2784. To Soften Putty in Window Frames

2784.      To Soften Putty in Window Frames. To soften putty in window frames, so that the glass may be taken out without breakage or cutting, take 1 pound American pearlash, 3 pounds quick stone lime, slack the lime in water, then add the pearlash, and make the whole about the consistence of paint. Apply it to both sides of the glass, and let it remain for 12 hours, when the putty will be so softened that the glass may be taken out of the frame without being cut, and with the greatest facility. (See No. 2786 (For Removing Old Putty).)

2785. To Remove Hard Putty

2785.    To Remove Hard Putty. This may be effected with a paste of caustic potassa, prepared by mixing the caustic alkali, or even carbonate of potash or soda, with equal parts of freshly burnt quicklime, which has previously been sprinkled with water, so as to cause it to fall into powder. This mixture is then made with water to a paste, and spread on the putty to be softened. Where one application is not sufficient, it is repeated. In order to prevent the paste from drying too quickly, it is well to mix it with less water, adding some soft-soap.

2786. For Removing Old Putty

2786.    For Removing Old Putty. For removing hard putty from a window-sash, take a square piece of iron, make the same red-hot, and run it along the putty till it gets soft. The putty will peel off without injuring the wood-work. Concentrated lye made of lime and alkali will affect the wood and make it rot quicker. (See No. 2784 (To Soften Putty in Window Frames).)

2787. To Remove Paint from Old Work

2787.      To Remove Paint from Old Work. To destroy paint on old doors, etc., lay the mixture in receipt No. 2784 over the whole body of the work which is required to be cleaned, with an old brush (as it will spoil a new one); let it remain for 12 or 14 hours, when the paint can be easily scraped off. These two receipts have been used by a practical painter and glazier for years.

2788. To Remove Paint from Wood

2788.    To Remove Paint from Wood. Where it is necessary to remove paint entirely, this is generally done by scraping; another way is to soften the paint by passing a flat flame over a portion of the surface at a time, and it can be scraped off easily while hot; but the method most recommended is to lay on a thick coating or plaster of fresh slacked lime mixed with soda; next day, wash it off with water, and it will remove the paint, leaving the surface clean.

2789. To Remove Paint from Stone

2789.    To Remove Paint from Stone. A correspondent of the London Builder, having to clean a pulpit and sedilia in which the carving and tracery were almost filled up with successive coats of paint, was informed that common washing-soda, dissolved in boiling water, and applied hot, would remove it. Ho found that 3 pounds of soda to a gallon of water, laid on with a common paint-brush, answered the purpose admirably, softening the paint in a short time, so that it was easily removed with a stiff scrubbing-brush; afterward, on adding a few ounces of potash to the solution, it softened more readily than with soda only. The stone in both cases was a fine freestone.