mercury, poisonous mineral acids, alkalies, or grit.” It may be tinted
with 12 ounces of oxide of iron if desired.
«Liquid Polishes.»—
I.—Malt vinegar 4 gallons
Lemon juice 1 gallon
Paraffine oil 1 gallon
Kieselguhr 7 pounds
Powdered bath brick 3 pounds
Oil lemon 2 ounces
II.—Kieselguhr 56 pounds
Paraffine oil 3 gallons
Methylated spirit 1 1/2 gallons
Camphorated spirit 1/2 gallon
Turpentine oil 1/2 gallon
Liquid ammonia fort 3 pints
III.—Rotten stone 16 av. ounces
Paraffine 8 av. ounces
Kerosene (coal oil) 16 fluidounces
Oil of mirbane enough to perfume.
Melt the paraffine, incorporate the rotten stone, add the kerosene, and
the oil of mirbane when cold.
IV.—Oxalic acid 1/2 av. ounce
Rotten stone 10 av. ounces
Kerosene (coal oil) 30 fluidounces
Paraffine 2 av. ounces
Pulverize the oxalic acid and mix it with rotten stone; melt the
paraffine, add to it the kerosene, and incorporate the powder; when
cool, add oil of mirbane or lavender to perfume.
Pour the ammonia into the oil, methylated spirits, and turpentine, add
the camphorated spirit and mix with the kieselguhr. To prevent setting,
keep well agitated during filling. The color may be turned red by using
a little sesquioxide of iron and less kieselguhr. Apply with a cloth,
and when dry use another clean cloth or a brush.
«Polishing Soaps.»—
I.—Powdered pipe clay 112 pounds
Tallow soap 16 pounds
Tartaric acid 1 1/4 pounds
Grind until pasty, afterwards press into blocks by the machine.
II.—Levigated flint 60 pounds
Whiting 52 pounds
Tallow 20 pounds
Caustic soda 5 pounds
Water 2 gallons
Dissolve the soda in water and add to the tallow; when saponified, stir
in the others, pressing as before.
III.—Saponified cocoanut oil 56 pounds
Kieselguhr 12 pounds
Alum 5 1/2 pounds
Flake white 5 1/2 pounds
Tartaric acid 1 3/4 pounds
Make as before.
IV.—Tallow soap 98 pounds
Liquid glycerine soap 14 pounds
Whiting 18 pounds
Levigated flint 14 pounds
Powdered pipe clay 14 pounds
{595}
«METAL POLISHES:»
«Polishing Pastes.»—
I.—White petroleum jelly 90 pounds
Kieselguhr 30 pounds
Refined paraffine wax 10 pounds
Refined chalk or whiting 10 pounds
Sodium hyposulphite 8 pounds
Melt wax and jelly, stir in others and grind.
It is an undecided point as to whether a scented paste is better than
one without perfume. The latter is added merely to hide the nasty smell
of some of the greases used, and it is not very nice to have spoons,
etc., smelling, even tasting, of mirbane, so perhaps citronelle is best
for this purpose. It is likely to be more pure. The dose of scent is
usually at the rate of 4 ounces to the hundredweight.
II.—Dehydrated soda 5 parts
Curd soap 20 parts
Emery flour 100 parts
To be stirred together on a water bath with water, 100 parts, until
soft.
III.—Turpentine 1 part
Emery flour 1 part
Paris red 2 parts
Vaseline 2 parts
Mix well and perfume.
IV.—Stearine 8 to 9 parts
Mutton suet 32 to 38 parts
Stearine oil 2 to 2.5 parts
Melt together and mix with Vienna chalk, in fine powder, 48 to 60
parts; Paris red, 20 parts.
V.—Rotten stone 1 part
Iron subcarbonate 3 parts
Lard oil, a sufficient quantity.
VI.—Iron oxide 10 parts
Pumice stone 32 parts
Oleic acid, a sufficient quantity.
