PAINTING.
PRINCIPLES OF COLOURING IN PAINTING.
Colours are distinguished by artists as _pure_, _broken_, _reduced_,
_grey_, _dull_, &c.
The pure colours consist of those which are called simple, or
_primary_; these are red, yellow, and blue; and those which are
formed from their mixture in pairs (binary compounds) are termed
_secondaries_: such are orange, violet, green, &c.
Broken colours are formed by the mixture of black with the pure
colours, from the highest to the deepest tone.
A _normal_ colour is a colour in its integrity, unmixed with black,
white, or any other colour.
The mixture of equal parts of red and yellow produces orange; mix
equal portions of yellow and blue and we have green; equal parts of
red and blue produce violet. These are called _secondary colours_.
Three parts of red mixed with 1 part of blue produce violet-red; 3
parts of red and 1 of yellow produce a red-orange; 1 part of red to
3 of yellow produces orange-yellow; 3 parts of yellow to 1 of blue
produce a light yellow-green; 1 part of yellow to 3 of blue produces
a blue-green; 1 part of red to 3 of blue produces a light violet
colour. All these are called _secondary hues_.
Normal grey is black mixed with white in various proportions,
producing numerous tones of pure grey.
Lamp and gas-lights throw out yellowish-coloured rays, causing
a great many light colours to appear different in tone from what
they really are. Certain shades of green and blue are not easily
distinguished by gaslight. A blue fabric will appear to be green, or
of a greenish tone, caused by the yellow rays falling on it. Green
being formed by the mixture of blue and yellow, whatever contributes
yellow to blue, as in the case cited, or by mixture of pigments, the
hue will be green.
When coloured rays fall on a coloured surface, which is lighted by
diffused daylight, the coloured surface is changed, the effect being
the same as that produced by adding to it a pigment of the same
colour as the coloured light. When red rays fall upon a black stuff
they make it appear of a purple black; on white stuff they make it
appear red; yellow stuff they make appear orange; and light blue
stuff they make appear violet.
_Complementary Colours._
“The colour required with another colour to form white light
is called the complementary of that colour. Thus green is the
complementary of red, and _vice versâ_; blue is the complementary
of orange, and _vice versâ_; yellow is the complementary of violet,
and _vice versâ_, because blue and orange, red and green, yellow and
violet, each make up the full complement of rays necessary to form
white light.”
These remarks are deduced from experiments with a prism of glass,
giving the spectrum or analysis of the coloured rays forming white
light. When a ray of sunlight is passed through a triangular prism
of flint glass, and the image received on white paper, it will be
noticed that the spectrum (as the image is termed) consists of
several colours—seven in all. Red, yellow, and blue are the most
prominent. The red rays are modified by the pure yellow, and we have
orange; the yellow rays becoming mixed with the blue become green;
the blue and red give violet.
Look intently for a few moments at a bright red object, then suddenly
transfer the gaze to a sheet of white paper; the paper will appear of
a greenish tint. Reverse the process; look intently at green, then on
white paper, and red will be the tone of the paper. Blue will excite
the eye to see orange, and orange will excite the eye to see blue.
This is called successive contrast. In placing colours near each
other it is of the greatest importance that the painter should bear
in mind the foregoing laws. From these laws the coach-painter may
derive some useful hints. In ornamenting and striping bear in mind
that colours that are complementary purify each other.
The effect of placing white near a coloured body is to heighten that
colour. Black placed near a colour tends to lower the tone of it.
Grey increases the brilliancy and purity of the primary colours, and
forms harmonies with red, orange, yellow, and light green.
_Chiaro-oscuro and Flat Tints._
“There are two systems of painting; one in chiaro-oscuro and the
other in flat tints. The first consists in representing as accurately
as possible upon the flat surface of canvas, wood, stone, metal, &c.,
an object in relief in such manner that the image makes an impression
on the eye of the spectator, similar to that produced by the object
itself. Therefore every part of the image which receives in the model
direct light, and which reflects it to the eye of a spectator viewing
the object from the same point in which the painter himself viewed
it, must be painted with white and bright colours; while the other
parts of the image which do not reflect to the spectator as much
light as the first must appear in colours more or less dimmed with
black, or what is the same thing, by shade.
