TOOLS AND MATERIALS FOR WOOD FINISHING
Brushes. It is well to have several varieties to help keep them distinct. For varnish and shellac, the best are those with the bristles set in hard rubber. For ordinary purposes, brushes one inch wide are satisfactory. For stains, cheap, tin-bound brushes are good enough, and are easily replaced.
Cups. Half-pint enameled steel cups are cheap, satisfactory, and easily kept clean. For the care of cups and brushes, see Chapter VI, The Equipment and Care of the Shop.
Steel wool. This consists of shavings, turned from thin steel discs set together in a lathe. It comes in various grades, No. 00 to No. 3. The finest, No. 00, is coarse enough for ordinary purposes.
Sandpaper. Use No. 00 smeared with boiled oil. Pulverized pumice stone and pulverized rotten stone, both very fine, are used to rub down inequalities and to give a dull finish to shellac or varnish. Use with oil on shellac and with oil or water on copal varnish. Horsehair and soft wood shavings are often used to rub down varnish. French felt, medium hard, is used for rubbing down copal varnish with pumice stone.
Cotton waste is the cheapest available material for wiping.
Cheese cloth is better for some purposes, but more expensive.
Soft cloth without lint is necessary for French polishing. "Berkeley muslin," "Old Glory," and "Lilly White" are trade names. A fine quality is necessary. The starch should be washed out and the cloth dried before using, and then torn into little pieces, say 4" square.
Fillers consist of silex or of ground earths mixed with oil, japan, and turpentine. Their object is to give a perfectly level and non-absorbent basis for varnish covering.
Oils. Raw linseed oil is very fat and dries slowly. It is used for interior work.