VII.—Soap, cut fine 16 parts
Precipitated chalk 2 parts
Jewelers’ rouge 1 part
Cream of tartar 1 part
Magnesium carbonate 1 part
Water, a sufficient quantity.
Dissolve the soap in the smallest quantity of water over a water bath.
Add the other ingredients to the solution while still hot, stirring all
the time to make sure of complete homogeneity. Pour the mass into a box
with shallow sides, and afterwards cut into cubes.
«Non-Explosive Liquid Metal Polish.»—Although in a liquid form, it does
not necessarily follow that a liquid polish is less economical than
pastes, because the efficiency of both is dependent upon the amount of
stearic or oleic acid they contain, and a liquid such as that given
below is as rich in this respect as most of the pastes, especially
those containing much mineral jelly and earthy matters which are
practically inert, and can only be considered as filling material. Thus
it is a fact that an ounce of fluid polish may possess more polishing
potency than an equal weight of the paste. Proportions are: Sixteen
pounds crude oleic acid; 4 pounds tasteless mineral oil; 5 pounds
kieselguhr; 1 1/2 ounces lemon oil. Make the earthy matter into a
paste with the mixed fluids and gradually thin out, avoiding lumps.
Apply with one rag, and finish with another.
«Miscellaneous Metal Polishes.»—I.—Articles of polished copper, such
as clocks, stove ornaments, etc., become tarnished very quickly. To
restore their brilliancy dip a brush in strong vinegar and brush the
objects to be cleaned. Next pass through water and dry in sawdust. A
soap water, in which some carbonate of soda has been dissolved, will do
the same service.
II.—This is recommended for machinery by the chemical laboratory of the
industrial museum of Batavia:
Oil of turpentine 15 parts
Oil of stearine 25 parts
Jewelers’ red 25 parts
Animal charcoal, of superior quality 45 parts
Alcohol is added to that mixture in such a quantity as to render it
almost liquid, then by means of a brush it is put on those parts that
are to be polished. When the alcohol has dried, the remaining cover
is rubbed with a mixture of 45 parts of animal charcoal and 25 parts
jewelers’ red. The rubbed parts will become quite clean and bright.
III.—The ugly spots which frequently show themselves on nickel-plated
objects may be easily removed with a mixture of 1 part sulphuric acid
and 50 parts alcohol. Coat the spots with this solution, wipe off after
a few seconds, rinse off thoroughly with clean water, and rub dry with
sawdust.
IV.—Crocus, dried and powdered, when applied with chamois leather to
nickel-plated goods, will restore their brilliancy without injuring
their surface.
V.—Articles of tin should be ground {596} and polished with Vienna lime
or Spanish white. The former may be spread on linen rags, the latter on
wash leather. Good results may be obtained by a mixture of about equal
parts of Vienna lime, chalk, and tripoli. It should be moistened with
alcohol, and applied with a brush. Subsequent rubbing with roe skin
(chamois) will produce a first-rate polish. Tin being a soft metal, the
above polishing substances may be very fine.
VI.—To polish watch cases, take two glasses with large openings,
preferably two preserving jars with ground glass covers. Into one of
the glass vessels pour 1 part of spirit of sal ammoniac and 3 parts
water, adding a little ordinary barrel soap and stirring everything
well. Fill the other glass one half with alcohol. Now lay the case to
be cleaned, with springs and all, into the first-named liquid and allow
to remain therein for about 10 to 20 seconds. After protracted use this
time may be extended to several minutes. Now remove the case, quickly
brush it with water and soap and lay for a moment into the alcohol in
the second vessel. After drying off with a clean cloth heat over a
soldering flame for quick drying and the case will now look almost as
clean and neat as a new one. The only thing that may occur is that a
polished metal dome may become tarnished, but this will only happen if
either the mixture is too strong or the case remains in it too long,
both of which can be easily avoided with a little practice. Shake
before using.
