A first-class coach japan, as a rule, will show a color moderately

light, and when mixed with oil should manifest no disposition to

curdle. Such a japan, too, should, when floated in a thin film over

a glass or other strictly non-porous surface, dry firm and without

brittleness in four hours. To observe how the japan unites and

assimilates with linseed oil, take a pane of window glass, that

furnishing a surface non-porous and decidedly free from suction, and

attaching a sheet of white paper on one side as a means of better

showing the action of the oil and japan, drop on the reverse side

of the glass about four drops of raw linseed oil. Then affix, say,

a single drop of japan in close proximity to the oil, immediately

inclining the glass so that the japan may come in contact with

the oil. If the drier promptly unites and takes kindly to a close

relationship with the oil without curdling or showing other evidences

of disagreement, it will merit the approval of the painter. Another

easily-conducted test consists in comparing the japan of unknown

quality with one of acknowledged merit, by taking the samples and

confining them in bottles containing raw linseed oil, shaking the

contents and then standing aside for at least twenty-four hours. The

proportions of oil and japan may be in the ratio of 5 parts of oil to

1 part of japan, exactly the same proportions being adhered to in all

the samples tested. At the expiration of twenty-four hours one can see

which sample mixes best with the oil. The samples then poured in a thin

film over a piece of glass and allowed to stand will determine the

drying property of each. It will also be useful to learn by observation

and comparisons if the japan holds well in solution. A japan that

fails to do this is not valuable in carriage and wagon painting. Study

should be made as to how and to what extent the japan effects the

light and delicate colors at present so extensively used. In point

of fact, the painter should not weary in investigating the qualities

and characteristics of his coach japans, and what they are capable of

doing. To establish their real value will mark an achievement of the

first order in the economy of painting.

In regard to varnishes the buyer can find no excuse for putting aside

the fact that quality and not price should determine the value of

his supply; and, happily, he has it within his power in the active

prosecution of his business to demonstrate the good or bad quality

of varnish. It may frequently prove an expensive experiment; and

herein is disclosed an apparently good and sufficient reason for the

painter's disinclination to change from the use of one make of varnish

to another. The varnishing stage of painting may be said to be in a

critical period at all times, and having established the quality of

his varnish supply, the responsible party in the matter is naturally

opposed to changing in favor of a make with which he is not practically

acquainted. At the same time, a practical test of different strictly

reliable makes is the only way of deciding to one's own satisfaction

which is the best, and the most economical to buy. Any first-class

finisher can very soon determine the working property, brilliancy,

depth of lustre, drying quality and general behavior under varying

circumstances and conditions of different varnishes. Nevertheless,

that primary requisite, durability, is not so easily nor so promptly

established. This essential quality can be determined only after

protracted trials upon vehicles engaged in active service, the painter

retaining carefully tabulated data bearing upon each make of varnish

under observation, the character of the service to which it is exposed,

etc. Thus, in due season, may the actual merits of a varnish be

defined.

CHAPTER XV.

CUTTER AND SLEIGH PAINTING: DECORATIVE ASPECTS OF THE WORK--THE

VARIOUS PROCESSES OF PAINTING EMPLOYED--THE PREVAILING

COLORS--STRIPING AND SCROLLING--REPAINTING, REVARNISHING, PROFITS TO

BE REALIZED, ETC.

Cutter and sleigh painting are justly esteemed interesting parts of the

art of vehicle painting. Coming at a time when the ordinary activities

of vehicle painting are practically at a standstill, the cutter and

sleigh painting business furnishes a medium for profits gleefully taken

advantage of by the average factory and jobbing shop painter.

In one way, it must be confessed, this branch of painting has fallen

off in attractiveness. The elaborate decorative effects once so

largely in the full favor of fashion have been discarded, and many

workmen competent to accomplish such effects have become lost in other

pursuits. But in these days the painter should be prepared for any

emergency; hence it is best that cutter and sleigh decorative work

be given study, and skill to execute such work be kept in hand or

acquired by practice. Now and then comes a call for a cutter or sleigh

ornamented in the old-fashioned way with elaborate arm pieces, etc.

The jobbing shop painter especially is very frequently confronted with

opportunities for the practice of decorative painting in a variety of

ways, and to fulfill his mission as an important community artisan

he should be prepared to do the work. The very low prices paid for

cutter and sleigh painting at the present time have proved an effective

factor, no doubt, in considerably restricting the limitations of

decorative painting. At the same time, there is every reason to believe

that the conspicuous absence of fine decorative effects in cutter

and sleigh painting is also due, to a large extent, to the inability

of the average latter-day workman, located in provincial centres, to

fittingly produce them. Upon the modern Portland style cutter elaborate

ornamentation would perhaps be out of place; but upon many of the

runner vehicles of ancient and honorable vintage, which the beauteous

Belle of Fashion has decreed to be the proper thing, a generous measure

of decorative work would be appropriate. Swell sleighs of more recent

pattern take kindly to lavish ornamentation built upon rather delicate

lines.

These conditions, therefore, warrant the painter who deeply desires

to command profits and success in cutter and sleigh painting, in

cultivating a ready skill and dexterity along the lines of ornamental

work.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.]

Surface perfections have grown to be important considerations in the

economy of sleigh painting of the best grade. While none but the very

finest class of cutters and sleighs are given surfaces rivalling in

smoothness and quality those reflected by the best class of carriages,

still, first-class surfacing remains a chief feature of sleigh

painting, excepting at all times the seven-for-$100 vehicles. And in

respect to this latter class of jobs, the results achieved in the way

of surface effects are often surprising, due chiefly to the very heavy

coats of varnish applied.

And here the reader may deem it pertinent to ask for a review of the

systems and methods practiced in painting and finishing cutters and

sleighs.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.]

In the painting of runner vehicles of the best order the jobs are

primed throughout, bodies and running parts (and this includes inside

of bodies, under surface--everything, in fact, not covered with iron),

with oil and lead primer. Permitting this coat to dry thoroughly, a

light sanding with, say No. 1/2 sandpaper, is given, and then a coat

of lead containing enough raw linseed oil to bind the pigment securely

without giving it a gloss is put on. Use an oval or round bristle

brush to apply the lead to the body, and for the running parts use

a camel's-hair brush, this latter tool being best adapted to lay a

uniform depth of pigment over the sharp edges and small surfaces of

the running parts. Upon this coat putty both body and running parts

draw-puttying all open-grained portions of the surface. Forty-eight

hours after puttying begin rough-stuffing the body, using for the

'stuff equal parts of any good American filler and keg lead, by weight,

reducing to a thick paste in equal parts of quick rubbing varnish and

japan, then cutting to a brushing consistency with turpentine. This is

a two-coat-per-day 'stuff. Apply four coats of the 'stuff, then a guide

coat of yellow ochre and set aside for a few days. After rubbing the

surface out (full instructions for rubbing roughstuff may be found in

Chapter III. of this series) give it plenty of time--twelve or fourteen

hours at least--to dry out. Then lightly sandpaper with No. 0 paper,

dust off, and give first coat of color.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.]

The proper color foundation being secured, apply two coats of rubbing

varnish, either both clear or one clear and one color-and-varnish, the

character of the color foundation determining the selection, and then

follow with a heavily flowed on coat of finishing varnish. In case

color-and-varnish be used, the striping and ornamental work had best be

done on this coat, as upon work of this quality the ornamentation will

require the protection of a rubbing, as well as a finishing, coat of

varnish.

The running parts require sandpapering, then one coat of

color-and-varnish, then striping and finishing. This system, intended

exclusively for high class work, requires a very thorough carrying

out, with no neglected details from priming coat to finishing, if a

satisfactory degree of excellence, both in finish and durability, would

be maintained.

Another system, in which roughstuff does not figure, consists of giving

body and gear, when received from the wood shop, a coat of lead, ochre,

and oil priming. When the irons are attached, the job is sandpapered

and a coat of lead containing a durable binder of oil is given. The

wood and iron are alike coated with this mixture. The panels of the

body are next, in due season, plastered with putty (see Knifing Head

Formula No. 1, in Chapter III.), the pigment being firmly forced into

the grain of the wood. Aim to get a very smooth application of the

pigment in addition to a complete fullness of the wood pores, to the

end that the surface cells may be sealed "against graining out" and

that the labor of sandpapering may be reduced to the minimum.

[Illustration: FIG. 4.]

The first coat of color is furnished with a binder of oil and should

not be recoated until the day following. Add varnish as a binder for

the second coat of color. A single coat of rubbing, and one of some

hard drying finishing varnish often suffices to complete the finish.

If a better job is desired an extra coat of rubbing is given. The

striping, corner pieces, etc., are done on the flat color. The running

parts are puttied on the priming coat, exposed parts of open grained

surface draw-puttied, sandpapered, given one coat of color, coat of

color-and-varnish, striped, and finished with a heavy bodied, hard

drying finishing varnish. Again, for medium priced sleigh work a

factory system consists of applying some reliable liquid wood filler

to the job throughout, then a little later wiping the surface over

with soft, clean rags. The work is allowed twenty-four hours in which

to dry out, when the body is given a coat of roughstuff mixed in the

proportion of 3 lbs. of filler to 1 lb. of keg lead, equal parts of

japan and rubbing varnish being used to reduce it to a heavy paste, and

turpentine employed to cut it to the proper working consistency. Putty

on this coat of 'stuff. Then apply, at the rate of two coats per day,

a roughstuff made according to the first formula given herewith. Three

coats of this stuff should suffice. Rub out with rubbing bricks, color

and finish out as previously advised. The running parts are puttied

upon the filler coat, draw puttied wherever needed, then colored, given

color-and-varnish, striped and finished.

In some shops the roughstuff is discarded altogether, the wood

filler being filled over with a couple of lead coats, the first coat

containing an oil binder and the second one containing no oil at all.

