_RE-POLISHING OLD WORK._
If the piece of furniture requiring to be re-polished should be in bad
condition, it is best to clean off thoroughly, using the liquid ammonia
(see page 94), or by the scraper and glass-paper. The indentations may
be erased by dipping into hot water a piece of thick brown paper three
or four times doubled and applying it to the part; the point of a
red-hot poker should be immediately placed upon the wet paper, which
will cause the water to boil into the wood and swell up the bruise; the
thickness of the paper prevents the wood from being scorched by the hot
poker. After the moisture is evaporated, the paper should be again
wetted if required. If only shallow dents, scratches, and broken parts
of the polish present themselves, carefully coat them two or three times
with a thick solution of shellac, and when the last coating becomes hard
carefully paper down with a piece of old glass-paper and a cork rubber.
If the surface should be in good condition, it is necessary only to
remove the viscid rust; this is done by friction with a felt-covered
rubber and pure spirits of turpentine; by this means the polish remains
unsullied. If the surface should not be in very good condition, a
flannel should be used smeared with a paste of bathbrick-dust and water,
or a paste made of the finest emery flour and spirits of turpentine.
After cleansing, and before the polish is applied, it is a good plan to
just moisten the surface with raw linseed-oil; this will cause the old
body to unite with the new one.
In order to carry out the process of re-polishing with facility, it is
necessary to disunite all the various parts, such as panels, carvings,
etc., before commencing the operation. The polish is applied in the
usual manner, and when a good body is laid on the work should be set
aside for twelve hours, after which it can be finished. It should be
particularly observed that in polishing no job should be finished
immediately after the rubbing-down process; a sinking period should
always be allowed. If the work should be immediately finished, the
consequences are that in a few hours all the marks and scratches of the
paper, etc., will be discernible, and the polished surface will present
a very imperfect appearance, although looking perfect when first
finished.
Holes and crevices may be well filled up with a cement made in the
following manner: In a large iron spoon place a lump of beeswax about
the size of a walnut, a pinch of the pigments mentioned on page 5,
according to the colour required, a piece of common rosin the size of a
nut, and a piece of tallow as large as a pea; melt, and it is ready for
use. Some add a little shellac, but much will make it very brittle. A
similar substance to the above can be bought at the French warehouses.