“Painting in flat tints is a method of imitating coloured objects,
much simpler by its simplicity of execution than the preceding,
which consists in tracing the outline of the different parts of the
model, and in colouring them uniformly with their peculiar colours.”
_Paint Shop._
The paint shop should be a roomy apartment, well lighted and
ventilated. If possible, bodies and carriage parts should have
separate shops to be painted in; the rough work on bodies, too, ought
to have a separate room for its execution.
There should be a good assortment of brushes suitable for every
variety of work, plenty of paint pots, at least two paint mills,
marble slab for mixing colours on, and a stone to be used exclusively
for making putty on; water buckets, sponges, chamois, palette knives,
and putty knives. Light trestles set on casters for light bodies, and
heavy trestles, with two wheels and a pole, for heavy bodies.
Screens, covered with heavy paper or enamelled cloth, to protect
varnished work from floating particles of dust, and also from the
unsightly marks left by flies, will be found very useful.
Also the necessary colours; white-lead, whiting, ground and lump
pumice-stone, &c.
The brushes used are of various sizes and have various names. The
largest are used for covering large surfaces with paint. A smaller
kind are called _tools_, or _sash tools_, the name _tool_ being
applied more especially to the smaller varieties. Those brushes used
for striping and ornamenting, being very small, are called _pencils_.
All these are made round and oval, and filled with various kinds of
bristles.
There are also _flat_ bristle brushes of various sizes, which are
useful for body painting. A small variety of these is also used for
painting the carriage parts.
For varnishing, the black sable and badger brushes (both flat) are
handy, though in applying rubbing varnish, the hair of these is
sometimes too soft to lay it on without its being thinned with
turpentine. But they are capable of producing very finely finished
work.
For painting carriage parts, the medium-sized brushes should be used.
For lead and rough coatings on bodies a larger brush is required than
for carriage parts. Body brushes should be kept separate from those
used for carriage parts, as the latter wear the brush hollow in the
centre, which unfits them for laying a level coat on the body.
The _pencils_ made of sable, camel, and cow-hair. Sable-hair is of
two colours, red and black, either of which is superior to any hair
now used. The red sable-hair is rather finer than the black, and is
rather better adapted for ornamenting, while for striping and lining
the black sable is very suitable. Camel-hair pencils work very well
for broad lines. Those made from cow-hair are not much used.
Ornamenting pencils are either made in quills, or tin-bound with
handles. They are of various sizes, suited for the most delicate
touchings or broad handlings. They should be kept clean, as the
smallest quantity of dry paint in them prevents them working well.
When not in use, they should be greased and put away in such manner
that the points may not be bent.
Lettering pencils, of sable and camel-hair, are commonly used; they
should be from ½ inch to 1 inch long, the shorter ones being used for
filling in after the outlines are traced.
There are three or four kinds of paint mills manufactured. They vary
in size and price, and are suited to the wants of large or small
factories. Where several painters are employed there should be two
paint mills, one kept exclusively for grinding colours, and the other
for lead, filling, pumice-stone, &c. By this means the colours are
not so likely to be soiled by mixture with lead colours or other
rough heavy paints, which clog the mill up so rapidly.
Paint mills have not penetrated into every workshop yet. In some is
still used the old-fashioned slab and muller; this is a more tedious
operation, and is not so successfully accomplished as by the mill.
_Colours._
The colours generally used in the carriage paint shop are the
following:—White-lead, whiting. Yellow ochre and red-lead, used for
rough work. _Ground colours_, which the painter uses in combination
with other pigments, as chrome yellow, Indian red, raw umber,
Prussian blue, &c. _Panel colours_, as carmine, lake of various hues,
ultramarine blue, verdigris, &c.