This lead foundation is surfaced down with sandpaper, dusted off, and a

wash of quick hard drying rubbing varnish, thinned down about one-half

with turpentine, given. The surface is then finished out in the usual

way. The running parts are treated as described in the liquid wood

filler process previously given.

[Illustration: FIG. 5.]

The anti-kalsomine system concerning which considerable discussion was

had somewhat recently amounts to this: The jobs are primed throughout

with oil, yellow ochre, and perhaps a little lead. The bodies are then

taken in hand and all necessary puttying done. The anti-kalsomine,

the fixer or binder of which is cement, is next mixed to a working

consistency with hot water and applied hot. It is best to allow the

first coat of kalsomine to stand over night before being recoated,

although in the factory system three or four coats of the cement,

_always applied hot_, are put on per day. Then a liquid mixture of

oil, japan, and turpentine, in the proportion of two parts of oil to

three parts of japan, and one part of turpentine, is flowed over the

kalsomine foundation. This liquid wash serves to weld or amalgamate the

cement with the priming coat. The sandpapering of these anti-kalsomine

foundations is one of the principal draw-backs to the use of the

cement. It sets in motion flotillas of dust, stifling and suffocating

to an extreme. It has been noted, however, that this anti-kalsomine

treatment has furnished some fine wearing and very durable surfaces.

[Illustration: FIG. 6.]

The carriage painter in practicing his trade as it applies exclusively

to carriages is confined to a comparatively few colors, but in devoting

his skill to cutter and sleigh work an extended variety of colors

may be used. Artistic instincts are in good demand in the cutter and

sleigh painting business. Possibilities for the harmonious combination

of colors exist here to an extent not known of in the other branches

of painting. Colors sombre and gay; emblematic of this, that, or the

other thing; old-fashioned as the days of witch burning or as modern

and up-to-date as the '97 color grinder can make them, are all alike

acceptable in the sight of the people who love a sleigh ride. Some

painters have a great liking for siennas and umbers as body colors for

sleigh work. Toned down some they do gleam very showily under varnish.

Such colors striped with aluminum or gold and edged with a fine line

of red give a strikingly handsome effect, especially if the running

parts are painted in some one of the beautiful light reds at present

available; or a lighter shade of the body color can be advantageously

employed upon the running parts. Perhaps the lighter styles of cutters,

speeding cutters, for example, take more kindly to the light and showy

reds as running-parts colors than do the vehicles of heavier build,

but all styles, nevertheless, permit of brilliant color effects in

the treatment of running parts. For a light track or speeding cutter,

color the side and back panels medium ultramarine blue; the dash,

carmine; running parts, a very light carmine. Stripe the panels, 1/4

inch line of gold with a fine line of carmine. The dash and running

parts may be displayed with striping of black and gold. Portland

cutters for ordinary service show handsomely with the body panels done

in ultramarine blue, moldings blacked, with the running parts done

in the lightest shades of the ultramarine blue, the job then striped

throughout with a primrose yellow stripe. Or again, these cutters are

painted deep carmine throughout the body, with light carmine running

parts. The striping on body consists of 1/8 inch line of black, and

3/8 inch inside of that is flashed a fine gold line. A Portland amber

color for the body, with a lighter shade of the same color for the

running-parts, looks fetching, notably so when the body panels are

striped with double lines of carmine, the ornamental corner pieces

being done in carmine of a lighter shade. The running parts may get a

single 1/8 inch line of carmine. Then one can see in the cutter and

sleigh centres Portlands done in ashen-grey, canary and lemon yellow,

etc.

One of the largest cutter and sleigh factories in this country has this

year abandoned the double fine line style of striping so greatly in

evidence for several years past, using instead, as a rule, a 1/8-inch

carmine stripe--obtained by glazing carmine over a yellow base--with a

distance fine line of gold running inside of it. At this establishment

one can see a jaunty Portland painted pure white, with the body striped

a 1/8-inch blue line with a distance fine line of red. Here also are

to be seen beautiful amber browns, charming greens, elegant yellows of

the primrose, orange, canary order and extending down to the delicate

cream colors. But, on the whole, those cutter and sleigh builders

and painters who cater to the worshipers at Fashion's shrine show

a determination to adhere to the dark rich colors, such as browns,

greens, and blacks, for panel work. Cutters with running parts painted

in colors different from those used upon the bodies are not so much in

evidence as formerly. Where the dark colors promise to remain in high

favor with a large class of the very exclusive folk for some years to

come, no strict adherence to such colors may be expected on the part of

the general cutter-and-sleigh-using public.

STRIPING, CORNER PIECES, SCROLLS, ETC.

In the striping of cutters and sleighs the real basis of success is a

judicious selection of colors. It has been a common saying in factory

circles that anything in the way of colors, hit or miss, goes in

sleigh painting when the ornamenting is reached. But this should not

be so; in point of fact, it is not so in those establishments doing

a good class of work. A riotous jumble of colors thrown into a fine

line corner piece or scroll is an abominable exhibition of bad taste.

There is nothing, we dare say, that so completely stamps the cheap

cutter or sleigh with a glaring badge of cheapness as the ornament

constructed from an inharmonious selection of colors and dotted to

beat a Baxter St. vest lining. The dotter has no business striping or

ornamenting the modern cutter or sleigh. The ornamental features of

sleigh work need to be of a very high order of excellence. Otherwise

it fails to correspond to the quality of finish which now obtains in

all first-class establishments where sleigh work is carried on. In this

connection the reader's attention is directed to examples of fine line

ornaments adapted to Portland cutters and sleighs; also to examples of

the bold, handsome relief scrolls once so extensively used, and which

show so beautifully upon cutters and sleighs of the swell body pattern.

[Illustration: FIG. 7.]

Ornaments Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are quick pencil sketches for panel

corners. The writer contributed these pieces to _The Hub_ some time

ago and their reproduction must be credited to the courtesy of that

journal. No. 4 is used upon the dashes of Portland cutters, speeding

sleighs, etc. Two distinct corner pieces are shown in this design, thus

illustrating the possibilities of variation in respect to the corner

designs employed. No. 5 is a corner piece designed for Old Comfort

and Empress cutters. This piece may be done in three or four shades of

red, or it may be placed in gold and high lighted in relief style. In

No. 6 is to be seen a very attractive design for the dash or rear panel

of a large four or six passenger sleigh. No. 7 is expressly intended

for swell body cutters and represents an ornament familiar to many

old-time painters. It is a decidedly effective scroll and will afford

the student in scroll work a good working plan for further effort. Nos.

8 and 9 explain the style of the good-old fashioned scrolls which, when

ably executed, may be declared the poetry of ornament. Vehicle painting

lost one of its chief charms when the relief scroll was abandoned, and

we say speed the day when it is welcomed back to its old time uses and

prestige. Then fortunate indeed will be the painter who is able to do

relief scrolling.

[Illustration: FIG. 8.]

Transfer ornaments of the small patterns are still used and they really

furnish happy little surface beautifiers at small cost. One can quickly

master the work of successfully applying transfers or "Decalcomanie,"

as our friends of the genteel speech may say. Cut the transfer down

close to its true outlines, and then to the back of the ornament apply

a size of finishing varnish and japan gold size. When this has reached

the right "tack," it is placed in position on the surface. It is then

given a few minutes to fasten itself securely upon the surface, after

which it is washed over with clean water until the covering over the

face of the transfer is sufficiently moistened to free itself, when lo!

the ornament in all its freshness and coloring of raiment is revealed.

The washing of the transfer is something of a delicate operation as it

is a perfectly easy matter to disfigure the ornament or flood it out of

position by careless practices.

[Illustration: FIG. 9.]

REPAINTING CUTTERS AND SLEIGHS, REVARNISHING, ETC.

Cutters and sleighs for repainting, revarnishing and brightening up

generally should be got into the paint shop as soon as possible after

the carriage work declines in the late fall. This enables the painter

to avoid the rush which is sure to be upon him with the first "run

of sleighing." It also enables him to do more satisfactory work in

several ways. The work taken in early has a measure of time given it

while being carried through the several processes not accorded that

received late in the season. Varnish coats given proper time to dry not

only surface up better but wear and retain their brilliancy longer,

and do not fire crack when run out in the cold. Upon the average class

of cutters and sleighs a less expensive varnish, as compared to that

used upon first-class carriages, will serve all necessary purposes.

Expensive finishing varnishes are not needed. Cutters and sleighs are

not exposed to the severe and destructive forms of service that wheeled

vehicles are, consequently they do not require highly elastic finishing

varnishes to furnish the needed durability. They are in service for

only a comparatively small part of the year, and mud spotting and

troubles of that order do not intrude themselves. Save in the case of

the highest-class sleigh work, a first-class gear finishing varnish

will furnish satisfactory results for finishing cutter and sleigh

bodies. A heavy gear varnish will answer perfectly for the running

parts. But in this selection of varnishes choice should always fall

upon those of first-class quality. Whatever the grade, get the best

in quality of that grade. First-class paint and varnish stock is more

handily worked and will cover more surface than inferior stock, and

judged from any point of view one may elect it is the most economical

material to buy.

When a cutter or sleigh comes in for a thorough repainting, examine

the vehicle closely and if the body can be removed without too large

an expenditure of labor, removal should be insisted upon. There is

usually considerable dirt under the edges of a cutter body that cannot

be cleaned out except the body be taken off. And a little of this dirt

caught up in the paint or varnish brush worketh evil to the whole job.

Moreover, the brushes brought in contact with such accumulations of

dirt are unfitted to produce pleasing results in the immediate future.

