In General

The surface to be treated, in all cases, should be sandpapered or rubbed with medium steel wool to give an even facing on which paint or varnish will spread easily, and must be free from dampness from any source.

For Exterior Work

After the surface is in proper condition, apply shellac to all knots, prime or first coat the work with a paint somewhat lighter than the final color to be used. The priming, in fact, all under coats, should contain some turpentine, otherwise the last or gloss coat (which should be almost entirely free from turpentine) will not adhere well to the under coat. All puttying is done after the first or priming coat has been applied.

For exterior varnishing, two or three coats of any good outside varnish can be used, no other treatment being required, except to have a suitable surface for the application of same.

For Interior Work

Prime, or first coat on the previously smoothed or properly prepared surface and putty in the usual way. A thin coat of shellac before priming will cause the paint to stand out better and is an advantage. Proceed as in the painting of exteriors. When a dead flat surface is desired in the finishing coat, mix the paint for that coat with thinners composed of 8 parts turpentine, 1 part linseed oil, and 1 part dryer. In repainting old work inside, it is well to coat the whole surface first with shellac to prevent the old color striking through and thus altering the shade or color of the newly applied paint.

In varnishing interiors it is usual to apply a coat of liquid wood filler as a primer on new work. Putty and follow with two coats of varnish. In fine work on hard woods, paste filler is used; rubbed when dry with fine steel wool, or sand paper, and then varnished. Shellac can be used as a primer in place of liquid filler and answers the purpose very well. When interior work is to be stained, the color is usually added to the filler or first coating, or an oil or turpentine stain applied previous to the application of the filler or varnish.

Work To Be Rubbed

To produce the finest effect in varnishing, the final coat is rubbed and polished. This can be done with No. 0 steel wool, fine pumice stone mixed with water, or raw linseed oil, or with rotton stone mixed with the same mediums. Powdered pumice stone, or rotton stone is applied on a cloth and the dry varnish rubbed to a perfect finish. A final polish can be given with any of the polishing preparations recommended for such work in another part of the book. In producing a perfect surface, each coat of paint or varnish should be sand papered, or rubbed before the next coat is applied.