White-lead is very largely used, not only as a foundation, but enters
into the composition of various colours, as stone, drab, straw, &c.
In the mixture of rough stuff or filling, white-lead gives elasticity
and life to the ochre, and when properly used forms the tenacious
part of the under-coatings. But oil white-lead should not be used
where there is not sufficient time for it to thoroughly dry.
After a good foundation has been secured, and smooth coatings of lead
are desired, which will sand-paper smoothly and leave a pleasant
surface to colour over, the dry or tub white-lead should be used.
Whiting and white-lead make a good putty, though it is not so much
used as it ought to be.
CHROME YELLOW is seldom used clear, except for line-striping. There
are different shades of it as well as qualities, the best being the
cheapest in the end, as it has more body. Lemon and orange chrome are
all the carriage painter requires; with these he can mix up any hues
needed by the addition of reds.
INDIAN RED is a strong colour and of great service to the painter,
especially in forming the groundwork for transparent colours, such as
lakes of a reddish or purple cast, and carmine. Mixed with lampblack,
it forms the most durable under coatings that can be obtained where a
brown is needed.
RAW UMBER is largely used. With blue and yellow it forms a pleasant
range of quiet greens.
Combined with white and yellow it gives drab tints or stone colour,
which may be toned down by adding black, or lightened up by vermilion
or lake. In mixing a light striping colour which may have too much of
a raw yellow tone, if a little umber be added the defect is corrected.
CARMINE is a very brilliant colour, surpassing vermilion in richness
of tone, and yet similar to it for height of colour. It is often
adulterated with vermilion, which of course injures its purity.
_Pure_ carmine will dissolve in ammonia water without leaving any
sediment.
Mixed with drabs, delicate greens, asphaltum, &c., carmine imparts
warmth without injuring the colours.
There are several tints and qualities of LAKE. Those commonly used
are English purple, Munich and Florence lakes. English purple lake
will bear some raw oil in mixing it; the others are best without it.
ULTRAMARINE BLUE, when pure, is a very durable colour. It is prepared
from the mineral _Lapis lazuli_. Mixed with the lakes, it tones them
down without seriously injuring the purity of the colour. For clear
ultramarine a dark lead-coloured ground will answer, or make a ground
colour of Prussian blue and white to nearly match the tint of the
ultramarine.
This is rather a difficult colour to handle, but the secret of laying
it on successfully is to have sufficient varnish or boiled oil in the
colour to prevent it “flying off” or drying too dead.
VERDIGRIS is an acetate of copper, of bluish colour, and requires a
groundwork. It is not used to any great extent as a panel colour.
The following is a list of compound colours and their application:—
_Pure Grey._—White and black in various proportions.
_Coloured Greys._—Red and green. Blue and orange.
_Straw Colour._—White, chrome yellow, and raw umber.
_Light Buff._—White and yellow ochre.
_Deep Buff._—White, yellow ochre, and red.
_Salmon Colour._—White, yellow, and vermilion.
_Flesh Colour._—White, Naples yellow, and vermilion.
_Orange._—Equal parts of red and yellow.
_Pearl Colour._—White, black, and vermilion.
_Lead Colour._—White and blue, with a little black.
_Stone Colour._—Black, amber, and yellow.
_Canary Colour._—White and chrome yellow.
_Tan Colour._—Burnt sienna, yellow, and raw umber.
_Pea Green._—White and chrome green.
_Sea Green._—Prussian blue and yellow.
_Citron._—Green and orange.
_Chocolate._—Black and Spanish brown.
_Olive._—Umber, yellow, and black.
_Lilac._—White, carmine, and ultramarine blue.
_Purple._—Olive, red, and carmine.
_Violet._—Blue and red.
_Wine Colour._—Purple, lake, and ultramarine blue.
_Dark Brown._—Vandyke brown, burnt sienna, and lake.
_Green._—Blue and yellow in different proportions according
to the tone required.
