Break 1/2 cake (which is about 1 ounce) of white wax into an earthen pan, and just cover it with oil of turpentine; place a board over the pan to keep out the air; let it stand for 24 hours or until formed into a paste; then in another pan, mix 1 lb. of best ivory black with neatsfoot oil, until it assumes a thick consistency; then mix the contents of both pans together. It may be reduced with spirits of turpentine. Bottle, and it is fit for use.
Take oil vitriol, 2 ozs., tanners oil, 5 ozs., ivory black, 2 lbs., molasses, 5 ozs; mix the oil and vitriol together, let it stand a day, then add the ivory black, the molasses, and the white of an egg; mix well, and it is ready for use.
Take 1 pint of camphene, and put into it all the india rubber it will dissolve, 1 pint currier's oil, 7 lbs. tallow, and 2 ozs. of lampblack; mix thoroughly by heat. This is a nice thing for old harness and carriage tops, as well as for boots and shoes.
Take of alcohol, 1 gallon; white turpentine, 1-1/2 lbs.; gum shellac 1-1/2 lbs.; venice turpentine, 1 gill; let these stand in a jug in the sun, or by a stove, until the gums are dissolved; then add sweet oil, 1 gill; lampblack, 2 oz., and you have a varnish that will not crack when the harness is twisted like the old shellac varnish. It is good also for boots and shoes, looking well, and turns water.
Take of asphaltum, 2 lbs.; boiled linseed oil, 1/2 pint; spirits of turpentine, 1 gallon; mix the two first in an iron pot, boil slowly until the asphaltum is melted, then take it some distance from the fire, cool a little, and add the turpentine (avoiding ignition) before it cools too much, and it is finished.
Take 1 pint best spirits of wine, 1 pint raw linseed oil, 1 pint spirits of turpentine; mix all three together, and shake well before use. Apply with a rubber of cotton wool covered with a piece of clean old white cotton cloth. Apply slightly and you will be astonished at the effect. Old furniture that is scratched, soiled, or stained, if the wood is not torn up, being polished with this, has the appearance of new.
Take of olive oil 1/2 a pint, oils of rosemary and origanum, of each 1/8 of an oz. Mix well and apply rather freely.
Take 4-1/2 lbs. white bar soap, 1 quart rain water, 1 gill of beef's gall, and 1 gill spirits of turpentine; cut the soap thin, and boil five minutes, stir while boiling, and colour with 1/2 oz. of vermillion; scent with oil of rose or almonds. 10 cents worth will positively make $6 worth of soap.
Take of castor oil, 6-1/2 pints; alcohol, 1-1/2 pint; citronella and lavender oils, of each 2 ozs.; mix and shake well, and it is ready for use.
Take of sweet oil, 8 ozs.; cantharides and oil of lemon, of each 60 drops; alkanet sufficient to colour it.
Take 1 quart olive oil, 2-1/2 ozs. alcohol, 1-1/2 ozs. rose oil; after this tie 1 oz. of chipped alkanet root in 3 or 4 little muslin bags, and let them lie in the oil until a pretty red is manifested, then change them to other oil. do not press them.
Take of good sweet lard oil, 1 quart; bergamot, 1 ounce; mix well together.
Take of ox marrow, 4 ozs.; white wax, 1 oz.; nice fresh lard, 6 ozs; mix and melt; when cool, add 1-1/2 ozs. oil of bergamot, and mix well.
Take oils of rosemary and lemon, of each, 1/4 oz.; oils of bergamot and lavender, of each, 1/8 oz.; oil of cinnamon, 8 drops; oils of cloves and rose, of each 15 drops; best alcohol, 2 quarts; mix and shake 2 or 3 times a day for a week. This will be better if deoderized, or cologne alcohol is used.
Take of soft soap, 12 lbs.; (that made of olive oil is best,) common salt, 9 lbs.; mix and boil for 2 hours, run it into bars, or as you want it, and you will have 7-1/2 lbs. of soap. Add a little resin when you melt it over. Scent with fragrant oil if you wish to do so.
Take of lime water 1 teacupful, spirits of turpentine 2 teaspoonsful, resin 1/2 lb., sal. soda 1-1/2 lbs., of bar shop soap 4 lbs.; melt and boil all together to a proper consistency, then pour into moulds.
In a pint of spirits of wine dissolve 2 oz. of seed lac, and 2 oz. of resin. The principal use of this polish is for the carved parts of cabinet work, such as standards, pillars, claws, &c. It should be laid on warm, and it will be still better; but all moisture and dampness should be carefully avoided.
Take 1 oz. of shellac, 1/4 oz. of gum-arabic, and 1/4 oz. of gum copal; bruise them well, and sift them through a piece of muslin, then put them along with a pint of spirits of win into a closely corked vessel, place it in a very warm situation, and shake it frequently every day till the gums are dissolved, then strain through a piece of muslin, and keep it corked for use.
Put 2 ozs. of gum benjamin, 1/4 oz. of gum sandrac, and 1/4 oz. of gum anima, into a pint of spirits of wine, in a closely stopped bottle, place the bottle either in a sand bath, or in hot water, till the gums are dissolved, then strain off the mixture, shake it up with a 1/4 of a gill of the best clear poppy oil, and put by for use.
Put 2 drachms of shellac, and 2 drachms of gum benjamin, into 1/2 pint of the very best rectified spirits of wine, in a bottle closely corked; keep the bottle in a warm place, and shake it frequently till the gums are dissolved, when cold shake up with it 2 teaspoonsful of the best clear poppy oil, and it will be fit for use. This polish may be applied with great advantage after any of those mentioned in the foregoing receipts have been used. It removes the defects existing in them, increasing their lustre and durability, and gives the surface a most brilliant appearance.