VII.—This is a cleanser as well as polisher:
Prepared chalk 2 parts
Water of ammonia 2 parts
Water sufficient to make 8 parts
The ammonia saponifies the grease usually present.
It must be pointed out that the alkali present makes this preparation
somewhat undesirable to handle, as it will affect the skin if allowed
too free contact.
The density of the liquid might be increased by the addition of soap;
the solid would, of course, then remain longer in suspension.
VIII.—Serviettes Magiques.—These fabrics for polishing articles of
metal consist of pure wool saturated with soap and tripoli, and dyed
with a little coralline. They are produced by dissolving 4 parts of
Marseilles soap in 20 parts of water, adding 2 parts of tripoli and
saturating a piece of cloth 3 inches long and 4 inches wide with it,
allowing to dry.
IX.—In order to easily produce a mat polish on small steel articles use
fine powdered oil stone, ground with turpentine.
«Polishes for Pianos.»—
I.—Alcohol, 95 per cent 300 parts
Benzol 700 parts
Gum benzoin 8 parts
Sandarac 16 parts
Mix and dissolve. Use as French polish.
II.—Beeswax 2,500 parts
Potassium carbonate 25 parts
Oil of turpentine 4,000 parts
Water, rain or distilled 4,500 parts
Dissolve the potassium carbonate in 1,500 parts of the water and in
the solution boil the wax, shaved up, until the latter is partially
saponified, replacing the water as it is driven off by evaporation.
When this occurs remove from the fire and stir until cold. Now add the
turpentine little by little, and under constant agitation, stirring
until a smooth, homogeneous emulsion is formed. When this occurs add
the remainder of the water under constant stirring. If a color is
wanted use alkanet root, letting it macerate in the oil of turpentine
before using the latter (about an ounce to the quart is sufficient).
This preparation is said to be one of the best polishes known. The
directions are very simple: First wash the surface to be polished,
rinse, and dry. Apply the paste as evenly and thinly as possible over a
portion of the surface, then rub off well with a soft woolen cloth.
«Polishes for Silverware.»—The best polish for silverware—that is,
the polish that, while it cleans, does not too rapidly abrade the
surface—is levigated chalk, either alone or with some vegetable acid,
like tartaric, or with alum. The usual metal polishes, such as tripoli
(diatomaceous earth), finely ground pumice stone, etc., cut away the
surface so rapidly that a few cleanings wear through ordinary plating.
I.—White lead 5 parts
Chalk, levigated 20 parts
Magnesium carbonate 2 parts
Aluminum oxide 5 parts
Silica 3 parts
Jewelers’ rouge 2 parts
Each of the ingredients must be reduced to an impalpable powder, mixed
carefully, and sifted through silk several {597} times to secure a
perfect mixture, and to avoid any possibility of leaving in the powder
anything that might scratch the silver or gold surface. This may be
left in the powder form, or incorporated with soap, made into a paste
with glycerine, or other similar material. The objection to mixtures
with vaseline or greasy substances is that after cleaning the object
must be scrubbed with soap and water, while with glycerine simple
rinsing and running water instantly cleans the object. The following is
also a good formula:
II.—Chalk, levigated 2 parts
Oil of turpentine 4 parts
Stronger ammonia water 4 parts
Water 10 parts
Mix the ammonia and oil of turpentine by agitation, and rub up the
chalk in the mixture. Finally rub in the water gradually or mix by
agitation. Three parts each of powdered tartaric acid and chalk with 1
part of powdered alum make a cheap and quick silver cleaning powder.
III.—Mix 2 parts of beechwood ashes with 4/100 of a part of Venetian
soap and 2 parts of common salt in 8 parts of rain water. Brush
the silver with this, using a pretty stiff brush. A solution of
crystallized permanganate of potash is often recommended, or even the
spirits of hartshorn, for removing the grayish violet film which forms
upon the surface of the silver. Finally, when there are well-determined
blemishes upon the surface of the silver, they may be soaked 4 hours in
soapmakers’ lye, then cover them with finely powdered gypsum which has
been previously moistened with vinegar, drying well before a fire; now
rub them with something to remove the powder. Finally, they are to be
rubbed again with very dry bran.