_Marone._—Crimson, lake, and burnt umber.
The above list will enable the painter to mix about all the colours
required in coach-painting. A great many shades may be made of each
of those given by varying the proportions of the component colours.
A good quality of raw linseed oil should be used, as it works well
and dries dead when not used in excess, and it is free from the
gumminess found in boiled oil. Raw oil simmered over a gentle fire
for two or three hours has its drying qualities improved, more
especially if a little sugar of lead be added to it.
Japanners’ gold size is made as follows:—Asphaltum, litharge, or
red-lead, each 1 oz.; stir them with a pint of linseed oil, and
simmer the mixture over a gentle fire till it is dissolved and the
scum ceases to rise, and the fluid thickens on cooling.
The quality of the varnish used is very important. Rubbing varnishes
are required to dry firmly in from two to five days, consequently
they have not much oil in their composition. A good wearing rubbing
varnish should not be rubbed until the fourth or fifth day after
being laid on; when rubbed it should not sweat (become glossy) soon
after, even in hot weather. Slow-drying rubbing varnish, when allowed
to stand a day or so after having been rubbed down, will sweat out in
hot weather, and should again be run over with the “rub rag” and fine
pumice before another coat is applied.
Rubbing varnish that sweats at all times, soon after being rubbed, is
liable to crack and should not be used.
By the use of hard drying varnish the painter is enabled to level his
work down, and prepare for the last coat or finishing varnish. This
last coating must be of an opposite nature to that on which it is
laid if great brilliancy is sought after; and, as its surface must
ever be opposed to the action of heat and cold, sunshine and shower,
it must possess an elasticity or oily nature that will resist these
changes for a great length of time.
_Painting the Coach._
The body generally receives a coat of priming on the bottom, top, and
inside in the wood shop. This is called “slushing,” so that when the
body arrives in the proof shop these parts are one coat in advance of
the other portions.
The top and the panels require a considerable amount of attention.
If the top is constructed of green timber it will cause the covering
to rise up in ridges or blisters, and when the canvas is put on, if
it is not well stretched when it is nailed on, the air gets under
it and causes a deal of trouble. The inside of the top should have
a good heavy coating of slush or oil lead to preserve the wood from
dampness, and the outside of the top should be properly primed with
clean smooth lead colour. When this is dry the nail holes should
be puttied in, and sunken places brought forward with firm drying
putty, which will bear blocking down with sand-paper, leaving the top
as level as possible. When this is dusted off clean, apply a heavy
coat of lead in oil, with sufficient varnish in it to hold the lead
together.
The inside of the body should be well coated, as it is a great
protection to the panels. The priming coat should be composed of the
best pure keg lead and oil, with only a small quantity of drier, and
allowed at least a week in which to dry. This coat should be well
worked in to the nail holes and the grain of the wood. A well-worn
springy brush is the best. When this coating is dry sand-paper it
carefully, and apply a second coat of lead colour, using less oil.
The third day after this, putty the nail holes half full; two after
this, apply the third coat, mixing it so that it will dry firmly, no
oil being used except that which is present in the lead. When dry,
finish puttying the nail holes; also putty up any of the grain that
may appear too open, or else rub into the grain some lead mixed up
very heavy.
The body, after having received three coats of lead, and been puttied
up, may now stand for two or three days. When it is again taken in
hand, sand-paper off any putty that may be above the level of the
surface; dust off, and brush on a level coat of lead, which must
dry hard and firm. Every coat of lead should be laid on as level
as possible, and made to fill up the grain of the wood as much as
possible. These coats are called “rough stuff.” The body may now
stand for three or four days, when it will be ready for the filling
up.
There are two very important things to be studied in coach-painting.
First, to form a surface hard enough to hold out the varnish and
disguise the grain of the wood; and second, to have the first and
intermediate coats of paint sufficiently elastic to adhere and yield
to the natural action of the wood without cracking or flaking off. In
effecting one of these results we are apt to affect the other; and
nothing but the utmost care, on the part both of the manufacturer of
the essential ingredients and of the person who prepares them for
use, can insure durability.