Take of borax, 10 parts; sal-ammoniac, 1 part; grind or pound them roughly together, then fuse them in a metal pot over a close fire, taking care to continue the heat until all spume has disappeared from the surface, when the liquid appears clear, the composition is ready to be poured out to cool and concrete; afterward being ground to a fine powder. To use this composition, the steel to be welded is raised to a heat, which may be expressed by bright yellow, it is then dipped among the welding powder, and again placed in the fire until it attains the same degree of heat as before, it is then ready to be placed under the hammer.
Take good clear white course sand, 3 parts; refined solton, 1 part; fosterine, 1 part; rock salt 1 part; borax, 1 part; mix all together. Take 2 pieces of cast iron, heat them in a moderate charcoal fire, occasionally taking them out while heating, and dipping them into the composition, until they are of a proper heat to weld, then at once lay them on the anvil, and gently hammer them together, and if done carefully by one who understands welding iron, you will have them nicely welded together. One man prefers heating the metal, then cooling it in the water of common beans, and heating it again for welding.
Take of clean borings or turning of cast iron, 16 parts; of sal-ammoniac, 2 parts; and flour of sulphur, 1 part; mix them well together on a mortar, and keep them dry. When required for use, take 1 part of the mixture, and 20 parts of clean borings, mix thoroughly, and add a sufficient quantity of water. Note.—A little grindstone added improves the cement.
This is the conversion of the surface of wrought iron into steel, for the purpose of adapting it to receive a polish, or to bear friction, &c. The best method in the world of effecting this is by heating the iron to cherry red in a close vessel, in contact with carbonacious material, and then plunging it into cold water. Bones, leather, hoofs, and horns of animals, are best for this purpose, after having been burnt or roasted, so that they can be pulverized. Soot is very frequently used; it answers, but not so well.
Either of the following simple methods will make iron or steel as soft as lead: 1. Anoint it all over with tallow, temper it in a gentle charcoal fire, and let it cool of itself. 2. Take a little clay, cover your iron with it, temper in a charcoal fire. 3. When the iron or steel is red hot, strew hellebore on it. 4. Quench the iron or steel in the juice, or water, of common beans.
Melt 1 part of block tin, and when in a state of fusion, add 2 parts of lead; if a small quantity of this, when melted, is poured upon the table, there will, if it be good, arise little bright stars upon it. Resin should be used with this solder.
Take 4 parts of pewter, 1 of tin, and 1 of bismuth, melt them together, and run them into thin slips. Resin is also employed in using this solder.
The best solder for iron is good tough brass, with a little borax.
Take of brass, 6 parts; zinc, 1 part; tin, 1 part; melt all together, mix well, and pour out to cool.
Silver, 19 parts; copper, 1 part; brass, 2 parts; melt all together.
Fuse together 2 parts of copper, and 1 of zinc.
Fuse together 5 parts of silver, and 1 part of brass.
147. GOLD SOLDER No. 1
Take of gold, 4 parts; silver, 3 parts; copper 1 part; and zinc, 1 part.
148. GOLD SOLDER No. 2
Take of gold, 3 parts; silver, 3 parts; copper, 1 part; zinc, 1/2 part.
149. GOLD SOLDER No. 3
Take of gold, 2 parts; silver, 3 parts; copper, 1 part; and zinc 1/2 a part.
The gold, silver, and copper must be fused in a crucible before the zinc is added, or else you cannot keep them in the vessel while heating. When all are completely fused, they must be well stirred, and run into bars. Solder No. 1 is for gold 16 carats and upwards; No. 2 is for that 14 carats fine; and No. 3 for lower qualities. If more zinc is added, it will fuse at a lower heat, but the colour is not so good.
Fuse together 16 parts of copper, 7 of platinum, and 1 of zinc. When steel is alloyed with 1/500 part of platinum, or with 1/500 part of silver, it is rendered much harder, more malleable, and better adapted for all kinds of cutting instruments. Note.—In making alloys, care must be taken to have the more infusible metals melted first, and afterwards add the others.
Take 4 parts of brass, and 4 parts of tin; when fused add 4 parts of metallic bismuth, and 4 parts of metallic antimony. This composition is added at discretion to metallic tin, according to the quality you wish to make.
Melt together 8 parts of copper and a half part of arsenic.
Melt together 4 parts of tin and 1 part of lead.
Melt together 100 parts of tin and 17 of antimony.
Melt together 9 parts of lead, 2 of antimony and one of bismuth. This metal is very useful in filling small defects in iron castings, &c.
Melt together 9 parts of tin, 1 of antimony, 1 of bismuth, and 1 of lead.
This metal, or alloy, very closely resembles platinum. Melt together 8 parts of brass and 5 parts of zinc.
Melt together 40.4 parts of copper, 31.6 parts of nickel, 25.4 of zinc, and 2.6 of iron.
Melt together 3 parts copper, 1 of zinc, and a little tin.
Melt together 8 parts of copper, and 1 part of zinc.
Take of platina 8 parts, of silver 4 parts, copper 12 parts, melt all together.
Take of block tin 100 parts, metallic antimony 8 parts, bismuth 1 part, and 4 parts of copper; melt all together.
Dr. Harmsteadt's imitation of gold, which is stated not only to resemble gold in colour, but also in specific gravity and ductility, consists of 16 parts of platinum, 7 parts of copper, and 1 of zinc, put in a crucible, covered with charcoal powder, and melted into a mass.
Imitation of pure silver, so perfect in its resemblance that no chemist living can tell it from pure virgin silver. It was obtained from a German chemist now dead; he used it for unlawful purposes to the amount of thousands, and yet the metal is so perfect that he was never discovered. It is all melted together in a crucible, here it is: 1/4 oz. of copper, 2 oz. of brass, 3 oz. of pure silver, 1 oz. of bismuth, 2 ozs. of saltpetre, 2 ozs. of common salt, 1 oz. of arsenic, and 1 oz. of potash.