The touch-up-and-varnish sleigh job is, in the main, a troublesome

affair, especially the running parts. The merry and pretty colors which

chiefly obtain on sleigh running parts painted in former years are not

so easily matched as the colors used upon the bodies. In point of fact,

it doesn't pay to devote much time in trying for a match. Instead, mix

a color to about the shade of the old color and go over the running

parts entire. Then restripe and finish, and in the great majority of

cases money will be saved thereby. In rubbing cutter or sleigh work

furnished with heavy moldings out of varnish, use, for surfacing such

moldings, any varnish brush of a small pattern worn to a stub. Cutting

through on the edges of the moldings is nicely avoided in this way. For

the large panels on sleigh work a 3-inch finishing brush will serve as

the best tool. It carries a greater quantity of varnish and enables the

finisher to coat the surface quicker than he could do with the smaller

brush. In finishing the quick and adroit placing of the varnish is an

item of chief importance.

During the sleigh season there usually drifts into the jobbing paint

shop a lot of not very particular work. As for example, heavy work,

sleighs, bobs, etc. Upon such work there may be used the accumulated

odds and ends of colors of various shades, hues, and tints, left over

from doing sleigh work of a better class and from carriage work. Some

very neat combinations may be effected by the judicious employment of

these left-over bits of color, and it helps to slick up and put into

profitable use certain materials which otherwise might eventually find

their way into that quagmire of the paint shop--the slush keg. Briefly

stated, cutter and sleigh painting opens the way for the employment of

considerable material which cannot be termed strictly "available" in

the other branches of painting; it comes at a time when the painter

is better able to appreciate a lean loaf than a fat icicle; and if

conducted according to business-like and workman-like practices it will

supply a handsome source of profits.

CHAPTER XVI.

LEAVES FROM THE PAINT SHOP DIARY--PERTINENT POINTS ON PRACTICAL

MATTERS--BLENDING OF COLORS--SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION--PAINTING IN

SILVER BRONZE--THE FRENCH PAINTERS' VARNISH ROOM--REMEDY FOR RUSTED

CARRIAGE SPRINGS--PAINTING METALLIC SURFACES--THINNING VARNISH--ETC.

At best the carriage painter's existence is somewhat hazardous, his

every-day scene of toil being well laden with poisonous fumes and fetid

exhalations. In the painting of a hearse, ambulance, or "dead wagon"

the precaution of disinfecting the vehicle most thoroughly should be

taken. Carbolic acid, carbonate of lime, or, if one prefers, numerous

ready prepared disinfectants of penetrating composition may be used

generously. Prudence dictates the policy of refusing to take any

chances when working in and about a vehicle possibly afflicted with the

germs of some deadly contagious disease.

It is not always an easy matter to clean the glasses in heavy coach

work unless special methods are practiced. Here is a quick way of

cleaning besmeared glasses of the kind named. Saturate a soft sponge

with wood alcohol and wipe over both sides of the glass. If perchance

varnish or paint accumulations are in evidence the alcohol softens them

and a quick runaround with a keen-edged putty knife removes them. If a

careless or incompetent workman has badly bedaubed a glass, coat the

daubs with oxalic acid. The action of this powerful liquid will very

briefly soften up the accumulations so that the putty knife will nicely

slick them off. Then give a rub over with an alcohol-charged sponge,

this to be immediately followed by a smart polish with the chamois

skin. If a still better polish is desired, take a newspaper, roll it

into a shape that will permit rubbing the glass without bringing the

fingers in contact with the surface, and then dipping the paper into

dry lampblack proceed to burnish both sides of the glass.

The blending of colors has lately become an important feature of the

carriage painter's art. This was at one time considered purely a matter

of business belonging to the artist, but it is not now so regarded.

Artistic, and therefore harmonious, color blending consists in

preserving the individuality of each color employed, while at the same

time there is an almost unconscious merging of one color into another.

No distinctive lines are allowed to disturb the harmony of the work.

The carriage color blender, like his brother artist of the palette and

three-story studio, aims to obtain a thorough incorporation of all the

different shades of color employed upon a certain piece of work so that

the blending from light lo dark may be made without resorting to any

glaring contrasts. The blending is accomplished while the colors are

wet, the ground being laid first in the lighter colors, then working

in the darker shades until the darkest desired shade is reached. Great

care is necessarily expended upon the tools, etc. A color-clogged brush

need not be expected to do good blending service. No arbitrary rules

can be given within which to confine the work of blending--it is too

closely allied to art for that. Supremely necessary aids to success in

this field of work consist of plenty of practice taken in connection

with intelligent study of outline, harmony, and contrasts.

If it is desirable to varnish a job of gilding the same day the leaf is

laid, and it is feared that the leaf will brush mark, it is a good plan

to give the gold a light coat of thin shellac, going over the work very

quickly. The shellac will protect the leaf without in any way harming

it.

One hears a good deal concerning spontaneous combustion. The craft

would be less familiar with the term if the following rule, rigidly

enforced in some shops, were lived up to in letter and spirit: _Greasy

rags must be burned up immediately, and not, under any consideration,

allowed to remain in the shop one moment after their use is finished.

Any violation of this order will result in immediate dismissal._

The following method of filling in a badly cracked carriage surface has

successfully been practiced by a friend of the writer's. The surface

is first cleaned and given a light sandpapering to strike off dirt,

motes, etc. Then dust off and apply a coat of gold-size japan, a free,

generous coat of the japan being used. Once dry, the coat is gone over

with a roll of rubbing felt to kill the gloss. The gold-size japan

reaches into the minute orifices more effectively than varnish, filling

and sealing the fissures, and in addition it furnishes an easily and

quickly prepared surface for the color and the varnish coats to follow.

You wish to repair a split panel. At each extremity of the split bore

a 1/4 inch hole. Put one hole just at the crack, the second one fairly

clear of it. Next plug the holes up, and then dress off even with the

surface of the panel. Now cut a shallow bevel along each side of the

crack; this to enable the putty to resist the cracking tendency of the

crevice. Then give the dressed off parts a coat of lead containing a

good binder of oil. When this has dried putty the hollow level and fill

with a putty made of 3/4 dry white lead and 1/4 keg lead, the liquids

being rubbing varnish and japan, equal parts. Sandpaper this repair in

due time, and then give the final puttying, which should be done to the

full measure of the best possible skill.

An effective little advertising card was once circulated by a

keen-minded California carriage painter, and on the back of the card

were appended the following wise admonitions to the carriage user. The

suggestions are quite as pertinent now as they were at the time they

were first given publicity. To insure durability of the painting you

must care for the work as follows, viz:

"Don't expose to the fumes of ammonia.

Don't let mud dry on it.

Don't scratch the varnish in washing.

Don't expose to the sun or rain when not in use.

Don't let the axle-grease collect on the hubs.

Don't blame me if you are careless, as I have given you warning."

A man is well dressed only when every part of his apparel meets the

approval of the critic. This same estimate also applies to carriage

painting--that is to genteel carriage painting. Hence why send the

top joints on a carriage top out roughly and incompletely finished?

The critical eye rests very quickly upon such conspicuous parts

of a vehicle, and if they are not fittingly finished the seal of

condemnation is set upon the work as a whole. Here is a finish for top

joints that will disarm the fault finder: First coat up with stout

coat of lead containing sufficient oil to bind the lead securely. Then

mix two parts dry white lead, one part roughstuff filler, to a rather

stiff paste in equal parts of japan and rubbing varnish. Rub this

mixture onto the joints with a piece of heavy harness leather. When

dry, give the pigment a thorough smoothing up with sandpaper, color,

color-and-varnish, rub with water and pumice stone, and then finish

with a hard drying finishing varnish.

To paint a carriage gear in silver bronze, which one is now and then

asked to do, bring the work up to the point of the foundation color

for the bronze very carefully, using no lampblack in the priming and

first lead coats to throw them to a slate color. The foundation coat

should be pure white, mixed to dry without gloss and applied with a

camel's-hair brush. Over this coat flow on a coat of rubbing varnish,

and when the right "tack" is reached apply the bronze with a soft,

clean camel's-hair brush. The wiping off and the delicate burnish may

be given with a soft piece of chamois skin. Stripe with some color that

harmonizes nicely with the bronze, and use no varnish over it. Varnish

destroys the richness of the bronze.

Why use a broad pencil in glazing double line stripes? The existing

space between the stripes, when the glazing is done with a broad

pencil, reflects a clouded, muddy appearance. Better glaze each line

separately, using a sword pencil for glazing with, and thus obtain the

best color effects along with a fine, dressy outline of striping.

If a carriage top from which the enamel has nearly or quite vanished

is desired to be made bright again the following recipe, published by

the writer in _Painting and Decorating_ some time since, will give

satisfaction: Mix 2 parts of liquid glue with 3 parts of dissolved

castile soap, adding 120 parts of soft water, to more thoroughly

liquify the glue and soap. Then add 4 parts of spirit varnish, after

which stir in 2 parts of wheat starch, previously mixed in water.

Follow with just enough lampblack to give the mixture a solidly black

tinge. A trifle too much of the lampblack will kill the gloss. The

dressing is now ready for use. It should be kept in an air-tight vessel

to prevent thickening.

A green stripe is strikingly enriched by glazing with verdigris, but

this glaze should be varnished over as soon as dry, or, at any rate,

before moisture settles upon the work; otherwise the verdigris will

lose its quality.

It's a very simple operation to sweep a varnish or paint-room floor,

but some ways are better than others, nevertheless. Try this way for

a change and thereby establish its utility: Take a pail of sawdust,

dampen it thoroughly, and then throw a windrow of the woody bits across

one side of the room. Sweep across to the other side of the apartment,

and then observe how spick and clean the floor will be, with no

moisture remaining to annoy the painter or varnisher.

The blow-pipe should be more in evidence in the carriage paint shop.

The tinsmith will charge but a small fee for making the pipe, which may

be 1-1/2 ft. long and tapering from 1/2 inch at one end to 1/4 inch at

the other. Dust and dirt that cannot be removed with a duster is simply

given a cyclone breath through the tube, and, presto! the parts are

clean. With the blow-pipe water can be driven out of evasive corners

when cleaning up a job preparatory to varnishing.

