thing to be done in a book that wants washing, is to cut the stitches and separate the work into sheets. Then a glance may be taken for the separation of those leaves or sheets which are dirty from those which have stains of ink or oil. The dirty leaves are now placed in a bath composed of ¼ lb. lime chloride and the same quantity of soda to about 1 qt. water. These are left to soak until the paper has regained its proper tint. The pages are now lifted out tenderly into a second bath of cold, and if possible running, water, where they are left at least 6 hours. This removes all traces of lime. The paper, when thoroughly dried by exposure, must be dipped into a third bath of size and water, and again laid out to dry. This restores the consistency of the paper. Pressure between printers’ glazed boards will then restore smoothness to the leaves. The toning of the washed leaves in accordance with the rest of the book is a delicate process, which requires some experience. Some shag tobacco steeped in hot water will usually give the necessary colouring-matter, and a bath in this liquid the necessary tone.
The process described above may do for water-stains; but if the pages are dirted by grease, oil, coffee, candle-droppings, or ink, different treatment will be required. Dilute muriatic acid with 5 times its bulk of water, and let the oil-stained pages lie in the liquid for 4 minutes—not longer. Then remove, and wash, as before, in cold water. If the grease is a spot in the middle of a page, place between 2 sheets of blotting-paper, or cover with powdered French chalk (the blotting-paper is preferable), and pass a hot iron over the place. This will melt the grease, which is immediately soaked up by the chalk or paper.