Take copper, zinc, and silver, in equal proportions, and melt them together, and mould into the forms you desire, and bring the same to a nearly white heat; now lay on the thing that you would take the impression of, and press it with sufficient force, and you will find that you have a perfect and beautiful impression. All of the above metals should be melted under a coat of powdered charcoal.
To 1 lb. of wood ashes, add 2 lbs. of quicklime; put them into a quart of water, let the whole boil till reduced to one third, then dip a feather in, and if, on drawing it out, the plume should come off, it is a proof that it is boiled enough, if not, let it boil a little longer; when it is settled filter it off, and in the liquor thus strained put in shavings of horn; let them soak for three days, and, first anointing your hands with oil, work the horn into a mass, and print or mould it into any shape you please.
If you wish to take the impression of any coin, medal, &c., previously anoint it with oil, then lay the horn shavings over it in its softened state; when dry the impression will be sunk into the horn, and this will serve as a mould to reproduce, either by plaster of Paris, putty and glue, or isinglass and ground egg shells, the exact resemblance of the coin or medal.
Make isinglass and strong brandy into a paste, with powder of egg shells, very finely ground; you may give it what colour you please, but cast it warm into your mould, which you previously oil over; leave the figure in the mould till dry, and you will find, on taking it out, that it bears a very strong resemblance to ivory.
Put some gold leaf, with a little honey or thick gum water, (whenever I speak of gum I mean gum arabic,) into an earthen mortar, and pound the mixture till the gold is reduced to very small particles; then wash out the honey or gum repeatedly with warm water, and the gold will be left behind in a state of powder, which, when dried, is fit for use.
Another, and perhaps better method of preparing gold powder is to heat a prepared amalgam of gold in a clean open crucible, (an amalgam of any metal is formed by a mixture of quicksilver with that metal) continuing a very strong heat till all the mercury has evaporated, stirring the amalgam all the while with a glass rod; when the mercury has entirely left the gold, grind the remainder in a Wedgewood's mortar, with a little water, and when dried it will be fit for use. The subliming the mercury is, however, a process injurious to the health.
For yellow gold, dissolve in water 6 ozs. of saltpetre, 2 ozs. of copperas, 1 oz. of white vitriol, and 1 oz. of alum. If wanted redder, add a small portion of blue vitriol.
Dissolve in water a mixture consisting of 1-1/2 oz. of saltpetre; vitriol and sal-ammoniac, 1-1/4 oz. of each, and 1 oz. verdigris.
Take 1-1/2 oz. of red ochre in fine powder, the same quantity of calcined verdigris, 1/2 oz. of calcined borax, and 4 oz. of melted yellow wax; the verdigris must be calcined, or else, by the heat applied in melting the wax, the vinegar becomes so concentrated as to corrode the surface, and make it appear speckled. These last three are colours for heightening compositions.
Mosaic gold, or aurum mosaicum, is used for inferior articles. It is prepared in the following manner: 1 lb. of tin is melted in a crucible, and 1/2 lb. of purified quicksilver added to it; when this mixture is cold, it is reduced to powder, and ground with 1/2 lb. of sal-ammoniac, and 7 ozs. of flower of sulphur, till the whole is thoroughly mixed; they are then calcined in a mattrass, and the sublimation of the other ingredients leaves the tin converted into the aurum mosaicum, which is found at the bottom of the glass, like a mass of bright flakey gold powder. Should any black or discoloured particles appear, they must be removed. The sal-ammoniac used here must be very white and clear, and the mercury quite pure and unadulterated. When a shade of deeper red is required, it can easily be obtained by grinding a very small quantity of red lead along with the above materials.
A gilding powder is sometimes made from Dutch gold, which is sold in books at a very low price. This is treated in the same way as the real gold leaf in making the true gold powder. It is necessary, when this inferior powder is used, to cover the gilding with a coat of clear varnish, otherwise it soon loses its metallic appearance. The same remark applies, though to a less degree, to Mosaic gilding.
This is prepared by dissolving filings or slips of copper with nitrous acid in a receiver. When the acid is saturated, the slips are to be removed; or, if filings be employed, the solution is to be poured off from what remains undissolved; small bars are then put in, which will precipitate the copper from the saturated acid, in a powder of the peculiar appearance and colour of copper, and the liquid being poured from the powder, this is to be washed clean of the crystals by repeated levigations.
The size used by painters for most sorts of common work is prepared by boiling in water pieces of parchment, and of the skins of animals and fins of fish, and evaporating the solution to a proper consistency. It only differs, however, from a solution of glue containing fewer foreign ingredients, and in not being so strong.
Take of white soap and white wax, each half an ounce, of water two pints; boil them together for a short time in a clean vessel. This varnish is to be applied when cold, by means of a soft brush. It does not sink in, it readily dries, and its effect may be heightened by lightly using a silk pocket handkerchief.
This art is nothing but a species of painting, but far from being of the most delicate kind. The principal ingredients made use of in it are the true gold powder, the German gold, the aurum mosaicum, and copper powder, (all above described.) The choice of these powders is, of course, to be determined by the degree of brilliancy you wish to obtain. The powder is mixed with strong gum water or isinglass, and laid on with a brush or pencil; and when not so dry as to have still a certain clamminess, a piece of soft leather wrapped round the finger, is dipped in the powder and rubbed over the work; when the work has been all covered with the bronze, it must be left to dry, and any loose powder then cleared away by a hair pencil.
This may be effected by a process somewhat differing from the above, Prussian blue, patent yellow, raw amber, lamp-black, and pipe clay are ground separately with water on a stone, and as much of them as will make a good colour put into a small vessel three-fourths full of size. This mixture is found to succeed best on using about half as much more pipe clay as of any of the other ingredients. The wood being previously cleaned and smoothed, and coated with a mixture of clean size and lamp-black, receives a new coating with the above compound twice successively, having allowed the first to dry. Afterwards the bronze powder is to be laid on with a pencil, and the whole burnished or cleaned anew, observing to repair the parts which may be injured by this operation; next, the work must be coated over with a thin lather of castile soap, which will take off the glare of the burnishing, and afterwards be carefully rubbed with a woollen cloth. The superfluous powder may be rubbed off when dry.