Despite the best laid plans of the painter carriage linings

occasionally get some glaring smears of pigment. If the linings so

defaced be of light color, dampen with naphtha or gasoline, and then

with a clean woolen cloth rub the goods briskly. This same treatment

may be given to dark colored cloth upon which the paint spots have

dried. If the spots are observed while the paint is still wet, rub them

smartly with pieces of the same kind of cloth of which the lining is

composed. The cloth to cloth treatment is a most effective and easy

treatment.

The business wagon painter has many moldings and battens to black, and

he greatly needs a good, pleasant handling pencil with which to do the

work. A pretty working pencil for doing the parts here named is made

in this wise: Take some hair from a camel's-hair pencil and mix with

it 1/3 black sable hair. Prepare a handle as though you were to make a

sword pencil, splitting it at the base, etc. Then, after arranging the

hair to the right width and thickness, insert the butt end of the bunch

in the split. Wind tightly with strong linen thread. Use on the flat

side of the pencil instead of the edge.

An imitation-of-ebony job comes within the province of the painter's

skill now and then. First of all, the wood should be close,

fine-grained stuff. Wash it with a decoction of logwood three or four

times, allowing the liquid to dry well between applications. Next wash

with a solution of acetate of iron. This gives a deep, intensely black

color.

For the filling of an unusually deep surface cavity prepare a pigment

after this formula: One part keg lead; 2 parts whiting. Mix to a stiff

paste in equal parts of thick varnish bottoms and raw linseed oil. Add

a small quantity of japan to insure reliable drying. Then to this mass

mix in enough dry white lead to cause the putty to work nicely from the

hand. Apply very smooth so as to avoid sandpapering.

One of the secrets of the French coach painter's success as a fine

varnisher and finisher was revealed by W. H. Knight's report on the

Paris Exposition. Referring to the varnish room, Mr. Knight wrote: The

door is locked, and no one is admitted under any circumstances--not

even the proprietor. The doors and windows are air-tight, so that not

a particle of dust can find entrance. And yet the room is ventilated,

but how? By means of tubes filled with a mixture of horsehair and wool.

This permits the air to enter freely, but deprives it of all dust,

consequently the finish of their work is perfect and exquisite.

All surfaces painted with lake colors should be amply protected by

substantial varnish coats. Neither the lake coats nor the foundations

over which they are laid should be allowed to dry "dead." Give

the ground coats a bit of gloss and _always_ use the lakes as

color-and-varnish coats. Also, _always_ refrain from buying a cheap,

inferior lake, the chief constituents of which are whiting and aniline

dye. Water dissolves the aniline: hence with water as an aid the

painter can determine the quality, in a measure at least, of the lake

colors. To the surface painted in a lake color, apply, before coating

with varnish, a generous smear of water. If the aniline speedily

disappears, leaving the colorless whiting base, the purchaser has just

cause to question the quality of the material.

A varnish sag upon a surface doesn't always admit of easy removal. It

can be done, however, and that very quickly and smoothly in a majority

of cases. Get a stocky bunch of curled hair, wet it up thoroughly, give

it a liberal dip in pulverized pumice stone, and then rub the afflicted

surface carefully. Finish with a uniform polish furnished by the

regular varnish surfacing equipment.

Carriage and wagon interiors, running parts, etc., finished in the

natural wood, that have become stained in spots so as to be an offense

to the eye, may be satisfactorily renewed by smearing the stains

with oxalic acid. Apply the acid with a brush, permit it to act upon

the stains for a few minutes, then with a small sponge wash off with

clean, soft water. The steel scraper, handily wielded, will then remove

all remaining evidences of the stains. All metallic surfaces may be

perfectly cleaned with this acid.

The question of carriage springs rusting is a live one with the

carriage painter. The spring maker, or rather the first-class

manufacturer of springs, avers that the spring product well ground and

finished is not at all liable to rust or prematurely throw off its

protecting coats of paint and varnish. The carriage painter, however,

is compelled to paint and dress up all sorts and conditions of springs.

The badly rusted and scaly springs may be thoroughly cleaned, using a

file and hammer for the purpose, and the spring layers being separated

one from another. Then coat with graphite paint or mineral brown, and

in due time finish up in the usual way. Again, the inner surface of the

spring leaves is coated with a lead and lampblack mixture, and later

given a glazing of equal parts of unsalted beef and mutton tallow. A

third formula, widely known as _The Hub_ formula, because it is said

to have originated with that journal, has proven of value. It is as

follows: "Remove the securing bolts; place the springs thus released

from tension in a bath of soft water over night. In the morning, with

a stiff bristle or helix brush, in water at 100° degrees, scour the

plates effectually, and remove the oxide by means of an ample use of

elbow grease. Dry by sunlight or artificial heat in hardwood sawdust.

Let lie in warm sawdust, at 75° or 80° for from two to three hours;

then give a thin coat of clear, boiled linseed oil, and when thoroughly

dry (an exposure of twelve or more hours is necessary), coat over by

means of a sponge with a mixture of 6 parts of commercial beeswax,

suspended at 90°, with 2 parts of spirits of turpentine. One hour after

application wipe off edges of all plates; then allow one hour for

hardening and secure the plate with centre bolt."

The carriage painter frequently has sign writing to do on glass and

he requires a reliable size to enable him to get first-class leafing.

Russian isinglass makes the best size, although it is often difficult

to obtain from local merchants. To a pint of soft water add a piece

of the isinglass 1/2 in. square and boil until the material is wholly

dissolved. Then add a drop or two of alcohol, strain, and the size is

ready for use. Gelatine, while largely used, should be used the day it

is prepared as a size, otherwise it is not reliable in its action. Put

a few shreds of the gelatine in a quart of water and boil until the

water is reduced to a pint.

Vermilion is one of the highly-prized carriage painting pigments,

and the best is none too good to meet the requirements of good work.

To test the color, heat a small quantity in a porcelain vessel over

an alcohol lamp. The adulterated vermilion, in burning, will leave a

sediment either red, black, or perhaps white. The genuine quicksilver

vermilion invariably proves fugitive when submitted to intense heat.

The refuse oil of pine or coal tar is a useful oil to keep upon the

paint shop shelves. Suppose a borrowed brush or a brush neglected in

some way about the shop is found dried up--hardened to a stone-like

condition. Take a quantity of the pine or coal tar oil from its

air-tight receptacle, where it should be kept to prevent evaporation,

and in the liquid suspend the injured brush well up over the bristles.

Three or four days' immersion will usually soften up a very much abused

brush.

All colors that are apparently changed in purity of color when even the

palest of varnishes are used over them, should have a little of the

color used in each varnish coat up to the finishing coat of varnish. If

striping or ornamenting is used do this work upon the last rubbing coat

and then finish with the very palest varnish obtainable.

Bear in mind this fact, namely: Colors are divided into three cardinal

degrees--light, medium, and dark. And the relative position of the base

color governs the intermediate shades. In the mixing and use of colors

it is also a wise policy to provide for the self-asserting property of

the strongest or controlling color. If this is not done the distinctive

character of the color sought for will not for long be retained.

A prime factor in finishing a carriage in natural wood consists in

first thoroughly cleaning the wood and then keeping it clean. All

stains and discolorations of the wood should be sandpapered out or

scraped off with steel scraper and a piece of glass. Then a careful,

uniform sandpapering should be given. Dust off and apply a coat of raw

linseed oil. This oil coat requires a clean, smooth rubbing out--as

clean and smooth as a coat of paint. Give this oil coat from 24 to

36 hours to dry and harden completely. Sandpaper lightly, dust off,

and give the surface a coating of some reliable, first-class, wood

filler. As soon as the filler takes on a sufficient "tack," rub across

the grain of the wood with soft, clean rags until the surface is free

from any surplus filler. If, after the application of the filler, the

cells of the wood remain unfilled or defectively sealed, a second coat

of the filler will be necessary. Once the filler has dried, mix a

putty colored to match the natural color of the wood, and putty nail

and screw holes and other cavities. This puttying should be done so

smoothly as to necessitate little or no sandpapering for the purpose

of leveling the putty spots. The whole surface may now in due time be

lightly gone over with No. 0 paper. Next dust off and apply a coat of

pale rubbing varnish. The striping is best done on this coat. Then give

second coat of rubbing, surfacing this coat, when dry, with pulverized

pumice stone and water, clean up most thoroughly, and finish with a

very pale durable finishing varnish.

The painting of one of these natural-wood-finished jobs often presents

a formidable problem. What is the best method to pursue? That cannot

be answered decisively; but a reliable method is appended. First

scrape and sandpaper the old varnish clean and sleek to the wood. If

the wood is in good shape and not weather-beaten, apply a coat of lead

containing no more oil than is carried in the keg lead as it comes from

the dealer, the pigment being simply thinned with turpentine and given

a drying agent in the shape of a teaspoonful of coach japan, to, say,

each pint of the mixture. If the varnish has perished, and the wood is

injured thereby, it is advisable to give the lead a little extra dash

of oil, but not enough to cause the lead to dry with a gloss. Testing

the lead on the finger nail will determine the question of gloss. When

dry this coating of lead should receive a careful sandpapering, and a

second coat of lead mixed to dry "dead," and laid with a camel's-hair

brush, may go on. Too much oil should be especially avoided in building

the lead foundation over these natural wood surfaces, as it must be

borne in mind that the grain of the wood has been already sealed

with a hard, non-absorbent material into which the usual first coat

percentage of oil does not penetrate. On this second coat of lead all

needed puttying is done. The sandpapering which follows should be

very perfect and skillfully done. Body surfaces may next receive the

needed roughstuff coating up, to be subsequently rubbed out and carried

through to a finish in the ordinary way. The running parts from this

lead coat foundation are colored and finished according to the accepted

practice.