«POLISHES FOR STEEL AND IRON.»
The polishing of steel must always be preceded by a thorough smoothing,
either with oilstone dust, fine emery, or coarse rouge. If any lines
are left to be erased by means of fine rouge, the operation becomes
tedious and is rarely successful. The oilstone dust is applied on an
iron or copper polisher. When it is desired to preserve the angles
sharp, at a shoulder, for instance, the polisher should be of steel.
When using diamantine an iron polisher, drawn out and flattened with
a hammer, answers very well. With fine rouge, a bronze or bell-metal
polisher is preferable for shoulders; and for flat surfaces, discs or
large zinc or tin polishers, although glass is preferable to either of
these. After each operation with oilstone dust, coarse rouge, etc., the
polisher, cork, etc., must be changed, and the object should be cleaned
well, preferably by soaping, perfect cleanliness being essential to
success. Fine rouge or diamantine should be made into a thick paste
with oil; a little is then taken on the polisher or glass and worked
until quite dry. As the object is thus not smeared over, a black polish
is more readily obtained, and the process gets on better if the surface
be cleaned from time to time.
«For Fine Steel.»—Take equal parts (by weight) of ferrous
sulphate—green vitriol—and sodium chloride—cooking salt—mix both well
together by grinding in a mortar and subject the mixture to red heat in
a mortar or a dish. Strong fumes will develop, and the mass begin to
flow. When no more fumes arise, the vessel is removed from the fire and
allowed to cool. A brown substance is obtained with shimmering scales,
resembling mica. The mass is now treated with water, partly in order
to remove the soluble salt, partly in order to wash out the lighter
portions of the non-crystallized oxide, which yield an excellent
polishing powder. The fire must be neither too strong nor too long
continued, otherwise the powder turns black and very hard, losing its
good qualities. The more distinct the violet-brown color, the better is
the powder.
For polishing and cleaning fenders, fireirons, horses’ bits, and
similar articles: Fifty-six pounds Bridgewater stone; 28 pounds flour
emery; 20 pounds rotten stone; 8 pounds whiting. Grind and mix well.
To make iron take a bright polish like steel, pulverize and dissolve
in 1 quart of hot water, 1 ounce of blue vitriol; 1 ounce of borax; 1
ounce of prussiate of potash; 1 ounce of charcoal; 1/2 pint of salt,
all of which is to be added to one gallon of linseed oil and thoroughly
mixed. To apply, bring the iron or steel to the proper heat and cool in
the solution.
«Stove Polish.»—The following makes an excellent graphite polish:
I.—Ceresine 12 parts
Japan wax 10 parts
Turpentine oil 100 parts
Lampblack, best 12 parts
Graphite, levigated 10 parts
Melt the ceresine and wax together, remove from the fire, and when half
{598} cooled off add and stir in the graphite and lampblack, previously
mixed with the turpentine.
II.—Ceresine 23 parts
Carnauba wax 5 parts
Turpentine oil 220 parts
Lampblack 300 parts
Graphite, finest levigated 25 parts
Mix as above.
III.—Make a mixture of water glass and lampblack of about the
consistency of thin syrup, and another of finely levigated plumbago
and mucilage of Soudan gum (or other cheap substitute for gum arabic),
of a similar consistency. After getting rid of dust, etc., go over the
stove with mixture No. 1 and let it dry on, which it will do in about
24 hours. Now go over the stove with the second mixture, a portion of
the surface at a time, and as this dries, with an old blacking brush
give it a polish. If carefully done the stove will have a polish
resembling closely that of new Russian iron. A variant of this formula
is as follows: Mix the graphite with the water glass to a smooth paste;
add, for each pound of paste, 1 ounce of glycerine and a few grains of
aniline black. Apply to the stove with a stiff brush.