The subject should be heated to a greater degree than the hand can bear; and German gold, mixed with a small quantity of spirit of wine varnish, spread over it with a pencil; should the iron be already polished, you must heat it well and moisten it with a linen rag dipped in vinegar.
There is a method of bronzing casts of plaster of Paris analogous to that which we have above given for bronzing wood, but it is not in much repute. Such figures may be beautifully varnished by means of Dr. John's varnish, receipt No. 178. Casts of plaster of Paris may be made by receipt No. 167.
Dissolve in an iron kettle, one part of pearl-ash in about 8 parts of water; add one part of shell-lac, and heat the whole to ebullition. When the lac is dissolved, cool the solution, and impregnate it with chlorine, till the lac is all precipitated. The precipitate is white, but its colour deepens by washing and consolidation; dissolved in alcohol, lac bleached by the above process yields a varnish which is as free from colour as any copal varnish.
This may be formed by mixing intimately eight parts of common salt, and three parts of the black oxide of manganese in powder; put this mixture into a retort, then pour four parts of sulphuric acid, diluted with an equal weight of water, and afterwards allowed to cool upon the salt and manganese; the gas will then be immediately liberated, and the operation may be quickened by a moderate heat. A tube leading from the mouth of the retort must be passed into the resinous solution, where the gas will be absorbed, and the lac precipitated.
These may be made by using ant colour in fine powder with the varnish, in the following manner: rub up the colour with a little alcohol or spirits of turpentine till it becomes perfectly smooth, then put it into the cup with the varnish. Shell-lac varnish is the best spirit varnish we have, and may be made any colour by the above process.
The English method of preparing the colour in size, which serves as the ground on which the gold is laid, is, to grind together some red oxide of lead with the thickest drying oil that can be procured, the older the better. To make it work freely, it is mixed, before being used, with a little oil of turpentine, till it is brought to a proper consistence. The above four receipts are used in japanning.
If it be woodwork you are about to japan, it must be prepared with size, and some coarse material mixed with it to fill up and harden the grain of the wood, (such as may best suit the colour to be laid on,) which must be rubbed smooth with glass paper when dry. In cases of accident, it is seldom necessary to resize the damaged places, unless they are considerable.
Be very careful in japanning, to grind your colours smooth in spirits of turpentine, then add a small quantity of turpentine and spirit varnish, lay it carefully on with a camel hair brush, and varnish it with brown or white varnish, according to the colour.
Flake white, red lead, vermillion, lake, Prussian blue, patent yellow, orpiment, orchres, verditers, vandyke brown, umber, lamp-black, and siennas raw and burnt. With these you may match almost any colour in general use in japanning. For a black japan, it will be found sufficient to mix a little gold-size with lamp-black; this will bear a good gloss, without requiring to be varnished afterwards.
Take 1 gallon of good linseed oil, and 1/2 lb. of umber; boil them together till the oil becomes very brown and thick, then strain it through a coarse cloth, and set it again to boil; in which state it must be continued till it acquires a consistence resembling that of pitch; it will then be fit for use.
Having thus prepared the varnish or japan, clean well the substance which is to be japanned; then lay vermillion, tempered with shell-lac varnish, or with drying oil, very thinly diluted with oil of turpentine, on the places intended to imitate the more transparent parts of the tortoise-shell; when the vermillion is dry, brush the whole over with black varnish, tempered to a due consistence with the oil of turpentine. When set and firm, put the work into a stove, where it may undergo a very strong heat, which must be continued a considerable time; if even three weeks or a month it will be the better. This tortoise-shell ground it not less valuable for its great hardness, and enduring to be made hotter than boiling water without damage, than for the superior beauty and brilliancy of its appearance.
192. TO MAKE CLOTH, SILK &c., WATER-PROOF
Mix equal quantities of alum and acetate of lead, and dissolve the mixture in 1-1/2 gallons of boiling water. When the solution has cooled, remove the supernatent liquid from the sediment, which consists of sulphate of lead, and is ready for use. Any article of dress, when well saturated in this liquid, and allowed to dry slowly, bears the action of boiling water, and does not permit it to pass through, although steam and air penetrate if freely.
Dissolve 1 oz. of common salt in 1 quart of water, bring to a boil, and put in 1-1/4 lbs. gum shell-lac; when it shall have dissolved, pour into cold water, and work like wax; make into small sticks. This will make crockery as firm as a rock. Directions: Warm the stick, apply it to the broken edges, then heat the edges, place them together and hold for a minute, and they are firm.
194. A CEMENT FOR CHINA, GLASS-WARE, &c.
Take a thick mucilage of gum arabic, and stir into it plaster of Paris to form a thick paste, apply to the edges with a brush, and press firmly together and confine them two or three days, and you will be astonished at their firmness.
The juice of loveage or smellage mixed with any kind of bait, or a few drops of the oil of rhodium; India cockle, also, is sometimes mixed with flour dough, and sprinkled on the surface of still water. This intoxicates the fish, and makes him turn up on the top of the water, when he is taken and put in a tub of fresh water until he revives, when all is right; he may be eaten without fear; but this will destroy many fish.
Take the juice of morella or tame cherries, and to each quart put 3 quarts of water, and 4 lbs. of coarse brown sugar; let them ferment, and skim until worked clear; then draw off, avoiding the sediment at the bottom, bung up, or bottle, which is best for all wines, letting the bottles lie always on the side, either for wines or beers.