Once upon a time, my lamented friend, A. F. Manchester, in the columns

of _Varnish_, asked this pertinent question: "Do you have trouble

with your fine colors clouding up and losing their brilliancy from

the varnish?" Replying to the query, he suggested this plan, to the

efficacy of which the writer is glad to subscribe: "On any transparent

color (or any color, in fact) always add some of the color to each

coat of rubbing varnish--enough to kill the amber tint of the varnish.

This preserves the colors in all their original brilliancy. Of course,

this plan necessitates striping and ornamenting on the last coat of

rubbing, but that is just as well as burying all the tone of the colors

under the varnish. Then, again, it obliges the customer to have the job

revarnished when he ought."

It is not a praiseworthy practice to putty a carriage body after it is

rubbed out of roughstuff, or after the first coat of color is on. The

puttying should be attended to when the job is being roughstuffed--and

before. All places overlooked at the first puttying should be attended

to carefully upon the first coat of roughstuff. Puttying upon a

roughstuffed rubbed panel leads to premature surface blemishes of a

most unhappy order.

Certain of the yellows are rather difficult to work nicely when used

as striping colors for dagger or sword pencils. Notably so is chrome

yellow, which, by the way, is a pretty foundation for glazing with

carmine. Such colors may be remedied by adding a bit of some body color

which will give them a stronger covering property without harmfully

changing the purity of the yellow.

The subject of varnish rooms is an entertaining one. So many poor

varnish rooms exist that any plan to make them better, so long as it

be a feasible plan, merits attention. Mr. F. J. Flowers, an old-time

carriage man and an earnest advocate of the first-class varnish room,

some time ago gave his idea of such an apartment in these words:

"First, it should not be on the top floor of a building where it gets

all the gases and fumes from the smith and paint shops. It should

be round in form, with a dome roof, ventilated and well lighted

therefrom; and each light of glass should be as colorless as possible,

and arranged so as to prevent the direct rays of the sun. Its ceiling

should be all wood, stained light blue with water colors; the floor

should be waxed or oiled; the room, when in use, should be kept at

an even temperature (not less than 65°), and all dampness should

be avoided. You ask, why round? I answer, all evaporations form in

circles when ascending; the room having no corners, there is no back

draught to obstruct them. Why lighted from the roof? There will be no

cross-lights, hence no conflicting light. Why ceiled with wood? It is

dryer than plaster and will absorb the evaporations when not coated

with oil paint. Why color blue? It is the spring light, and gives

the purest reflection. Why an even temperature? It will prevent the

condensing of the vapor, and thereby prevent it from falling back upon

the varnish, which gives it that bloomy, silky, and pitted look which

we hear so much about."

Upon heavy vehicle work, such as broughams, landaus, etc., the inside

surface of glass frames, pillars, door checks, and the like, quite

commonly go with a polish finish, as it does away with sticking doors,

defaced pillars, and glaring glass frames. The contrast between the

polished parts and those reflecting a high brilliancy of finish is

soft and pleasing and a grateful relief to the eye. The parts referred

to, having been brought up to a solid foundation of rubbing varnish,

are given a thorough surfacing with pumice stone flour and water. Next

rub with sweet oil and rotten stone, using a soft woolen cloth for the

polisher. Conclude the operation by rubbing wheat flour under a clean

bit of woolen until the friction generated makes a gloss. The flour, in

addition to its other office, will absorb and clean up the oil.

A very quick drying striping color is frequently demanded--one that

can be varnished over in an hour after application, or sooner. Mix the

pigment in equal parts of rubbing varnish and coach japan. Then thin to

the proper working consistency with turpentine.

In painting over metallic surfaces, which the carriage and wagon

painter frequently finds it necessary to do, it is essential to first

know that such surfaces are thoroughly clean and free from acids,

grease, etc. Give them a rub over with kerosene or benzine, and then

wash with soap and water, concluding with a generous rinsing off

with clean water. If the surface is too heavily saturated with paint

injuring accumulations, give it a wash with water containing sal

soda in the proportion of, say, 1/2 to 3/4 lb. of the soda to 5 or 6

quarts of water. A rinsing with clean water will now afford a clean

surface over which to paint. The metallic surface being clean, it

remains for the painter to give it a hard, solid surfacing with No.

1-1/2 sandpaper, in order to develop the necessary minute furrows

and scratches to give the pigment a "bite" or a chance to grip fast.

Instead of sandpapering, the practice holds good in some shops of

rubbing the surface with a fire brick as a means of trenching and

channeling it to the required extent.

The vehicle painter located in the small shop and not usually using a

very considerable quantity of varnish daily, should buy his supply of

this material in small cans--pints and quarts for example. Once a can

is opened, the varnish, through repeated exposure to the air, quickly

begins to grow fatty, and after a time the loss of the turpentine

leaves it in an unfit condition to work satisfactorily over a fine

surface. A rubber stopper is the best kind of a varnish can stopper,

because it does not crumble and break into bits like the cork, and it

is the closest possible approach to an air-tight device.

The painter has but small use for the varnish that has to be thinned

with turpentine in order to give it the proper spreading and flowing

property. The elements of durability and brilliancy of lustre are

in great danger of being greatly impaired, if not quite wholly

destroyed, when shop thinning of varnishes is practiced. To attempt

to successfully cut the solidity of varnish with turpentine added in

hit or miss fashion constitutes a direct injury to this manifestly

sensitive and delicate material. Thinning varnish should be resorted to

only when an extremely critical emergency presents itself.

To provide a tight, dust-and-smoke-proof floor for the varnish room,

proceed in this wise: Cut strips of stout wrapping paper to the

proper length to fit lengthwise of the floor. Coat one side of the

paper with trimmer's paste, and then lay the strips on smooth and

free from wrinkles. Allow the second strip to overlap the first one

fully 2 inches. Continue overlapping until the floor is covered. When

the first layer or covering has laid long enough to provide for the

complete drying of the paste, lay a second course of the paper in the

same manner, and in due time, if necessary, apply a third course. Then

apply a coat of yellow ochre paint, mixed oil and turpentine, in the

proportion of 1/4 oil to 3/4 turpentine, with a tablespoonful of japan

added to each pint of the paint. The second coat of ochre may be mixed

in 2/3 hard drying implement varnish to 1/3 japan.

Mr. P. C. Hoebel, in _Varnish_, interestingly describes his method of

painting over a cracked and fissured surface, and avers that it has

for many years proven uniformly successful. Mr. Hoebel says: "Instead

of sanding down the old varnish, I skin it off by the use of ammonia

and a stiff bladed putty knife. Then rub down with block rubbing stone

and let stand over night to dry out. Next, a good sandpapering with

No. 1 paper; dust thoroughly. Then apply a mixture composed of 1 part

drop black, 1 part keg lead, and the same amount of dry lampblack.

Add a little rubbing varnish. Thin to a proper working consistency

with turpentine. Next day putty-glaze the entire cracked surface with

not too soft putty. Use the regulation hard drying carriage painter's

putty. This putty should dry hard enough to sand well the following

day. The sandpapering of this putty is of the greatest importance and

requires an extra amount of elbow grease. The job is now ready to

receive the proper ground work for its respective color which is to be."

In wagon painting some exceedingly light and delicate tints are used,

and driers for such tints adapted to the delicacy of coloring are

needed. Appended is a formula for a drier of this kind: Mix 15 parts

of sulphate of zinc, 4 parts sugar of lead, and 7 of litharge, with

pure linseed oil, and grind the mixture in a paint mill very fine; then

mix 100 parts of paris white to a dough with 50 parts of white lead

and linseed oil. Grind this also very fine in the mill, then mix all

together, grinding once more.

It is possible now and then to remedy a case of pitted varnish in this

manner. The morning after the varnish is applied cover the surface

with clear turpentine. Let the turps gradually soak up and soften the

pitted varnish, adding more turps as required. When the varnish has

become sufficiently softened, mix a little raw linseed oil with the

turpentine (the oil holding the turps in check and preventing it from

cutting into the under coats) and with a soft badger-hair brush proceed

to "lift" the afflicted varnish coat. The varnish once removed, let the

surface stand for a few hours, then give it a light rubbing over with a

moistened sponge dipped in finely pulverized pumice stone. Follow with

a thorough washing with clean water and revarnish.

Color and varnish strainers are a necessity. Cheese cloth, cut into

6-inch squares, gives a very practical kind of strainer. All colors

that have stood for some time after mixing require straining before

being used. And finishing varnish--all varnish, in fact, should

be strained as the final contents of the can are approached. Many

first-class finishers insist upon straining all the varnish they use;

and cheese cloth serves the purpose of a good strainer at a low cost.

The best stroke for squaring up varnish has often been discussed at

length, and it seems to be the decision of the leading finishers of the

country that the horizontal stroke is to be preferred to the vertical.

To the beginner the former is probably the most difficult to use, the

danger of runs, sags, etc., seemingly being thereby intensified. The

natural flow of varnish, as the finishers all may know, is downward,

and the horizontal stroke of the brush does not arrest this flow or

divert it from its accepted course. The vertical stroke, however,

permits of a varnish flow in at least two directions--sideways and

downward. Runs and other surface defacers are equally possible with

the horizontal or vertical brush stroke. Immunity from such disturbers

depends altogether upon the uniformity and equality with which the

varnish has been flowed upon the surface.

To renovate and give a fresh new look to cushions and backs, when

faded, thin the desired color down with turpentine until it can almost

be called a wash, and apply the mixture very thinly. Allow the color

to dry thoroughly, and then thin shellac with alcohol until a very

thin shellac is provided and coat the articles with this, following

immediately with a smart polishing with neatsfoot oil and then wiping

dry with clean woolen cloths.

The twine used for bridling paint brushes--and the twine bridle is the

favored kind in the carriage paint shop--should be run through melted

tallow and beeswax before put to use. After the tallow and wax has

cooled on the twine, the bridling may proceed. After the twine is in

position on the brush, run a little of the warm grease and wax over it.