«POLISHES FOR WOOD:»
See also Polishes for Furniture, Floors and Pianos.
In the usual method of French polishing, the pad must be applied
along curved lines, and with very slight pressure, if the result is
to be uniform. To do this requires much practice and the work is
necessarily slow. Another disadvantage is that the oil is apt to sweat
out afterwards, necessitating further treatment. According to a German
patent all difficulty can be avoided by placing between the rubber and
its covering a powder composed of clay or loam, or better, the powder
obtained by grinding fragments of terra cotta or of yellow bricks. The
powder is moistened with oil for use. The rubber will then give a fine
polish, without any special delicacy of manipulation and with mere
backward and forward rubbing in straight lines, and the oil will not
sweat out subsequently. Another advantage is that no priming is wanted,
as the powder fills up the pores. The presence of the powder also makes
the polish adhere more firmly to the wood.
«Oak Wood Polish.»—The wood is first carefully smoothed, then painted
with the following rather thickly liquid mass, using a brush, viz.: Mix
1 1/2 parts, by weight, of finely washed chalk (whiting), 1/2 part
of dryer, and 1 part of boiled linseed oil with benzine and tint (umber
with a little lampblack, burnt sienna). After the applied mixture has
become dry, rub it down, polish with glass powder, and once more coat
with the same mixture. After this filling and after rubbing off with
stickwood chips or fine sea grass, one or two coats of shellac are put
on (white shellac with wood alcohol for oak, brown shellac for cherry
and walnut). This coating is cut down with sandpaper and given a coat
of varnish, either polishing varnish, which is polished off with the
ball of the hand or a soft brush, or with interior varnish, which is
rubbed down with oil and pumice stone. This polish is glass hard,
transparent, of finer luster, and resistive.
«Hard Wood Polish.»—In finishing hard wood with a wax polish the wood
is first coated with a “filler,” which is omitted in the case of soft
wood. The filler is made from some hard substance, very finely ground;
sand is used by some manufactures.
The polish is the same as for soft wood. The simplest method of
applying wax is by a heated iron, scraping off the surplus, and then
rubbing with a cloth. It is evident that this method is especially
laborious; and for that reason solution of the wax is desirable. It
may be dissolved rather freely in turpentine spirit, and is said to be
soluble also in kerosene oil.
The following recipes give varnish-like polishes:
I.—Dissolve 15 parts of shellac and 15 parts of sandarac in 180 parts
of spirit of wine. Of this liquid put some on a ball of cloth waste
and cover with white linen moistened with raw linseed oil. The wood
to be polished is rubbed with this by the well-known circular motion.
When the wood has absorbed sufficient polish, a little spirit of wine
is added to the polish, and the rubbing is continued. The polished
articles are said to sustain no damage by water, nor show spots or
cracks.
II.—Orange shellac, 3 parts; sandarac, 1 part; dissolved in 30 parts of
alcohol. For mahogany add a little dragon’s blood.
III.—Fifteen parts of oil of turpentine, dyed with anchusine, or
undyed, and 4 parts of scraped yellow wax are stirred into a uniform
mass by heating on the water bath. {599}
IV.—Melt 1 part of white wax on the water bath, and add 8 parts of
petroleum. The mixture is applied hot. The petroleum evaporates and
leaves behind a thin layer of wax, which is subsequently rubbed out
lightly with a dry cloth rag.
V.—Stearine 100 parts
Yellow wax 25 parts
Caustic potash 60 parts
Yellow laundry soap 10 parts
Water, a sufficient quantity.
Heat together until a homogeneous mixture is formed.
VI.—Yellow wax 25 parts
Yellow laundry soap 6 parts
Glue 12 parts
Soda ash 25 parts
Water, a sufficient quantity.
Dissolve the soda in 400 parts of water, add the wax, and boil down to
250 parts, then add the soap. Dissolve the glue in 100 parts of hot
water, and mix the whole with the saponified wax.