The leather-covered portions are usually primed with two coats of
black Japan, reduced with a little turpentine.
A good stopping material for nail holes, &c., is made of dry lead and
Japan gold size. It is called “hard stopper.”
The rough coatings should dry firmly, possessing only sufficient
elasticity to bind them to the surface. The first coat will bear a
trifle more oil than the remaining ones, and should stand about four
days before the others are put on, which can be done every other day.
Five coats of filling up are next added, composed as follows:—
2 parts filling up stuff.
1 part tub lead.
2 parts turpentine.
1 part Japan gold size.
½ „ bottoms of wearing varnish.
The first coat should cover every portion of the lead surface, be
well brushed in, but not allowed to lie heavy at the corners. The
remaining coats may be applied reasonably heavy, but kept from
lapping over the edges or rounding the sharp corners, and thus
destroying the clean sharp lines of the body-maker.
Any defects noticed while filling in should be puttied or stopped,
ever bearing in mind that the perfection in finish aimed at is only
secured by care at every step taken.
The leather-covered parts generally have three additional coats of
filling in.
The time allowed for each coat to dry may be extended as far as
convenient, but there is nothing to be gained by allowing weeks to
intervene between the coatings. When a coat is hard it is ready
for another; and it is far better to have the body filled and set
aside than to divide the time between the coatings, and probably
be compelled to rub out the body before the last coat is firm. Of
course, the time occupied by the coats of filling in to dry varies
according to its composition. If much oil be used, it will take a
longer time for each coat to dry; but the above composition may be
applied one coat every other day.
The first coat may be applied rather thinner than the others, and
is improved by being mixed with a little more white-lead. It should
also be made more elastic than the succeeding ones, as it will then
take a firmer hold on the “dead” lead coat over which it is placed,
contributing a portion of its elasticity to that coat, and also cling
more firmly to the hard drying coats which follow.
The body having been filled in may be set aside to harden, or if
the smith is ready for it this is the best time for him to take it
in hand, as any dents or burns that he may cause can now easily be
remedied without spoiling the appearance of the vehicle. Later on,
this is a matter of great difficulty, if not impossibility. Any
bruises should be puttied; any parts which may happen to be burned
must have the paint scraped off bare to the wood. Prime the bare
spots, and putty and fill them to bring them forward the same as the
general surface.
A material has recently been brought into the English market called
“permanent wood filling,” which is confidently recommended as
effecting a saving in time, expense, and labour, and at the same time
more effectually closing the pores of the wood than the ordinary
filling now in use. This invention is due to a Polish exile named
Piotrowski, who took refuge in America, and there introduced it about
1867, since which date it has found its way into the chief carriage
factories in the United States. It is applied to the bare wood, one
coat being given to bodies and two coats to carriage parts. This
closes the pores, holds the grain immovably in its place, and is
so permanent in its effect that neither exposure to dampness, nor
atmospheric changes, nor the vibrations to which a carriage is so
subject can affect the grain. The satisfaction which this material
appears to give to the Americans, who pride themselves on the
superiority of their carriage-painting, ought to induce our English
coach-builders to inquire after it; for if all that we hear of it be
correct, it must assuredly be a valuable acquisition to the paint
shop.
In rubbing down use pumice-stone. It is best to begin on top and
follow on down, so that the filling water may not run down on to any
part that has been finished. Water should not stand for any length
of time on the inside of the body; and when the rubbing is completed
wash off clean outside and in, and dry with a chamois kept for the
purpose.
The body, when dry, receives a staining coat, and is to be carefully
sand-papered over, the corners cleaned out, and put on a coat or
two coats of dark lead colour, made of tub lead, lampblack, raw
oil, and a small quantity of sugar of lead, and reduced to a proper
consistency with Japan gold size and turpentine. When dry scratch
over the lead colour with fine sand-paper, which will make it appear
of a lighter colour; we shall then be able to detect any low or sunk
places by reason of the shadow. Putty up any imperfections with putty
made of lead and varnish, and when dry face down with lump pumice and
water. Follow with fine sand-paper, when the surface will be in a
condition to receive the colour coats. Sometimes, after cleaning off,
another coat of dark lead colour is laid on.