Thus a more durable and more easily cleaned bridle is given the brush.

Imitation vermilions are considerably favored of late years, but they

fade after the manner of a late autumn twilight unless amply protected

by varnish. Given adequate varnish protection they show radiant colors

and wear durably.

The country carriage painter is no stranger to the vehicle, the family

heirloom, perchance, that comes into the shop with hubs split and

shattered, and axle grease filtering up through the cracks saturating

the wood and making it generally unpaintable. An old carriage painter

advises this treatment in order to cause the paint and color to dry

over the afflicted parts: First give the hubs a wash with gasoline or

benzine, working the fluid well into the cracks. Give plenty of time

for evaporation to occur. Then with shellac cut with a little ether,

fill in the fissure. Next make a putty of plaster of paris mixed with

the shellac and ether. Into the fissures force this mixture, keeping

it clearly from the outside surface of the hub, as nothing short of a

file will level it after it has dried. Give the putty a nice, smooth

dressing off upon the filling of each crevice.

The business wagon occasionally contains a window glass that should go

in imitation of frosted glass. Take finely ground whiting and, with

2/3 raw linseed oil to 1/3 japan, mix to a rather stiff consistency;

and then with turpentine reduce to a condition to work easily under a

camel's-hair brush. Let the mixture be spread quickly and uniformly

even upon the glass. Then take finely shredded cloth and roll it into

a ball and cover with a clean cotton cloth and proceed to go carefully

over the freshly laid on whiting, softly tapping it, until the frosted

imitation is brought clearly and prettily into relief.

A surface that has become dented by a blow from a hammer or other blunt

instrument can be remedied by so placing the surface that the dent or

depression will hold a little water poured into it, and then holding a

lighted taper to the water until the heat thus generated in the minute

body of water causes the wood to again assume its natural shape and

condition. In denting the wood, if a positive rupture does not occur

at the edge of the depression the strain of the wood has occurred in

two distinct directions--inward and lengthwise--and the reaction when

it takes place will be two-fold. A second way of treating such surface

difficulties consists of boring with a gimlet through the compressed

fibres of the wood until the sound timber is reached. This puncture

will counteract the lengthwise reaction. Then moisten with tepid water

until the wood recovers its natural position again. The bruise or dent

with fractured edges is more easily repaired, as no reaction need be

feared, the pressure of the tool making the depression having overcome

the natural resistance of the wood; and destruction of resistance

results, as may be naturally inferred, in destruction of all reactive

functions.

If the carriage or wagon painter at any time wishes a varnish to dry

without gloss he may dissolve 4 ounces of beeswax in turpentine and

add to 1 quart of varnish. This, while not reducing the body of the

varnish, will cause it to dry without much, if any lustre. It will work

from the brush freely and wear durably. If only a subdued gloss is

desired, use 2 ounces of beeswax to 1 quart of varnish.

The window sashes in business wagons that are painted in some of the

dark fashionable greens offer a beautiful contrast to the body color

if grained mahogany color. For the ground color for the mahogany use

white lead, burnt sienna, and a bit of raw sienna for the toning

ingredient. Putty, if necessary, upon the first ground coat. Two coats

should suffice to give a dense, stable ground. Burnt sienna, wet in

stale beer, forms the graining material. Apply with a soft brush, wipe

quickly out with a soft, fleecy sponge, use the blender lightly, and

the trick is done.

The finisher should never assume the responsibility of adding driers to

varnish. Varnish is composed of peculiarly sensitive and susceptible

ingredients responding to the slightest influences, good or ill, and

the addition of siccatives only tends to make the action of the varnish

uncertain. It is only for the time being that the driers unite and form

a part of the varnish. During the operation of applying to the surface

the varnish forsakes or separates the shop-added siccative, with

the result that pitting and pin-holing, along with other burdensome

deviltries, are developed. No, shop mixing of driers with varnish is

not advisable.

My esteemed _confrere_, Mr. J. G. Cameron, makes public this worthy

observation, with _Varnish_ as his medium of circulation: "Every

varnish room should have a window through which the direct rays of

the sun passes during the afternoon. It should be curtained and have

a small slit or hole in the curtain for a slice of sunlight to stream

through. This slice of sunlight will reveal the condition of the air

within the room and tell the varnisher just how much dust he will have

to contend with that day. If this ray shows that the air is loaded

with magnetic dust, it would be well for him to sprinkle well every

suspicious place within the varnish room. Some days sprinkling is not

needed; such days as rainy ones or right after a rain storm. On windy

days, window sills and any place where the air is likely to drift

through should be wet down. But on magnetic days the floor and every

place should be well wet down. A varnisher's clothes should be also

scrupulously groomed off. The writer has varnished often with a damp

'shammy' wrapped round his wrist and arm to keep the dust from his

underclothing from troubling him."

Beware of the black color-and-varnish that carries a dash of too much

color in it. Black of high or low degree, such as is used in carriage

painting, may be classed as a non-drying material. Finishing varnish

applied over a color-and-varnish containing too great a percentage of

color is exceedingly liable to strike into this improperly hardened

undercoat and lose the beauty of its lustre thereby. In carriage part

finishing done upon the color-and-varnish coat the trouble here noted

should be guarded against.

Ornamental striping upon business wagons should never be done with

the heavy stripe. Retain the same style of striping throughout a job.

Throwing in two or three styles of line work on a job is an affront to

good taste of which no up-to-date painter should be guilty.

A fine old woodworker once told my lamented friend, Mr. C. E. Vader,

how to make a saw with which to cut block pumice stone. He said: "Take

a piece of band iron 1-1/4 or 2 inches wide and 18 inches long; put

one end in the vise and then get a sharp cold-chisel. Be sure to have

it sharp. Slant the chisel 45° from you and tip to the left and strike

quite a blow. Next time turn chisel to the right, or just try to cut

some saw teeth in this iron. You can cut and set them at the same time.

Don't make teeth too far apart. This will cut as much pumice stone as a

well filed and set saw would."

In an essay on "How to Make Coach Varnish go Wrong," published by a

prominently-known varnish making firm some time since, this advice was

tendered: "Practice hospitality! Let everybody go in and out of your

varnish room freely. Don't have a small door cut in the large one,

and don't shut off your varnish room from the other rooms. Let the

temperature of your varnish room vary as much as possible. Under no

circumstances allow it to remain the same for two consecutive hours.

Let it fall far below 70° or rise far above 80°; but above all things,

_make it vary_. In the winter season let the fire go out occasionally,

and be sure to select this as the proper time to open the window to see

what is going on outside."

One of the strong selling factors of a vehicle consists of a

first-class interior finish. A prospective customer, as a rule, is

quick to perceive the finish of the inside surface; and nothing tends

more powerfully to cheapen the looks of an otherwise faultlessly

finished job than a slovenly surfaced and finished carriage body

interior. One doesn't need to insist upon the same high standard of

cleanliness for the inside as the outside, but good surfacing and an

excellent freedom from dirt, motes, etc., should be maintained in the

finishing of interior surfaces.

In the finishing of carriages in the natural wood, gum shellac should

not be used to fill up the grain of the wood. Shellac is of an entirely

too brittle nature, devoid of elasticity, to be used upon a surface

subject to sustained vibrations with accompanying violent jars and

jolts. For first-class carriage work shellac is good only when not used.

Another strongly recommended method of filling up cracks and fissures

in coach panels embraces the employment of equal parts of English

filling, dry white lead and whiting, mixed with equal parts of japan

and rubbing varnish. To this add 1/2 the quantity of rye flour paste,

stirring the mass into a thick consistency. This is applied with an old

paint brush, and when it has set and stiffened considerably upon the

surface it is knifed in with a broad-blade putty knife, and two days

later it is rubbed down with a block of pumice stone or a fine rubbing

brick.

A putty for resetting glass in coach frames is made of 7 parts whiting

and 1 part white lead mixed to the correct working consistency in raw

linseed oil, adding a little japan gold size to furnish the proper

drying quality. If the putty is to be use upon black frames, darken

sufficiently with ivory drop black, instead of lampblack, and lessen

proportionately the japan used. This putty can be depended upon to

remain in place and securely, hold the glass in the frames.

* * * * *

=THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD=

=Robert Ingham Clark & Co.=,

MANUFACTURERS OF THE CELEBRATED

=Britannia English Varnishes.=

=LONDON. PARIS. HAMBURG.=

[Illustration]

The Britannia Finishing Varnishes of the Robert Ingham Clark & Co.

manufacture are sold in every part of the civilized world. The extreme

durability of their varnishes, combined with their brilliancy,

easy-working and quick-drying properties, make them the best and safest

varnishes for carriage and car work to be found on the market. These

goods are put up in gallons, halves and quarts; also in 12-1/2 gallon

drums. Samples will be furnished on application.

=PRATT & LAMBERT=,

=AGENTS FOR THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO=,

=Long Island City=, =370-378 Twenty-Sixth St.=,

=NEW YORK. CHICAGO.=

* * * * *

=Carriage Varnishes and Japans of Unequalled Quality=

=Special Crimson Color Varnish=

An unrivalled undercoating for the finest work. Works very freely,

covers splendidly, has a beautiful color and holds the latter

wonderfully. Can be "mossed" off in twelve hours.

=Clear Rubbing Varnishes _of_ Highest Quality=

Work and rub very easily. The standard for quality for twenty-five

years.

=Nonpareil Japan=

A wonderful drier and binder. Exceedingly pale in color, and never

equaled in quality.

=Pale Body Finishing=

Made up on a new formula and having no equal for a high-grade

finishing Varnish. Works easily, flows out finely with a splendid

lustre, giving a very fine surface over touch-up work, and is

thoroughly reliable in all respects.

=CHICAGO VARNISH COMPANY=

=(Established 1865)=

=Dearborn & Kinzie 22 Vesey Street 66 High Street

CHICAGO NEW YORK BOSTON=

* * * * *

THE EASY WAY.