No. 1 Crystalised nitrate of silver, 1 drachm; soft water, 1 oz. No. 2 Sulphide (sulphuret is the same) of potassium, 1 drachm; soft water, 1 oz.; wash the beard or hair with soap to remove oil, dry with a towel a little then apply No. 1, and directly after it No. 2, for a few minutes, alternately, using different tooth brushes for each No. Clear days are best on which to apply it. As soon as dry, wash out well with soap. Keep it from shirt bosoms and face, especially No. 1, as it will make the face sore as well as colour it. If you do get it on the skin, cyanide (cyanuret is the same) of potassium, 1 drachm, to 2 ozs. of water, will take it off. This last is poison, however, and should not touch sore places, nor be left where children may get at it.
Purify melted mutton tallow by throwing in powdered quicklime, then add 2 parts of wax to 1 of tallow. A most beautiful article of candle, resembling wax, will be produced by the mixture. Dip the wicks in lime-water and saltpetre on making.
Take of ground Brazil, 1 lb.; water, 3 quarts; cochineal, 1/2 oz.; boil the Brazil in the water for an hour; then strain, and add the cochineal; then boil it gently for half-an-hour, when it will be fit for use. If you wish a scarlet tint, boil an ounce of saffron in a quart of water, and pass over the work before you stain it. The article must be very clean, and of firwood, or the best sycamore. When varnished over this stain it is most elegant.
200. A PURPLE STAIN FOR VIOLINS, &c.
Take of chipped logwood, 1 lb.; of water, 3 quarts; of pearl-ash, 4 ozs.; of indigo, pounded, 2 ozs.; put the logwood in the water, boil well for an hour, then add the pearl-ash and indigo, and when dissolved, you will have a beautiful purple.
201. A BLUE STAIN FOR VIOLINS, &c.
Take of oil of vitriol in a glass bottle, 1 lb.; put into it 4 ozs. of indigo, and precede as directed in dyeing.
202. GREEN STAIN FOR VIOLINS, &c.
Take of strong vinegar, 3 pints; of best verdigris, 4 ozs., ground fine; of sap green, 1/2 oz.; of indigo, 1/2 oz.; mix all together.
The materials should be perfectly clean; soap should be rinsed out in soft water; the article should be entirely wetted, or it will spot; light colours should be steeped in brass, tin or earthen; and, if set at all, should be set with alum. Dark colours should be boiled in iron, and set with copperas; too much copperas rots the thread.
Get the blue composition; it may be had at the druggist's, or clothier's, for a shilling an ounce. If the articles are not white, the old colours should all be discharged by soap or a strong solution of tartaric acid, then rinsed; 12 or 16 drops of the composition, stirred into a quart-bowl of warm water, and strained if settlings are seen, will dye a great many articles. If you want a deeper colour, add a few drops more of the composition. If you wish to colour cotton goods, put in pounded chalk to destroy the acid, which is very destructive to all cotton; let it stand until the effervescence subsides, and then it may be safely used for cotton or silk.
Take a little pinch of archil, and put some boiling-hot water upon it, add to it a very little lump of pear-lash. Shades may be altered by pear-lash, common slat, or wine.
Logwood and cider, boiled together in iron, water being added for the evaporation, makes a good durable black. Rusty nails or any bits of rusty iron, boiled in vinegar, with a small piece of copperas, will also dye black; so will ink powder, if boiled with vinegar. In all cases, black must be set with copperas.
Peach leaves, bark scraped from the barberry bush, or saffron, steeped in water, and set with alum, will colour a bright lemon, drop in a little gum-arabic to make the articles stiff.
Soak logwood chips in soft water until the strength is out, then add a teaspoonful of alum to a quart of the liquid; if this is not bright enough, add more alum, rinse and dry. When the dye is exhausted, it will colour a fine lilac.
Tea grounds, boiled in iron vessels, set with copperas, makes a good slate colour. To produce a light slate colour, boil white maple bark in clear water, with a little alum. The bark should be boiled in brass utensils. The goods should be boiled in it, and then hung where they will drain and dry.
Dip the cloth in a solution of alkaline or metallic salt, then in a cochineal dye, and let it remain some time, and it will come out permanently coloured. Another method: 1/2 lb. of madder, 1/2 oz. of cream tartar, and 1 oz. of marine acid to 1 lb. of cloth; put it all together, and bring the dye to a scalding heat; put in your materials, and they will be coloured in ten minutes. The dye must be only scalding hot. Rinse your goods in cold water as soon as they come from the dye.
For 1 lb. of yard or cloth, take 3 ozs. of madder; 3 ozs. of alum; 1 oz. of cream tartar; prepare a brass kettle with two gallons of water, and bring the liquor to a steady heat, then add your alum and tartar, and bring it to a boil; put in your cloth, and boil it two hours; take it out, and rinse it in cold water; empty your kettle, and fill it with as much water as before; then add your madder; rub it in fine in the water before your cloth is in. When your dye is as warm as you can bear your hand in, then put in your cloth, and let it lie one hour, and keep a steady heat; keep it in motion constantly, then bring it to a boil fifteen minutes, then air and rinse it. If your goods are new, use 4 ozs. of madder to a lb.
If you wish to colour green, have your cloth as free as possible from the old colour, clean, and rinsed; and, in the first place, colour it deep yellow. Fustic, boiled in soft water, makes the strongest and brightest yellow dye; but saffron, barberry-bush, peach-leaves, or onion-skins, will answer pretty well. Next take a bowlful of strong yellow dye, and pour in a great spoonful or more of the blue composition, stir it up well with a clean stick, and dip the articles you have already coloured yellow into it, and they will take a lively grass-green. This is a good plan for old bombazet-curtains, dessert-cloths, old flannel for desk coverings, &c.
Saffron, steeped in earthen and strained, colours a fine straw colour. It makes a delicate or deep shade, according to the strength of the tea. Colouring yellow is described in receipt No. 212. In all these cases a little bit of alum does no harm, and may help to fix the colour. Ribbons, gauze handkerchiefs, &c., are coloured well in this way, especially if they be stiffened by a bit of gum-arabic, dropped in while the stuff is steeping.
