This section is from the book "Facts Worth Knowing", by Robert Kemp Philip. Also available from Amazon: Inquire Within for Anything You Want to Know.
Rub on with a sponge a little white soap and some lukewarm water, and wash the waiter or urn quite clean. Never use hot water, as it will cause the japan to scale off". Having wiped it dry, sprinkle a little Hour over it; let it rest a while, and then rub it with a soft dry cloth, and finish with a silk handkerchief. If there are white heat marks on the waiters, they will be difficult to remove. But you may try rubbing them with a flannel dipped in sweet oil, and afterwards in spirits of wine. Waiters and other articles of papier mache should be washed with a sponge and cold water, without soap, dredged with flour while damp; and after a while wipe off, and then polished with a silk handkerchief.
 
Continue to: