(J.) A beautiful green of any intensity may be pro duced by mixing verdigris and indigo in hot vinegar, and applying hot. Several coats may be necessary, sanding between the coats. The indigo should be used cautiously, or the green may have too much of a bluish cast.

(K.) A rich brownish black may be obtained by using a so lution of logwood (pulverized) and sulphate of iron, applied in coats in the order named. Each solution should be hot.

(L.) Ebony may be obtained by giving any close-grained wood, cherry preferred, a coat of sulphate of iron, using a weak solution, and after that has dried and been sanded, a coat of solution of nutgalls. If the iron is too strong, a white efflorescence will appear, which in open-grained woods will bring out the grain in strong relief. If this is objectionable, the grain should be filled with a black filler.

(M.) Shellac (see 71, A.) and boneblack, if well mixed, make an ebony finish which is often used upon common work; black varnish sometimes is used the same as black shellac, but for the best work these are not satisfactory, as they do not strike into the wood to the same extent as do acid, turpentine, or water stain.

71. Shellac. - (A.) This is a product of Africa and South America. It is the combination of a secretion of the female of a small insect and the sap of a tree, in the bark of which the insect deposits its eggs. The gum thus formed is gathered, and after passing through various re fining processes becomes the shellac known to commerce. It is cut or dissolved by either wood or grain alcohol, when it is ready for use. Some of the best furniture is finished with shellac, and unless continuously exposed to moisture or hard usage, the finish is practically everlasting.

(B.) Shellac finish does not crack as varnish is liable to, neither does its luster dim by exposure to the various gases present in every house, which are due to domestic causes, though most varnishes will do this after some years.

Upon ordinary work, two coats of shellac may be satis factory, though three coats generally will improve the work sufficiently to make it advisable to apply the extra coat. Shellac should not be laid in too thick coats, or it will pit badly in drying, and make work in rubbing to a surface, which can be avoided if moderately thin coats are spread, though perhaps the greatest advantage in laying thin coats is that the wood may be covered more evenly, and there will be fewer runs and laps visible. Shellac should always be laid with quick strokes, never working over a place already covered; for this work, use a brush as large as possible to do the work without clumsiness.

(C.) In applying shellac finish, one coat is laid upon the other, each coat being rubbed down with number 00 sand paper, or with pulverized pumice stone before the next coat is spread. For this purpose, a sheet of sandpaper should be cut into eighths, and one of these pieces folded in the center of its long dimension, and held in the hand as shown in Fig. 99, which keeps its edges from scratching the surface. If it is desired to rub the shellac down to a surface with pumice stone, it should be applied with hair cloth, or with harness maker's felt, moistened with oil or water; but for ordinary work, sandpaper will give satis faction, and as it is more convenient, it is much used.

If the best results are desired, the last coat should be rubbed with pumice stone and sweet oil, applied as above, though boiled cil is satisfactory; and for ordinary work, number 00 sandpaper is used, though it is liable to show scratches. After the rubbing is done, the oil should be wiped off with a soft rag, and very fine rotten stone dusted on and polished with a clean, soft cloth. Many finishers use the palm of the hand in putting on the finishing touches. If a dead, or mat, finish is desired, the final rubbing should be done with water, used sparingly, as oil imparts a high gloss, if the work is well done.

(D.) Care should be used on any kind of work upon which waste or oily rags are used; these rags should be gathered and burned unless they are wanted again soon, in which case they may be spread out separately; since, if crushed together and thrown, as they often are, into a waste box, they furnish the necessary conditions for a case of spontaneous combustion.

Fig. 99.- Method of Grasping Sandpaper in Rubbing Down Shellac Finish.

(E.) The gloss upon dried shellac and varnishes of all kinds is very showy, and lacks the finish and the texture of a rubbed finish. Moreover, any dust settling upon moist varnish is held, giving the surface an effect of countless minute points; rubbing removes these, and gives the smooth, glossy surface desired upon most work. Upon the most artistic furniture, a gloss, which is the result of a built-up polish, is not considered good taste; the use of muscle and a very little oil, applied at intervals during a term of years, gives a polish and a beauty which can be obtained by no other method, and it is to attain this ideal in a few days that so many varieties of finish exist.

(F.) In rubbing, be sure that the corners are not rubbed through, as the pressure will naturally be more upon the corners than upon a broad surface. This may be avoided by using care that the pressure is not applied so as to bear on the corner; grasp the rubbing material in such a way that no loose edges will be beyond control, as in Fig. 99, or the finish may be badly scratched; this applies es pecially to the corners. The rubbing should always be in the direction parallel with the grain of the wood.

(G.) If the finish is rubbed through to the wood, it may be repolished or patched by sandpapering the bare wood with fine sandpaper, and staining it to bring it to the same condition as the rest of the wood before the first coat of finish was applied. Using the same finishing material as the finish of the rest of the piece, lay a very thin coat, a little larger than the place to be patched, be ing careful to avoid a ridge at the edge of the patch. This ridge may be drawn out by a small camel's-hair brush, and the patch left until thoroughly dried; then apply another patch a little larger than the first one, treating the edge as in the first patch. Continue this until the finish is built up to the same thickness as that of which it is a part. This should be rubbed very carefully to bring it to the same finish as the rest of the surface, using care not to rub through the old finish at the edge of the patch. As it is the corners which are most liable to be rubbed through, this process will not generally be difficult of application; all that is necessary to secure a successful patch is to use care at each step, and not to hurry the drying of the different patches.