The average actor must rehearse the new piece several times, and each

rehearsal uses up half a day. Then he needs the prompter to help him

out with the first few performances: and his anxiety, lest he forget,

wears on his nerves and worries the other actors and causes the manager

to say things, and compels a great many scenes of battle and sorrow

not writ in the play. Edwin Booth never needed the prompter, and he

rehearsed but once. He had it all in his mind so familiarly, before he

came to the stage, that he went through it without an effort. He said

he was lazy, and that was the easiest way.

We appeal to your laziness. Why not make business easy! What's the

use of worrying, and making mistakes, and doing it over again, and

getting rattled, and keeping the factory in a turmoil, and having

angry customers, and losing trade, and walking up and down at night,

and saying things! If you have the right kind of varnish on the right

kind of color your work will go smoothly, your nerves will be in good

condition when you are an old man, you will get the reputation of being

wise and good, your funeral sermon--so long delayed--will be delivered

with a clear conscience.

Just think a little beforehand: that is all. We keep ourselves well

and happy by making varnish and color which have no battle scenes in

them. Come now: let us trade together, and show the world how pleasant

a thing is business--properly done.

MURPHY VARNISH CO.

* * * * *

=NEW YORK=

=John W. Masury & Son=

=MANUFACTURERS OF=

Superfine Colors Ground in Japan

Pure Colors Ground in Oil

Artists' Tube Colors

Fine Carriage Varnishes

Wagon Paints

Carriage Gloss Paints

Miscellaneous Varnishes

and Japans

=CHICAGO=

* * * * *

=SURREY VARNISH CO.=

=866 and 868

NORTH HOYNE AVE. CHICAGO. ILLINOIS.=

=Good Old-Fashioned Varnishes and Japans=

[Illustration]

WILLIAM FISHER

FOUNDER OF THE

SURREY VARNISH CO.,

CHICAGO, 1891

GRANDSON AND PUPIL IN

VARNISH MAKING OF

WILLIAM HARLAND

ORIGINATOR OF

THE FIRM OF

WM. HARLAND & SON

MERTON, SURREY,

ENGLAND, 1791.

[Illustration]

The quality of a Varnish depends upon the time and skill devoted

to its manufacture, and not altogether, as many suppose, upon the

materials from which it is made.

=IN ALL OUR FINISHING VARNISHES WE USE

ONLY THE SLOW ENGLISH PROCESS.=

=Our Two-Day and Four-Day Carriage Rubbing

Varnishes are the Best in the World.=

=SURREY VARNISH CO.=

=866 and 868

NORTH HOYNE AVE. CHICAGO. ILLINOIS.=

* * * * *

=STANDARD=

=CARRIAGE VARNISHES=

=EXCEL IN

FREE FLOWING SAFETY

UNIFORMITY

LUSTRE AND DURABILITY=

=IT IS IMPOSSIBLE=

=to obtain best results unless

you use the best material and

there are no better=

=RUBBING OR FINISHING=

=Varnishes in the market than those made by the=

=STANDARD VARNISH WORKS=

The Largest Varnish Works in the World

=FACTORIES=, COVERING 7 ACRES, =ELM PARK, S. I.=

GENERAL OFFICES

LONDON ...=29 BROADWAY=... CHICAGO

23 BILLITER STREET =NEW YORK= 2629 DEARBORN ST.

* * * * *

ARMSTRONG & McKELVY

Pittsburgh

BEYMER-BAUMAN

Pittsburgh

DAVIS-CHAMBERS

Pittsburgh

FAHNESTOCK

Pittsburgh

ANCHOR }

} Cincinnati

ECKSTEIN }

ATLANTIC }

}

BRADLEY }

}

BROOKLYN }

} New York

JEWETT }

}

ULSTER }

}

UNION }

SOUTHERN }

} Chicago

SHIPMAN }

COLLIER }

}

MISSOURI }

} St. Louis

RED SEAL }

}

SOUTHERN }

JOHN T. LEWIS & BROS. CO.

Philadelphia

MORLEY

Cleveland

SALEM

Salem, Mass.

CORNELL

Buffalo

KENTUCKY

Louisville

=USE

PURE

WHITE

LEAD

AND

PURE

LINSEED

OIL=

and you will know exactly what you are getting--absolutely the

best and most economical paint in existence. Employ a responsible,

practical painter to apply it and the result will be satisfactory.

=National Lead Co.,

No. 100 William Street,

NEW YORK.=

* * * * *

BERRY BROTHERS

(LIMITED)

MANUFACTURERS OF

[Illustration]

CARRIAGE

VARNISHES

NEW YORK, BOSTON, PHILADELPHIA,

BALTIMORE, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO,

ST. LOUIS, SAN FRANCISCO

FACTORY AND

MAIN OFFICE DETROIT

* * * * *

=LUCAS HELPS=

Lucas Coach Colors

Send for pamphlet showing 54 beautiful colors we carry in stock. Have

you ever tried our Lucasine Vermilions, Light Royal Green, Aurora

Lake. Deep Orange Yellow, Cobalt Blue?

Lucas A. I. & V. M. Colors

Send for sample cards, showing up-to-date harmonious combinations for

painting the body and gears of wagons.

Lucas Primers

Vermilion, Lead Color and Orange.

Light gravity for dipping; heavy gravity for brush work.

Lucas Iron and Steel Fillers

For the heavy iron parts of carriages and wagons of all kinds. They

are tough, elastic, and will stand hammering.

Lucas Wood Fillers

Paste and Liquid.

For filling and priming Oak, Hickory and Ash: particularly useful for

work finished in the natural colors.

Lucas Coach Varnishes

Our hard drying coach rubbing gives universal satisfaction.

Lucas Coach Drying Japan

Thoroughly reliable. Always uniform in strength and general working

qualities.

Lucas Black Enamel Top Dressing

Tip top for general repairs. Unexcelled for leather and cloth tops and

curtains.

Lucas Phenom Varnish and Paint Remover

Quick, energetic, effective. Does not raise the grain of the wood. An

indispensable article in every paint shop.

=JOHN LUCAS & CO.=,

=Practical Manufacturers Colors, Paints, Varnishes.=

=NEW YORK PHILADELPHIA CHICAGO=

* * * * *

=JUST ISSUED=

=THE HOME MECHANIC AND COMPLETE SELF-INSTRUCTOR.=

=A WHOLE LIBRARY IN ONE BOOK.=

[Illustration]

A full compendium of Indispensable Information and Instruction in

the most useful Mechanical Trades. Each Part has been prepared by a

Specialist who is Master of his Trade. The Instruction is Thorough and

Practical. This book will enable you to do many little things that

you now have to pay for and will thus save Hundreds of Dollars in any

household. No other book has ever been published that treats of so

many of the trades or that contains on any one of them information so

thoroughly practical in character.

PART I. is devoted to Carpentry. It describes the Tools, tells How to

Select Them and Keep Them in Order, and How to Use Them; How to Fit

up a Shop and to Make the Various Appliances, and how to do All Sorts

of Work, from Planing a Board to Building a House. A description and

the Selection of Builders' Hardware, and another to the Making of

Specifications. Everything is Fully Illustrated by Engravings.

PART II. is devoted to Painting--tells exhaustively how Paints are

Prepared, Mixed and Applied, and How to Make and Use Varnishes and

Dryers. It gives Full and Plain Information about Colors and Tints,

also about Graining, Staining on Glass, as well as Wood; Lettering,

Glazing, and Paper Hanging.

PART III. treats of Sign, Carriage and Decorative Painting, and

contains Full Information and Instructions as to Frescos and Walls

and Interior Ornamentation that is to be found elsewhere only in

High-priced Volumes. The Technical Knowledge that it imparts of Pillars

and Scrolls, Ceilings and Borders and Room Decorations is worth many

times the price of the whole book, and this can be as truly said of

the Practical Instruction in Carriage Painting, and also that in Sign

Painting, which includes Painting on Glass and various Metals and

Textiles, as well as on Wood.

PART IV. treats of Finishing and Ornamenting Furniture and Cabinet

Articles, tells How to Prepare the Materials, what Tools to Use

and How to Use Them. This covers, among other things the Processes

of Bleaching, Darkening, Staining, Filling, Graining, Veneering,

Marqueterie Work, Buhl Work, and Inlaying of all sorts. Recipes for

Varnishes, Stains, Cements, etc., and for Removing Stains and Reviving

Leather, and Cloths, will be invaluable in any family.

PART V. is a complete Instructor on Horse Shoeing, teaching what every

Owner of a Horse as well as every Horse-Shoer should know. Thirty

pages are devoted to the Diseases of and Accidents to the Horses Feet,

written by a Practicing Veterinarian of successful experience.

PART VI. treats of Soap-Making and is prepared as a Guide for Families

and Small Manufacturers. It tells how to make all sorts of Plain, Fancy

and Medicinal Soaps, Emulsions and other substitutes, including Washing

Fluids.

PART VII. comprises a hundred pages on Candy-Making, which will afford

Pleasure and may easily be turned to Profit. Complete instruction,

covering Syrups and Creams, Pastes and Ices, as well as Candy, that it

will serve the needs of Confectioners as well as Families.

PART VIII. is a Practical Treatise on Baking, giving Plain and Explicit

Instructions for making and Baking Every Variety of Bread, Cake and

Cracker, Pies and Pastry.

PART IX. treats of Taxidermy and its kindred Arts, being a Practical

Working Guide for Collecting, Preparing and Preserving all kinds of

Animals, Birds, Reptiles, Insects, Etc. The Instruction is intended for

Beginners, who have had no Previous Lessons or Practice, but it is so

Full and thorough that even experts will find it of value. The Young

Folks will find in these pages Equipment for a most Interesting Pastime

that may easily be made the source of a Large Income.