Take plum tree sprouts, and boil them an hour or more; add copperas, according to the shade you wish your articles to be. White ribbons take very pretty in this dye.
Boil an ounce of cochineal in a quart of vinegar. This will afford a beautiful purple.
Use a teaspoonful of soda to an ounce of cochineal, and a quart of soft water.
Boil 1 lb. of cloth an hour in alum water, pound 3/4 of an oz. of cochineal and mix 1 oz. of cream of tartar; put in a brass kettle, with water, enough to cover the cloth; when about blood hot, put in your cloth, stir constantly, and boil about fifteen minutes.
Use copperas in a madder-dye, instead of madder compound.
The simplest way is to take a pailful of lye, to which put a piece of copperas half as big as a hen's egg; boil in a copper or tin kettle.
Balm blossoms, steeped in water, colour a pretty rose colour. This answers very well for the linings of children's bonnets, for ribbons, &c.
Boil them in strong logwood liquor 3 or 4 hours, occasionally adding green copperas, and taking the bonnets out to cool in the air, and this must be continued for some hours. Let the bonnets remain in the liquor all night, and the next morning take them out, dry them in the air, and brush them with a soft brush. Lastly, rub them inside and out with a sponge moistened with oil, and then send them to be blocked. Hats are done in the same way.
Boil 4 oz. of logwood, and 2 oz. of roche-alum, in 3 pints of soft water, till half wasted; let it stand to be cold after straining. If they be old gloves let them be mended; then do them over with a brush, and when dry repeat it. Twice is sufficient unless the colour is to be very dark; when dry, rub off the loose dye with a coarse cloth; beat up the white of an egg, and with a sponge, rub it over the leather. The dye will stain the hands, but wetting them with vinegar before they are washed will take it off.
223. TO BLEACH STRAW HATS, &c.
Straw hats and bonnets are bleached by putting them, previously washed in pure water, in a box with burning sulphur; the fumes which arise unite with the water on the bonnets, and the sulphurous acid, thus formed, bleaches them.
To 8 gallons of water add 4 ozs. of copperas; immerse for 1 hour and take out and rinse; boil 2 lbs. logwood chips, or 1/2 lb. of extract; 1/2 lb. of fustic; and for white silks, 1/2 lb. of nicwood; dissolve 2 lbs. of good bar-soap in a gallon of water; mix all the liquids together, and then add the soap, having just enough to cover the silk; stir briskly until a good lather is formed, then immerse the silk and handle it lively. The dye should be as warm as the hand will bear; dry quickly and without rinsing. The above is enough for 10 yards or one dress.
Wet 6 lbs. of goods thoroughly; and to the same quantity of water add 9 oz. of sugar of lead; and to the same quantity of water in another vessel, add 6 oz. of bichromate of potash; dip the goods first into the solution of sugar of lead, and next into that of the potash, and then again into the first; wring out, dry, and afterwards rinse in cold water.
226. FOR STAINING GLASS—No. 1 FLUX
Minimum, or red lead, 3 parts; white sand, washed, 1 part. This mixture is melted, by which it is converted into a greenish-yellow glass.
227. No. 2 FLUX
Of No. 1, 8 parts; fused borax, in powder, 1 part. This mixture is melted.
228. No. 3 FLUX
Fused borax, 5 parts; calcined flint, 3 parts; pure minium, 1 part. This mixture is also melted. The above fluxes are used in procuring the different colours for staining glass.
Oxide of cobalt, 1 part; flux No. 3, 2 parts.
Oxide of cobalt, 1 part; oxide of zinc, 3 or 4 parts; flux No. 3, 6 parts; melt and pour out. If it is not sufficiently green, increase the zinc and flux.
Oxide of cobalt, 1 part; oxide of zinc, 2 parts; flux No. 2, 8 parts; melt them together.
Oxide of cobalt, 1 part; oxide of zinc, 2 parts; flux No. 2, 5 parts.The beauty of this colour depends on the proportion of flux. Aslittle as possible is to be used; it must, however, be brilliant.Sometimes less is used than the proportion indicated.
Oxide of cobalt, 1 part; oxide of zinc, 2 parts; flux No. 2, 12 parts; pound up, melt, and pour out.
Oxide of copper, 1 part; antimonic acid, 10 parts; flux No. 1, 30 parts; pulverize together, and melt.
Green oxide of chromium, 1 part; oxide of cobalt, 2 parts; triturate, and melt at a high heat. The product is a button slightly melted, from which is removed the portion in contact with the crucible. This button is pounded up, and three parts of flux No. 3, for one of the button, are added to it.
Green oxide of chromium 1 part, flux No. 3, 3 parts, triturate and melt.
Antimonic acid 2 parts, subsulphate of iron 1 part, flux No. 1, 10 parts; melt and pour out. The subsulphate of iron may be increased a little, the proportions of flux vary.
Litharge 18 parts, sand 6 parts. The product of the calcination of equal parts of lead and tin 2 parts, carbonate of soda 1 part, antimonic acid 1 part, rub together, or triturate, and melt.
Litharge 18 parts, sand 4 parts, oxide of antimony 2 parts, sienna earth 2 parts; melt. If it is too deep the proportion of sienna earth may be decreased.
Chromate of lead 1 part, minium 3 parts.
Yellow No. 240, 12 parts; red oxide of iron, 1 part.
Subsulphate of iron, calcined in a muffle until it becomes a beautiful capucine red, 1 part; flux No. 2, 3 parts; mix without melting.
Yellow ochre No. 244, 10 parts; sienna earth, 1 part; triturate without melting.
Subsulphate of iron, 1 part; oxide of zinc, 1 part; flux No. 2, 5 parts; triturate without melting.
