Fourth coat.—If this coat is to be flat, mix it thick enough to cover well; mix mainly with turps, if the weather is hot, or from any other cause the paint don’t work well, add a little linseed oil. For an egg shell gloss, use about 1 part oil and 3 parts turps.
If the wall is to be finished in stipple, mix the last coat half oil and half turps, rather thick, and add a little japan. To stipple strike the paint evenly and continuously with the square end of a large brush, made for the purpose; a new clean duster will do. Let the stippler follow the painters. The coat of glue size saves two coats of paint. It is put on after the prime to keep moisture and air from the glue, otherwise it would be liable to decay.
Use boiled oil in all coats except priming coat. Have only enough difference in the color of the different coats, so you can see where you have painted, and not leave holidays; especially in rooms where the light is not very good.
Some painters advocate (especially on hard finished wall) a good filling of clear linseed oil, before any paint is put on to keep the surface from fire cracking.
It is risky business to paint a new hot wall; in such cases if it must be done before the lime has become somewhat neutralized, give it a coat of vinegar, and let it stand a day or so before you put on the prime. The vinegar will neutralize the lime and not hurt the priming.
TO PREPARE A ROUGH SANDY WALL FOR PAINT OR PAPER.
If you have a rough brown mortar wall to paper and want to make the job look smooth as possible, first go over it lightly with No. 2 paper to knock off the loose and most prominent grains of sand; then with No. 2 paper rub down all “cat faces” and trowel marks; level up all hollows with plaster paris wet up in thin glue size or vinegar, and you will be ready to put on the lining paper. This paper should be soft and porous so that it will quickly absorb paste and not blister; good white blank wall paper having but little color will answer very well for this purpose. Start in to hang it with half a strip in width so as to break joints with the next coat; use sufficient paste to make the paper stick to the wall; butt the edges and be sure when the paper is dry that there are no loose places. Right here is the turning point of your job for “good or for bad.”
Pound the lining paper down so closely that all the prominent grains of sand will show through, and be sure to make it stay there until dry. When the lining paper is dry, go over it with good sharp No. 1½ sandpaper and cut out all the prominent grains of sand which show through the paper, being careful to rub no more than is necessary to take out the sand; the idea being to cut through to the prominently projecting grains of sand, and rattle them out. Some walls will need a second coat of lining paper and another sandpapering, before they are smooth enough for anything like a fine job. If the owner refuses to stand the expense of putting on lining paper, glue size the wall, and when dry, knock off the prominent grains of sand with sandpaper and knife in plaster paris putty on the rough places. In either case, take extra pains with portions of the wall where there are side lights, which always magnify rough places. Sandy walls may be leveled and smoothed somewhat with a coat of kalsomine to hold light bodied paper.
Make a kalsomine of good white glue, 1 pound to 15 pounds of whiting and half a pound of alum. Dissolve the glue and alum in the usual way. When the kalsomine is dry, give the surface a thin coat of glue size to stop the suction. Let the glue size dry, then put on the paper; use light paste, and be sparing of it as you can and make the paper stick. I have often noticed that too much or too little paste is used in paperhanging; some walls and some papers require more paste than others. Too much paste on a smooth wall, or too little on a rough one, makes bad work. If you use a roller for seams have it covered with short plush. To paint on a wall covered with lining paper as above described, first put on a coat of glue size.