Added to all are nearly a Hundred Pages of Secrets Worth Knowing,

containing a Collection of Most Valuable Recipes for Making All

Sorts of Articles that are in Constant Demand, and for which we have

frequently to pay Exhorbitant Prices. This book also contains a chapter

on Tanning, explaining how _Tannin_ is obtained; Salting Hides; Tanning

Skins with Fur on and several processes for Tanning Leather. Also a

chapter on RUSTIC FENCES and GATES with Illustrations of same.

This is but a Bare Suggestion of what is contained in This Remarkable

Volume. The Instruction is all by Experts; the information we Guarantee

to be Reliable. No Other Twelve Books in the World contains so much of

Practical Value. 876 Pages. Large 12mo. Bound in Cloth.

=Price, $2.50 postpaid.=

=Address all

orders to= =The Western Painter=

=CHICAGO=

* * * * *

=EXACTLY RIGHT=

Varnishes For Carriage Painters.

[Illustration: E. S.

1827

& CO]

=76 YEARS' EXPERIENCE IN EVERY CAN.=

=WEARING BODY=

Whose working qualities are not equaled. Less liable to "trick" than

any other. Dries free over night. Can be run out in three or four days.

=BLACK RUBBING=

Unequaled in intensity of color, working qualities, absolute

uniformity and the perfection of surface obtained.

=ROUGHSTUFFS=

That produce the best possible surface for the color, with the least

possible labor.

=EDWARD SMITH & CO.=,

=VARNISH MAKERS AND COLOR GRINDERS.=

=45 Broadway, NEW YORK,

59 Market Street, CHICAGO.=

* * * * *

=LETTER PATTERNS FOR CARRIAGE PAINTERS.=

Letter Patterns for Carriage Painting are now used by experienced

workmen who want a time-saving method, as well as by beginners who

have not time to learn the trade by the old way. They are cut from

extra durable pattern paper, and are all ready for use when they reach

you. Each alphabet contains all the letters and the character &.

To Paint Signs, you should place the letters in position on the board

to form the desired words, mark with pencil or crayon round each

letter to get the outline, remove the pattern and paint in the color.

To Make a Shade: After marking out the letter, drop your pattern as

low as necessary and move to the right or left, penciling round the

right or left and bottom edges only; now, with a straight-edge, cut in

the corners on angle as shown in cuts of figure 5 and 6.

The following cuts represent some of the most useful styles, with

sizes and prices of each alphabet.

BLOCK. 2 inch 15c 12 inch $0.80 GOTHIC.

A 3 " 20c 14 " 1.00 B

4 " 25c 16 " 1.25

5 " 35c 18 " 1.60

6 " 45c 20 " 2.00

8 " 60c 24 " 2.75

10 " 75c

ROMAN. 2 inch 20c 8 inch $0.70 TUSCAN.

N 3 " 25c 10 " .90 H

4 " 35c 12 " 1.10

5 " 45c 15 " 1.45

6 " 55c

EGYPTIAN. 2 inch 20c SLANT BLOCK.

T 3 " 25c _O_

4 " 35c

5 " 45c

6 " 55c

8 " 65c

10 " 80c

FULL BLOCK. 3 inch $0.30 FULL B SLANT.

D 4 " .40 B

5 " .50

6 " .60

8 " .75

10 " 1.00

PEAKED. 3 inch $0.30 FANTAIL.

P 4 " .40 M

5 " .50

6 " .60

8 " .75

10 " 1.00

MODERN 4 inch $0.35 CHICAGO

ART. 5 " .45 FAVORITE.

E 6 " .60 E

8 " .75

10 " 1.00

12 " 1.36

15 " 1.70

DE VINNE CAPS. 3 inch $0.35 2 inch $0.30 DE VINNE

R 4 " .45 3 " .40 LOWER CASE.

5 " .60 3-1/2 " .50 let

6 " .75 4-1/2 " .70

8 " 1.00 6 " .85

10 " 1.35 To order.

12 " 1.70 "

SCRIPT. 6 inch Capitals $1.00

_Fat_ Lower case to match .75

9 inch Capitals 1.50

Lower case 1.00

12 inch Capitals 2.00

Lower case 1.35

GERMAN TEXT. 4 inch Capitals $0.85

Abc Lower case .65

6 inch Caps 1.00

Lower case .75

8 inch Caps 1.50

Lower case 1.00

BLOCK. 2 inch, per set of 10 $0.10 ROMAN.

5 3 " " " .10 6

4 " " " .15

5 " " " .20

6 " " " .25

8 " " " .35

10 " " " .40

12 " " " .50

Stencils of any of the above alphabets of Letter Patterns will be cut

on the very best prepared Stencil Paper at double the price quoted for

the patterns; all stencils are shellaced ready for use in oil or water

colors.

=TRANSFER ORNAMENTS, OR DECALCOMANIE=, have been used for so many

years for Carriage and Sign Decoration that they are now a staple

article in the paint shop, and the Transfer letters will soon be as

popular, for any person who can use one can use the other. They make

elegant signs on wood, tin, or any smooth surface, and another kind

for the inside of glass are very fine, and guaranteed to wear as

well, or better than work done by hand by the most experienced sign

writer. A list of prices, sizes, and colors, with full directions

for applying, will be found on pages 42 to 49 of my large 64-page

catalogue, which will be sent =FREE= to any person applying for same.

Special ornaments, trade-marks and other transfers made to order

in quantities. We manufacture and sell all kinds of Signs and Sign

Letters in Enamel Aluminum, Wood, etc.

_If you wish goods forwarded by mail be sure to send stamps or money

to pay charges or they will be sent by express._

=WM. SEDGWICK,

260 Clark Street, - - CHICAGO.=

☞=Send for 64-Page Catalogue of Fresco Stencils, Signs and Sign Letters=

* * * * *

=THE KING PATENT CHISELLED VARNISH BRUSH=

[Illustration]

This brush is made on our full centre patent; it is brass bound, and

the greatest pains taken in the selection of stock and making. It now

stands at the head of this class of brushes, being especially adapted

to piano, car, and coach work.

="The King" Patent Chiselled Varnish Brush=

The following, written by one who is an acknowledged authority on the

subject of varnishing, will be of interest to those who want the best

brush made.

="THE KING" VARNISH BRUSH.=

"It is seldom that we so readily commend a new tool as, in this

instance, we do the patent varnish brush of Messrs. John L. Whiting &

Son Co., Boston, Mass., which they are now supplying under the name of

'The King.' It consists of an oval brush bound with brass, and having

its centre well filled with bristles. The latter is a new and certainly

very desirable feature, as no accumulation of dirt or varnish gum can

find a resting place. The bristles are of the best quality, possessing

all the desired elasticity, and appear to be more firmly held in place

than is the case with many oval brushes we have used. The bristles are

evenly distributed throughout the brush, and are not compressed into

a solid ring or ferrule, around a so-called reservoir for varnish or

paint, in the centre of the brush. These reservoirs have never been a

success, and the absence of one in 'The King' leads us to particularly

admire it, for our experience teaches us that a brush with a solid

bristle centre will carry varnish better and keep in better order than

one having a central space or reservoir. Besides this, such a brush

will wear more evenly. The brush is particularly adapted for varnishing

large panels or gears, and well merits a trial by varnishers."

F. B. GARDNER.

If you are not using =Whiting's Brushes= give them a trial and learn

their superior working qualities and economy, over all other kinds. For

information address the manufacturers.

=JOHN L. WHITING & SON CO.,=

=BOSTON, U. S. A.=

* * * * *

=We are Headquarters for=

=Carriage Painters' Supplies=

=of every description=

=We are Agents for the following SPECIALTIES=

=COACH COLORS IN JAPAN= Manufactured by the well-known house of

Wadsworth, Howland & Co., (Inc.) of Boston, Mass. Send for Sample Book

showing many new colors.

=CARRIAGE VARNISHES= Made by the same firm.

=ENGLISH VARNISHES= Made by Robt. Ingham Clark & Co., of London.

Eng. Highest grade Varnishes made.

=AUG. BUHNE & CO.'S STEEL WOOL= Takes place of Sandpaper.

Pumice stone. Samples Free.

=FAULTLESS VARNISH REMOVER=

No alkali will not stain the most

delicate wood. Try it. Sample

can be sent prepaid for 35 cents.

=COACH AND CAR STRICTLY PURE WHITE LEAD.=

Heavy body and finely ground for Carriage Painters. Write for

quotations.

Also a Full Line of

=BRUSHES= of every description.

=BRONZE POWDER= for striping and lining.

=CHAMOIS SKINS= English and French.

=FILLERS=, Dry and Ground, for Rough Stuff and Gear Fillers.

=LEAF Gold=, Silver, Aluminum.

=PUMICE STONE= Powdered, Lump and Composition.

=RUBBING FELTS= All grades and Thicknesses.

=SPONGES= Sheep's Wool, Selected forms.

=Send for Carriage Painters' Net Price-List. It is FREE.=

=GEO E. WATSON CO.

108 Lake Street CHICAGO=

* * * * *

=Established 1832 Incorporated 1882=

=VALENTINE & COMPANY=

=VALENTINES

VARNISHES=

=Manufacturers of High Grade=

=COACH AND CAR VARNISHES AND COLORS=

=257 Broadway, New York=

=CHICAGO, 277 Dearborn Street

BOSTON, 170 Purchase Street

PARIS, 21 Rue de Lappe

AMSTERDAM, Prinsengracht 762=

* * * * *

Transcriber's note:

The one footnote has been moved to the end of its chapter.

Illustrations have been moved to paragraph breaks near where they are

discussed.

Punctuation has been made consistent.

Section names are inconsistent between the table of contents, chapter

headers, and actual section names.

Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in

the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have

been corrected.

Page 71: The reference to "page 184" is to a page that does not exist

(on page 184 may)

Page 104: The figure labeled "O. D. T." does not correspond to the

displayed monogram, which appears to be "O. R. T."