It is often necessary or desirable to remove old paint or varnish before applying new.

In extreme cases it may be burned off with the assistance of a painter's torch, which renders the paint or varnish soft enough to be scraped off with a putty knife.

When the natural beauty of the wood is to be retained, and the new coating is to be varnished, this process cannot be used. In such cases, recourse must be had to some liquid solvent, which dissolves or softens the oils and resins which bind the paint or varnish coatings. Strong alkalies and some of the best or most active liquid solvents will do this more or less satisfactorily.

No. 1

A wash of 26 degree ammonia water will very quickly soften paint or varnish so that it can be readily scraped or washed off.

A strong solution of caustic soda, or caustic potash, or carbonate of soda will answer the same purpose.

When paint or varnish has been removed by means of an alkali, the wood should be afterwards washed with dilute vinegar to neutralize the alkali and prevent further action on the new coating to be applied.

No. 2

A mixture much used, is composed of pearlash,

1 part, and lime, 3 parts. Slack the lime with water and add the pearlash, making a cream the consistency of paint. Apply with a brush.

No. 3

Carbonate of soda, 2 pounds; lime, 1-4 pound dissolved in one gallon of water. Allow to remain on the work 15 or 20 minutes. Scrape off the softened paint and wash the surface with weak vinegar.

Recently, there has appeared on the market various new liquid and paste paint and varnish removers of decided merit, and possessing none of the objectionable features of the old style alkaline removers, such as potash, soda, lime, and ammonia. These newer preparations are almost entirely free from odor and have no caustic action on the skin or clothes, which is a marked advantage. They are composed of such substances as readily and quickly soften and dissolve the resins and solidified oil or dry varnish and the oil binder used in the various paints.

The principal solvents used are analine oil, amyl acetate and fusil oil, in connection with benzine. The paste removers can be made from aniline oil to which is added sufficient starch paste to give the finished product a thin, pasty consistence. Paste removers usually contain potash.

For general use, a liquid remover is best and may be made as follows:

No. 1

Make a mixture of equal parts of aniline oil and benzine: or compound one part of aniline oil, one part of amyl acetate and two parts of benzine.

Compound one part of aniline oil, one part of fusel oil and one to two parts of benzine. Aniline oil, if purchased in quantity, (the commercial grade) can be bought cheaply and such mixtures as will rapidly and energetically remove paint or varnish can be produced at from 50 cents to $1.00 per gallon, depending upon the quantity of raw materials purchased at one time. Such mixtures usually retail at $2.50 per gallon. With the above suggestions, the reader should have no difficulty in producing his own preparations at a material saving, or on such a basis as to be sold very profitably.