Analysing the foregoing, we find we have used—
1 priming coat of lead (or leather parts, 2 coats of
black varnish instead).
2 thin coats lead colour, and stopped up.
5 coats of filling up (8 coats on leather parts).
1 staining coat, rubbed down and cleaned off.
2 coats dark red colour, stopped up, and carefully rubbed down.
1 coat dark lead colour.
—
12 coats, and ready for colour.
So much for the body parts. To the carriage parts two coats of
priming are laid on, which are worked in the same way as those
applied to the body. All cavities are then stopped with hard stopper,
to which a little turpentine is added in order to make it sand-paper
easily. Two coats of quick-drying lead colour are then applied to
the wood parts. The whole is then well sand-papered down, and the
grain should be found well filled and smooth. A thin coat of oil lead
colour is then laid on, and when dry sand-papered down; any joints or
open places between the tire and felloes of the wheels are carefully
puttied up with oil putty. The carriage parts are then ready for
colour. This time we have applied—
2 coats of lead priming, stopped up.
2 coats of lead, thoroughly sand-papered.
1 coat (thin) of lead colour, sand-papered and puttied up.
—
5 coats, and ready for colour.
The colours are to be ground very fine, kept clean, and spread on
with the proper brushes. If the panels are to be painted different
from the other parts, lay on the black first, for if any black falls
on the panel colour it will occasion some trouble by destroying the
purity of a transparent colour. By repeatedly turning the brush over
while using it, there is less liability to accidents of this kind.
The colouring of the body is finished as follows:—For the
upper quarters and roof grind ivory black in raw oil to a stiff
consistency, add a little sugar of lead finely ground as a drier, and
bring to the required consistency with black Japan and turpentine.
Lay on two coats of this, and then two coats of black Japan, and rub
down. Then face off the moulding, and give a thin coat of dead black,
after which apply another coat of black Japan, and flat again. The
whole should then be varnished with hard drying varnish, flatted
down, and finished with a full coat of wearing body varnish. The
varnish should have at least three days to dry; five or six would be
better. The first coat of rubbing varnish may be applied thinner than
the others, in order to avoid staining the colours.
The pencils used on mouldings should be large enough to take in the
whole width at once, and let the colour run evenly along, avoiding
laps or stoppages, except at the corners, where it cannot be helped.
Avoid the use of turpentine in varnish if possible; but if the
varnish be dark and heavy, sufficient turpentine added to make it
flow evenly will not hurt it. The half elastic and fine bristle
brushes are better for working heavy varnish than the sable or badger.
In varnishing a body begin on the roof, bringing the varnish to
within 2 or 3 inches of the outer edges. Next, the inside of doors,
&c., then the arch. When these are finished, start on the head rail
on one side, lay the varnish on heavy, and follow quickly to the
quarter. The edge on the roof, which was skipped before, is to be
coated and finished with the outside, thus preventing a heavy edge.
Continue round the body, finishing the boot last.
The frames and other loose pieces about a coach should be brought
forward along with the body, and not left as is often done. The
frames are most conveniently handled by a device similar to a
swinging dressing-glass; a base and two uprights stoutly framed
together, allowing space for the frame to swing. It is held in its
position by two pointed iron pins, one fixed and the other movable.
This is very convenient for varnishing, as the painter can examine
his work by tilting it to any angle, and thus detect any pieces of
dirt, &c.
If the body is to be lake in colour, the lake should be ground in raw
oil, stiff, and reduced with turpentine and hard drying varnish. The
same with dross black and Indian red. Over lakes and greens two coats
of hard drying varnish should be applied, and one coat of finishing.
