2755. When to Apply Paint

2755.    When to Apply Paint. Paint, to last long, should be put on early in winter or spring, when it is cold and no dust flying. Paint put on in cold weather forms a body or coat upon the surface of the wood that beHOUSE PAINTING.

comes hard and resists weather, or an edged ! tool even, like slate.

2756. General Directions for House Painting

2756.    General Directions for House Painting. Oil paint dries -with a gloss, turpentine makes a dead surface; and, in using paints containing both oil and turpentine, the ' gloss will be less as the proportion of oil is diminished. Paint requires more dryer in cold than in hot weather, but is more durable in outside work if applied in cold weather. Successive coats of paint should have at least a day intervene between them for drying. Dark colors should have a glossy finish. Before commencing to paint, the surface must be perfectly dry. The paint must be thoroughly mixed, both before commencing and during the progress of the work; if this is neglected, the heavy ingredients are apt to settle, leaving a larger proportion of oil and turpentine on the surface.

2757. Painter's Size

2757.     Painter's Size. Stir a small quantity of litharge and red lead into some boiled oil; let it stand, shaking frequently until bleached; then bottle. Raw oil makes a slower drying size.

2758. Best Painter's Size

2758.    Best Painter's Size. Heat raw oil in a pan till it emits a black smoke; set it on fire, and, after burning for a few minutes, cover the pan over to put out the blaze; pour the oil while warm into a bottle in which some pulverized red lead and litharge have been introduced. Stand the bottle in a warm place for two weeks, shaking often. It will then be ready to decant and bottle.

2759. To Paint Zinc

2759.    To Paint Zinc. A difficulty is often experienced in causing oil colors to adhere to sheet zinc. Boettger recommends the employment of a mordant, so to speak, of the following composition: 1 part chloride of copper, 1 of nitrate of copper, and 1 of sal-ammoniac are to be dissolved in 64 parts of water, to which solution is to be added 1 part of commercial hydrochloric acid. The sheets of zinc are to be brushed over with this liquid, which gives them a deep black color; in the course of from 12 to 24 hours they become dry, and to their now dirty gray surface a coat of any oil color will firmly adhere. Some sheets of zinc prepared in this way, and afterwards painted, have been found to withstand all the changes of winter and summer.

2760. Polish White

2760.    Polish White. This is made by grindingdry zinc-white with white varnish,nnd affords a beautiful glossy finish, to be laid on after the second coat. A more perfect surface may be obtained by covering the second coat with several other coats of hard drying paint, mixed with turpentine, Japan and litharge; then rubbing down with pumice-stone, followed by a coat of polish white, and finished with a flow coat of white varnish containing a little zinc-white. Although this requires more time and trouble, the result will fully compensate for it. It is necessary to remark that when the last coat is to be glossy, the previous coat must be flat or dead; and a fiat coat for finishing should be preceded by a somewhat glossy coat.