In matching very light oak chrome yellow may be substituted for ochre. For dark oak use the same colors as for light and add Venetian red and burnt umber; the same color will do for pollard oak. For green oak (á la furniture) do the same as for ordinary work, and when grained shade it over with a thin wash of chrome green or add a little black to the ground color. For ash use the same color as for light oak, but do not get it quite so yellow; a little raw umber will counteract this. A little chrome yellow may be added for Hungarian ash. For chestnut use a similar color to that for ash, but deeper and with a little red. For maple the ground-work should be very light. To an ordinary pot two-thirds full of lead well broken up add about a teaspoonful of chrome yellow and about half that amount of burnt sienna; some grainers prefer a very little Venetian red instead of the burnt sienna. In matching the wood get the ground-work as near the lightest color on the wood as possible, and you cannot go astray. For satin-wood the ground-work is similar to maple, but deeper in color. For burl ash use the same color as for ash, or slightly deeper.
The ground-work for cherry is probably mixed differently by every painter—at least, that is my experience—and it is hard work to make any workman believe that his is not the right way. In different parts of the country the popular idea of what "cherry color" is, varies greatly. In the majority of cases what has been called "the color of the fruit" is wanted, so we must make the ground-work to suit the demand. Cherry in its natural color is but little darker than ash, and the ground-work may be made in the same way or by adding raw sienna to the lead instead of yellow ochre and umber. The cherry that grainers have to match is often finished by furniture-makers, and is as dark as mahogany; in such cases the ground-work must be made with yellow ochre for the basis of the color and darkened by Venetian red. It will want little if any lead for the darker kinds of stained cherry, but will stand some for the lighter shades. In priming new work add considerable lead for first coat, as it gives more body. Three thin coats are none too many for new work, and they should be applied without leaving brush-marks. There is nothing more aggravating to the grainer than to find that a job is full of streaks of thick paint, as it is almost impossible to do a good job on such a ground-work.
The foregoing remarks apply to priming coats on new wood for graining any kind of wood.
The ground-work for walnut is made by taking yellow ochre for the base of the color and adding a small quantity of Venetian red and a little burnt umber; for very light work a little lead may be added. The same ground will do for French walnut. For mahogany the ground-work is made of yellow ochre, Venetian red and red lead. For rosewood chrome yellow, red lead and a small quantity of Venetian red. The foregoing are about all the woods that a grainer in New England is called upon to imitate; and if I mistake not, it is so elsewhere. Of course all painters or grainers may not agree with me in using the colors named for preparing the ground-work, but good work can be done on such grounds. One thing I wish to say is, Never use Indian red in a ground-color, as it is not transparent and makes the work look muddy. In grounding work for cherry or walnut, where the old paint is not removed, it is well to add some red lead to the color, which should be frequently stirred, or the red lead will deposit on the bottom of the pot.
[CHAPTER II.]
THE GRAINING COLOR.
In mixing the graining-color for any wood just as much difference of opinion exists among grainers as to the proper way of mixing the color as there is among painters as to the proper way of mixing the ground-color, and although different grainers have their own method of preparing and mixing their graining-color, and often use different materials and colors, still, good workmen will often obtain the same effects, but by a different process. Such being the case, it is impossible to lay down any cast-iron rule for the materials to be used in the representation of any wood or for the proper way to imitate any wood.
In imitating the color of certain woods the colors used are quite simple, while for other woods considerable pains must be taken and a number of colors used if the color of the wood is to be matched. I think the most common fault of graining is that the color is made darker than it should be; still, the grainer is not always to blame for this, as such a fault cannot be laid to his charge if the painters insist on keeping the ground-color itself as dark as or darker than the work should be when grained. Many a time in the experience of grainers is this the case, and I have on more than one occasion mixed a proper ground-color to match wood after being called upon by some alleged painter (who thought the ground-color he had put on was correct) to grain the job, but in most cases it is said, "Do the best you can with it and let it go, as the folks want to move in," or, "I want to get my money," etc., and so grainers do the job if the color is not too far off from what it should be.
Let us suppose that we are going to grain a job of light oak in oil. First lightly sand-paper the ground-work with a piece of fine or an old piece of sand-paper, and dust off. The ground-color should be quite hard, and not tacky, before the graining-color is applied, and two or three days is none too long a time to stand before being grained. Where a good job is to be done and finished at one impression, as we might call it, the manner of working can be reversed—that is, the work can be shaded or over-grained, as it were, on the ground-color in distemper before being rubbed in oil. The check roller can be used to good advantage, and the panels and stiles of doors streaked or mottled. The distemper color must not be diluted with much water, or it will rub off when the oil-color is being applied over it. This way of working is an advantage in matching stained oak, as all that remains to be done after it is grained is to stain it to the desired depth or color. On ordinary work this shading is done on the graining-color when dry.
The colors necessary for graining oak will be raw sienna and burnt umber, with a very little black to be added in case it is needed. It is impossible to specify the exact amount of each color to be used, and the judgment of the workman must be exercised in all cases. The ordinary way is to mix about two-thirds raw sienna and one-third burnt umber, adding the black if necessity should require to match wood. Do not get the color too yellow, but rather on the gray shade, as that is most frequently the color of the wood.