VII.—This is waterproof. Put into a stoppered bottle 1 pint alcohol;
2 ounces gum benzoin; 1/4 ounce gum sandarac, and 1/4 ounce gum
anime. Put the bottle in a sand bath or in hot water till the solids
are dissolved, then strain the solution, and add 1/4 gill best clear
poppy oil. Shake well and the polish is ready for use.
VIII.—A white polish for wood is made as follows:
White lac 1 1/2 pounds
Powdered borax 1 ounce
Alcohol 3 pints
The lac should be thoroughly dried, especially if it has been kept
under water, and, in any case, after being crushed, it should be left
in a warm place for a few hours, in order to remove every trace of
moisture. The crushed lac and borax are then added to the spirit, and
the mixture is stirred frequently until solution is effected, after
which the polish should be strained through muslin.
IX.—To restore the gloss of polished wood which has sweated, prepare a
mixture of 100 parts of linseed oil, 750 parts of ether, 1,000 parts
of rectified oil of turpentine, and 1,000 parts of petroleum benzine,
perfumed, if desired, with a strongly odorous essential oil, and
colored, if required, with cuicuma, orlean, or alkanna. The objects to
be treated are rubbed thoroughly with this mixture, using a woolen rag.
«MISCELLANEOUS POLISHING AGENTS:»
«Polishing Agent which may also be used for Gilding and Silvering.»—The
following mediums hitherto known as possessing the aforenamed
properties, lose these qualities upon having been kept for some time,
as the metal salt is partly reduced. Furthermore, it has not been
possible to admix reducing substances such as zinc to these former
polishing agents, since moisture causes the metal to precipitate. The
present invention obviates these evils. The silver or gold salt is
mixed with chalk, for instance, in a dry form. To this mixture, fine
dry powders of one or more salts (e. g., ammonia compounds) in whose
solutions the metal salt can enter are added; if required, a reducing
body, such as zinc, may be added at the same time. The composition is
pressed firmly together and forms briquettes, in which condition the
mass keeps well. For use, all that is necessary is to scrape off a
little of the substance and to prepare it with water.
«Silver Polishing Balls.»—This polishing agent is a powder made into
balls by means of a binding medium and enjoys much popularity in
Germany. It is prepared by adding 5 parts of levigated chalk to 2
parts of yellow tripoli, mixing the two powders well and making into a
stiff paste with very weak gum water—1 part gum arabic to 12 parts of
water. This dough is finally shaped by hand into balls of the size of a
pigeon’s egg. The balls are put aside to dry on boards in a moderately
warm room, and when completely hard are wrapped in tin-foil paper.
«To Prepare Polishing Cloths.»—The stuff must be pure woolen, colored
with aniline red, and then put in the following:
Castile soap, white 4 parts
Jewelers’ red 2 parts
Water 20 parts
Mix. One ounce of this mixture will answer for a cloth 12 inches
square, where several of them are saturated at the same time. For the
workshop, a bit of chamois skin of the same size (a foot square), is
preferable to wool, on account of its durability. After impregnation
with the soap solution, it should be dried in the air, being
manipulated while drying to preserve its softness and suppleness.
«To Polish Delicate Objects.»—Rub the objects with a sponge charged
with a mixture of 28 parts of alcohol, 14 parts of water, and 4 parts
of lavender oil. {600}
«Polish for Gilt Frames.»—Mix and beat the whites of 3 eggs with
one-third, by weight, of javelle water, and apply to the gilt work.
«Steel Dust as a Polishing Agent.»—Steel dust is well adapted for
polishing precious stones and can replace emery with advantage. It
is obtained by spraying water on a bar of steel brought to a high
temperature. The metal becomes friable and can be readily reduced to
powder in a mortar. This powder is distinguished from emery by its
mordanting properties and its lower price. Besides, it produces a
finer, and consequently, a more durable polish.