If the body is to be blue, mix ultramarine blue with one-half raw oil
and turpentine, and bring it to a workable consistency by thinning
with hard drying body varnish. Give the body two coats, and after
each a slight flatting; then give two more coats of the same with
varnish added.
When Prussian blue is used, two coats are applied, and white is
added, if necessary, to bring it to the required shade. The blues
will dry sufficiently well when merely ground in raw oil, stiff, and
reduced with turpentine, and it is better not to add a drier over
blues; only one coat of hard drying body varnish should be given, and
one finishing coat.
In no case should the painter allow his oil colours to dry with a
gloss. He must always flat them and give them the appearance of
dead colour. This is particularly important, in case rough stuff or
quick-drying colour is to be used over it.
The carriage parts are finished as follows:—Two coats of lead colour
are first laid on, composed in the same way as those for the body
before the colour is applied. Then stop all parts requiring it with
hard stopper, a little reduced with turpentine to sand-paper easily.
To the wood parts apply two coats of quick lead, composed of dry
lead and lampblack ground in gold size and thinned with turpentine.
Sand-paper down thoroughly, and the grain will be found smooth and
well filled up. A thin coat of oil lead colour is then applied, and
sand-papered down when dry; and at this stage any open parts between
the tire and felloe of the wheels, &c., should be again stopped up
with oil putty. A coat of colour varnish follows, then a second, with
more varnish added. The parts are then flatted and striped; another
light coat of clear varnish is given, and after being flatted down
the fine lines are added, and the whole is finished with a good coat
of wearing varnish.
The carriage parts are generally painted one or two tones lighter
than the colour of the panels of the body, except where the panel
colour is of a hue that will not admit of it. Certain shades of
green, blue, and red may be used on panels, but would not, when made
a tint or two lighter, be suitable for a carriage part. Dark brown,
claret, and purple lake would not be open to this objection, because,
to the majority of persons, they are colours which are pleasing to
the eye, both in their deep and medium tones.
When the panels are to be painted green, blue, or red, and the
painter wishes to carry these colours on to the carriage part, it is
better to use them for striping only, and let the ground colour be
black.
A carriage part painted black may be made to harmonise with any
colour used on the body, as the striping colours can be selected so
as to produce any desired effect. Brilliant striping can be brought
out on dark colours only, while, if the ground colour be light,
recourse must be had to dark striping colours to form a contrast. The
carriage part should not detract from the appearance of the body;
that is, there should be sufficient contrast between the two to bring
out the beauties of the body. A plainly finished body will appear to
better advantage on a showy carriage, and a richly painted body on
one that is not very ornate.
In striping the carriage parts, the bright colours should be used
sparingly. A fine line placed on the face of the spokes and naves,
and distributed over the inside carriage, would look far better than
when each side of the spokes, the faces, the naves, and felloes, &c.,
are striped on both sides.
The coatings of varnish contribute largely to the durability as well
as beauty of a carriage part. The ground and striping colours are
shown in their purity only after they are varnished and have a good
surface, and the test of wearing depends on the quantity and quality
of varnish applied.
Every carriage part should have at least two coats of _clear_
varnish. The first coat of varnish to be applied over the colour and
varnish; the second, a good finishing coat, possessing body, and
good wearing qualities. Ground pumice and water must be used to cut
down the varnish, otherwise the finishing coat will be robbed of its
beauty.
In laying on the finishing coat, avoid the extremes of putting it on
too thick or too thin. Lay on a medium coat. A thin one will appear
gritty and rough; and one too heavy will sink in and grow dim.
From the above description, it will be seen that painting a coach
is a tedious operation, and one which consumes a great deal of time
in its execution; but, if well done, the result will certainly be
very satisfactory. In no case should the painting be hurried, for by
allowing each coat of paint or varnish sufficient time to dry its
durability is insured.