The purple powder of Cassius mixed while moist with flux No. 3, and sometimes a little chloride of silver previously melted with flux No. 3. If the purple, when prepared, does not melt sufficiently easy, some flux may be added when it is dry.
The purple of Cassius, in place of flux No. 3, flux No. 1 is mixed with it. Sometimes a little of blue No. 233 is added.
The sulphate of iron, put in a small crucible, and lightly calcined, produces a suitable red oxide. Those which have the desired tone are selected. All the flesh reds are made in this way, and vary only in the degree of heat which they receive.
Yellow ochre, No. 244, 15 parts; oxide of cobalt, 1 part; well triturated and calcined, in order to give the tone to it.
Oxide of iron made of a red brown, and mixed with three times its weight of flux No. 2. A tenth of sienna earth is added to it if it is not sufficiently deep.
The white enamel of commerce in cakes.
Yellow No. 252, 1 part; blue No. 233, 1 part; oxide of zinc, 2 or 3 parts; flux No. 2, 5 parts; sometimes a little black is added, according to the tone which the mixture produces. The proportions of the blue and yellow vary.
252. YELLOW FOR BROWNS & GREENS
Antimonic acid, 2 parts; sulphate of iron 1 part; flux No. 1, 9 parts. This colour is melted and sometimes a little Naples Yellow is added if it is too soft, i.e., melts too easily.
Blue previously made by melting together three parts of flux No. 1, and one part of the mixture of oxide of cobalt, 8 parts; oxide of zinc, 1 part; sulphate of iron calcined at a forge heat, 1 part; flux No. 2, 3 parts; triturate and add a little manganese in order to render it more grey.
Yellow ochre, No. 244, 15 parts; oxide of cobalt, 1 part; triturate and calcine in a crucible until it has the desired tone. A little oxide of manganese is added in order to make it blacker; sometimes a little more of oxide of cobalt.
Oxide of cobalt, 2 parts; oxide of copper, 2 parts; oxide of manganese, 1 part; flux No. 1, 6 parts; fused borax, 1/2 part; melt and add oxide of manganese, 1 part; oxide of copper, 2 parts; triturate without melting.
The colours thus prepared after having been rubbed up on a plate of ground glass with the spirits of turpentine or lavender, thickened in the air are applied with a hair pencil. Before using them, however, it is necessary to try them on small pieces of glass, and expose them to the fire, to ascertain if the desired tone of colour is produced. The artist must be guided by these proof pieces in using his colours. The proper glass for receiving these colours should be uniform, colourless, and difficult of fusion. For this reason crown glass made with a little alkali or kelp is preferred. A design must be drawn upon paper and placed beneath the plate of glass. The upper side of the glass being sponged over with gum-water affords, when dry, a surface proper for receiving the colours, without the risk of their running irregularly, as they would be apt to do on the slippery glass. The artist draws on the plate, with a fine pencil all the traces which mark the great outlines and shades of the figures. This is usually done in black, and afterwards, when it is dry, the vitrifying colours are laid on by means of larger hair pencils. The yellow formed with chloride of silver is generally laid on the back of the glass, for it is apt to run with the other colours while heating.
The pigments used in painting on glass are principally matallic oxides and chlorides, and as, in most of these, the colour is not brought out until after the painting is submitted to heat, it is necessary to ascertain beforehand if the colours are properly mixed by painting on slips of glass, and exposing them to heat in a muffle. The painter is guided by these trial pieces in laying on his colours. To fire the paintings a furnace with a muffle is used. The muffles are made of refractory clay.
A quart of strong parchment size and half a pint of water are to be made quite hot, and to these are to be added, (in small portions from time to time,) two good handsful of common whiting, passed through a fine sieve; this mixture is to be left to infuse for half an hour, when it is to be stirred carefully so that the amalgamation may be perfect. This coating is preferable to any glue or cement for coating picture frames, &c., on which is to be laid the tin or silver leaf, to be varnished with gold varnishes or lackers.
Whiting, 112 lbs…………………. $1.12Blue-black, 5 lbs………………… 0.25White lead ground in oil, 28 lbs…… 2.24Road-dirt, 56 lbs………………… 0.10Lime-water, 5 galls………………. 0.05Residue of the oil, 2-1/4 galls……. 1.25————Weights, 256 lbs……. $5.01
To the above add two galls. of the incorporated oil, and 2 galls. of the linseed oil to thin it for use, and it will not exceed two cents and a quarter. The lime-water, whiting, road-dirt, and blue-black, must be first mixed together, then add the ground lead, first blending it with 2-1/2 galls. of the prepared fish oil; after which, thin the whole with 2 galls. of linseed oil and 2 galls. of incorporated oil, and it will be fit for use. For garden doors, and other work liable to be in constant use, a little spirits of turpentine may be added to the paint whilst laying on, which will have the desired effect.
112 lbs. yellow ochre in powder at 5 cts. per lb…. $5.50168 lbs. road-dust……………………………. 0.25112 lbs. wet blue, at 20 cts. per lb……………. 22.4010 lbs. blue-black, at 5 cts. per lb…………… 0.506 galls. of lime-water………………………. 0.064 galls. fish oil, prepared………………….. 2.407-1/2 galls. incorporated oil………………… 4.287-1/2 galls. linseed oil, at 90 cts. per gal…… 6.75————Weights, 592 lbs………….. $42.24
It will be seen that the bright green paint costs but about 7 cts. per lb., ready to lay on; and the inventor challenges any colour-man or painter to produce a green equal to it for five times the price. After painting, the colour left in the pot may be covered with water to prevent it from sinking, and the brushes, as usual, should be cleaned with the painting-knife, and kept under water. A brighter green may be formed by omitting the blue-black. A lighter green may be had by the addition of 10 lbs. of ground white lead. Observe that the wet blue must be ground with the incorporated oil, preparatory to its being mixed with the mass.