A considerable amount of time is generally spent by the painter in
work which does not really belong to him—that of mixing and grinding
his colours. Where the muller and slab are used, they occasion a
great deal of labour, and the tones of the colours are liable to be
injured by the heat generated in the process; and even where the hand
mills are used, the process is by no means so cleanly as it ought to
be. And under the heading of waste, this must always be a source of
loss to the manufacturer, for the painter, for fear of not mixing
up sufficient colour for his use, generally prepares too great a
quantity, and as a rule, the surplus is waste, for it is no use to
employ stale colours in painting vehicles, however well it may do in
house painting.
What we want is to have the colours ready ground for the painter’s
hand, and against this has been urged the objection, that the
delicate colours would lose their purity, and all colours be more or
less affected by it. That this is utterly fallacious is seen by the
fact that paints and colours ready ground and prepared are the rule
in America. The invention of the machinery, &c., for this purpose, is
due to Mr. J. W. Masury, of New York, and he grinds pigments of the
hardest description to the most impalpable fineness without injuring
the tones of the most delicate; and by a process of his own preserves
them, so that the painter has nothing to do but to reduce them to the
consistency he may require for the work in hand. He says they effect
a saving of from 20 to 50 per cent. both of labour and material. It
is difficult to understand why so valuable an invention is not more
general in this country.
_Irregularities in Varnish._
Varnish is subject to various changes after having been applied to
a body or carriage part. It crawls, runs, enamels, pits, blotches,
smokes or clouds over, and in the carriage parts gathers up and hangs
in heavy beads along the centre of the spokes, &c.
These irregularities will happen at times with the very best varnish
and the most skilled workmanship, and surrounded with everything
necessary to insure a perfect job.
The only reason that can be assigned for it is atmospheric influence.
These peculiarities have occupied a large portion of the time of the
trade, and no other solution has been arrived at than the above.
The defects of varnishes should be divided into two classes:
those which take place while in the workshop and those which show
themselves after the vehicle has left the hands of the maker. The
defects which show themselves in the varnish room are those of
“spotting,” “blooming,” “pin-holing,” “going off silky,” “going in
dead.” Those which take place afterwards are “cracking,” “blooming,”
“mud-spotting,” and loss of surface, sometimes amounting to its
almost total destruction.
The two classes should be considered separately; and assuming
that the workmanship is of the best quality, the latter class of
defects, with the exception of blooming, are in no way attributable
to the varnish; and blooming is caused by the atmosphere being
overcharged with moisture, as would be the case before a storm, and
it is soon remedied. Cracking will arise from too great an exposure
to the sun, just as any other material will be damaged by unfair
treatment. Mud-spotting will arise from using the carriage in muddy
or slushy roads before the varnish is properly dry. The loss of
surface will depend largely on the coachman, who, from ignorance or
negligence, may rub down the panels of a carriage until its glossy
surface entirely disappears; and if the stable is contiguous to the
coach-house this destruction will be assisted by the ammoniacal
vapours arising from the manure, &c.
The other defects belong to the inherent nature of the varnish as
at present manufactured, and admitting the secondary cause to be
atmospheric influence, it is necessary to inquire why it is that
varnish should be subject to such influence. According to the usual
way of making varnishes, we know that various metallic salts and
chemical compounds are used to increase their drying properties.
All these will contain a certain definite amount of water, termed
“water of crystallization.” If deprived of this water they lose their
crystalline form, but they acquire a tendency of again assuming it
by attracting to themselves a proportionate amount of water when
it is brought within their power. Now the heat employed in making
varnishes is sufficient to expel this water; but the presence of the
salts is sooner or later detected, for when the varnish is applied
to the work these salts absorb moisture from the atmosphere, and by
becoming partially crystallized cause what is known as “blooming,”
“spotting,” and “pin-holing.” The tendency to bloom will always
remain, even after the varnish has hardened. But if any of these
effects take place in the varnishing room, while the varnish is
drying, it will be fatal to the appearance of the carriage.
To insure as near perfection as possible we want a substitute for
these objectionable driers, which will not be subject to atmospheric
influence.