Lime-water, 4 galls…………….. $0.04Whiting, 112 lbs……………….. 1.12White lead, ground, 28 lbs………. 2.24Road-dust, 56 lbs………………. 0.10Prepared fish oil, 2 galls………. 1.20Incorporated oil, 3-1/2 galls……. 2.00Linseed oil, 3-1/2 galls………… 3.15————Weights, 293 lbs……. $9.85
The above stone-colour fit for use, is not three and a half cents per pound.
Lime-water, 8 galls…………….. $0.08Spanish brown, 112 lbs………….. 3.36Road-dust, 224 lbs……………… 0.404 galls. of fish oil……………. 2.404 galls. incorporated oil……….. 2.284 galls. linseed oil……………. 3.60————Weights, 501 lbs……. $12.12
This paint is scarcely two and a half cents per pound. The Spanish brown must be in powder.
This is made by the addition of blue black in powder, or lamp-black to receipt No. 261, till the colour is to the painter's mind; and a lighter brown may be formed by adding ground white lead. By ground lead is meant white lead ground in oil.
This is prepared with yellow ochre in powder, to receipt No. 261, in the same proportion as Spanish brown.
This is also prepared in the same proportion, as in receipt No. 261, using lamp-black or blue-black, instead of Spanish brown.
Slack a peck of nice, clean, fresh lime in a covered vessel, with water which is boiling hot; when well slacked, strain it well, then add to it 1-1/2 lbs. of finely ground rice; let the rice be boiled to a thin paste, and stirred in while very hot; 1/2 peck of common salt, well dissolved in warm water; 1/2 lb. of clean glue, dissolved in water; and 1/4 lb. of whiting; when well mixed, add 5 gallons of very hot water, then stir well, and let stand a few days well covered. Pit it on hot, and it will stand the weather as well as a good deal of white lead. You may colour this paint to suit your taste, using and stirring in well Spanish brown for a red pink colour. Take common clay finely powdered, and mixed well with Spanish brown for a reddish stone-colour. For yellow colour use yellow ochre if you please, but chrome yellow makes a richer colour and less does. You may make the colours dark or light according to the quantity of colouring matter used.
The various colours that may be obtained by the mixture of other colours, are innumerable. I only propose here to give the best and simplest modes of preparing those which are required for use. Compound colours, formed by the union of only two colours, are called by painters virgin tints. The smaller the number of colours of which any compound colour is composed, the purer and the richer it will be. They are prepared as follows:
This is made by mixing white lead with lamp-black, using more or less of each material, as you wish to obtain a darker or lighter colour.
This is made from yellow ochre and white lead.
Mix white lead, indigo, and a very light portion of black, regulating the quantities by the shade you wish to obtain.
This is obtained by a mixture of white lead and Prussian blue, with a small quantity of lake.
This is prepared by mixing yellow ochre, and red lead, with a little white lead.
Mix together three-fourths white lead, and one-fourth part umber and yellow ochre; the proportions of the last two ingredients being determined by the required tints.
Two-thirds white lead, and one-third red ochre, yellow ochre, and umber, mixed according to the shade sought. If veining is required, use different shades of the same mixture, and for the deepest places, black.
Mix together yellow, pink, and white lead. This colour is only proper for distemper.
Mix together realgar and orpiment; some object to this mixture on account of the poisonous nature of the ingredients. The same colour can be obtained by mixing yellow-pink with Naples yellow; but it is then only fit for distemper.
For this colour mix red lead and yellow ochre.
Make, by mixing vermillion, or red lead, with black or blue, and a small portion of white: vermillion is far preferable to red lead, in mixing this colour.
Made by mixing dark-red with violet-colour.
Mix together lake colour and white.
This is procured by mixing massicot, or Naples yellow, with a small quantity of realgar, and a very little Spanish white.
This may be obtained by various mixtures: black and a little blue, mixed with yellow; yellow-pink, with a little verdigris and lamp-black; or ochre and a small quantity of white, will also produce a kind of olive colour. For distemper, indigo and yellow-pink, mixed with white lead or Spanish white, must be used. If veined, it should be done with umber.
Mix together indigo and white lead or whiting.
Mix red-ochre and black, for a dark-chestnut. To make it lighter, employ a mixture of yellow-ochre.
For this colour mix together spruce-ochre, white and a little umber.
Mix lake, white-lead, and a little vermilion.
This is made by mixing white with verdigris.
Mix white with a little spruce-ochre.
Mix black and white with a little indigo.
Mix white lead, stone-ochre, and a little vermilion.
Mix lamp-black and Spanish brown. On account of the fatness of the lamp-black, mix some litharge and red lead.
Mix umber, yellow ochre, and white lead. The variety of shades of brown that may be obtained, are nearly as numerous as those of green.
Let the first coat of painting be white lead, the second orange, and the last burned umber or sienna; imitating the veins according to your taste and practice.
Let the first coat be white, the second half white and half yellow-ochre, and the third yellow-ochre only. Shadow with umber or sienna.
Take white for your first coating, light blue for the second, and dark blue or dark green for the third.
When sea-salt is made into a paste with litharge, it is decomposed, its acid unites with the litharge, and the soda is set free. Hence Turner's patent process for decomposing sea-salt, which consists in mixing two parts of the former with one of the latter, moistening and leaving them together for about twenty-four hours. The product is then washed, filtered, and evaporated, by which soda is obtained. A white substance is now left undissolved; it is a compound of muriatic acid and lead, which, when heated, changes its colour, and forms Turner's yellow; a very beautiful colour, much in use among coach-painters.
Wash the surface of the wood with weak alum-water, after being well sand-papered; then go over it with linseed oil, coloured with murat amber and red lead. It is better to have this colour rather light, and renew the application; when this has sufficiently dried, go over the surface with a strong sizing of transparent glue, and then use two castors of copal varnish. Any good grained pine will bear a very close resemblance to walnut, and the surface will be nearly as hard.