INDEX. (continued 3)

If you are to do a fine job, and can get pay for it, and you find the body cracked, burn off the old paint, and commence at the foundation as in new work. For a cheap job, lead up the bare places on the gear and wheels, give a coat of color and a coat of color varnish and finish with heavy gear varnish. For a fine job, if the old paint is cracked or scaled, take it off and work up from the wood as on a new job.

ROUGH STUFF.

1. To make one coat per day rough stuff, take three pounds of Reno’s filler and one pound of keg lead. Mix to stiff paste with equal parts of rubbing varnish, and first-class japan, thin with turps. Some painters add a little raw oil. Grind the filler fine.

2. French yellow ochre dry, 5 pounds; keg lead 1½ pounds. Mix to stiff paste with equal parts gold size, or best brown japan and rubbing varnish; thin with turps and add a gill of raw oil. Grind fine.

CLEANING PHAETON CUSHIONS.

This old phaeton cushion is too dusty for any use, did you say? I agree with you; the old cloth-covered phaeton cushion is one of the unmitigated nuisances which we are often compelled to tolerate in the paint shop. When such a cushion is once filled with dust its capacity for “shedding” seems to be unlimited. The more you beat it and the longer you brush it, the more dust comes to the surface. You can take off a buggy cushion and relegate it to the backroom, but the genius who invented that complicated vehicle called a phaeton, nailed the cushions fast to the body, and we must take them along with the job, dust and all, from the cleaning floor to the varnish room.

When I am so unfortunate as to have an old phaeton brought to my shop, about the first thing I do after cleaning it up is to go for the cushions with the sprinkler and wet them down with clean water, repeating the operation as often as may be necessary to keep in the dust.

Spoil the cushions? No! When you run the rig out of the shop the owner will wonder what you have done to his cushions to make them look so bright. The same operation works well on an old cloth-lined top. After you have brushed all you think you can afford to, and the dust keeps coming to the front, turn the top bottom side up and give it a shower from the sprinkler, and I will guarantee the dust to lie still long enough for you to dress the top and paint the bows. Dust is the natural enemy of the paint shop, and water is one of our best weapons to fight it with.

MIXING QUICK COLOR.

A quick-drying color can be slowed up and made to dry to any required time without injuring it, while if ground in a slow drying preparation, it cannot possibly be quickened without injuring more or less the working and covering properties. The working is certainly important, and the covering more so. The covering property should be strong, because the fewer coats of color on a job the better. Thus a quick dryer saves both labor and time.

Japan colors are best when ground stiff, or with barely enough liquid to bind them firmly, because after being reduced to thinness with turpentine alone they will cling to the surface and will not smut. The color will then have its greatest covering power. Now, by the addition of sufficient pure raw oil to give the best working property, and being also made to dry flat, the color is as near perfection as possible, and the further addition of anything weakens the covering power. When an excess of japan is used in grinding, the color is thin, there being less pigment to the pound; and it is of less value to the consumer, while it affords more profit to the manufacturer than when prepared as it should be.

BLACK VARNISH FOR GASOLINE STOVES, ETC.

Asphaltum two pounds, boiled linseed oil one pint, turpentine two quarts. Melt the asphaltum in an iron pot, heat the oil, and add it to the asphaltum while hot. Stir well. When partly cool, add the turpentine and four ounces of good japan.

BLACK STENCH INK.

Shellac two ounces, borax two ounces, soft water twenty ounces, gum arabic two ounces, lampblack and indigo sufficient. Boil the shellac and borax in the water until dissolved, then add the gum arabic; dissolve and take the mixture from the fire; when cold, add enough lampblack to give it color and proper consistency, and a little powdered indigo. Keep in glass or earthenware vessels.

BRONZE FOR BRIGHT METALS.

Red aniline (fuscine) ten parts, purple aniline five parts, alcohol 95 per cent. one hundred parts, benzoic acid five parts. Add the anilines to the alcohol, and dissolve by placing the vessel in a sand or water bath. As soon as dissolved, add the benzoic acid and boil for five or ten minutes, or until the greenish color of the mixture is turned to a brilliant light bronze; spread with a brush on bright metal.

VARNISH TO FIX PENCIL DRAWINGS.

Gum mastic three ounces, alcohol one pint. Dissolve and apply with a brush.

RUST SPOTS ON MARBLE.

Apply a mixture of 1 part nitric acid and 25 parts of water, then rinse with 3 parts water and 1 part ammonia.

WHITEWASH TO SOFTEN.

To soften old whitewash which you wish to take off, wet it thoroughly with a wash made of 1 pound of potash, dissolved in 10 quarts of water.

WATER GLASS FOR FLOORS.

Clean the floor, fill cracks with water glass cement made of water glass and whiting, then put on a coat of water glass, to be followed by second coat; when dry rub the last coat with pumice stone and oil.

TO FINISH REDWOOD.

Take one quart of spirits turpentine; add one pound of corn starch; quarter of a pound burnt sienna; one tablespoonful raw linseed oil and one tablespoonful brown japan. Mix thoroughly, apply with the brush, let it stand, say, fifteen minutes, rub off all you can with fine shavings or a soft rag, let it stand at least twenty-four hours that it may sink into and harden the fibers of the wood; afterward apply two coats of white shellac, rub down well with fine flint paper, then put on from two to five coats best polishing varnish; after it is well dried rub with water and pumice stone ground very fine; stand a day to dry; after being washed clean with a chamois rub with water and rotten stone; dry; wash as before clean, and rub with olive oil until dry. Some use cork for sandpapering and polishing, but a smooth block of hardwood like maple is better. When treated in this way, redwood will be found the peer of any wood for real beauty and life as a house trim or finish.

MARKING INK.

Asphaltum, dissolved in turpentine to a thin fluid, will give you an excellent marking ink for all purposes; dries quickly, does not spread, and is nearly indestructible.

FORMULAS FOR MIXING COLORS. (SELECTED.)

It is impossible to give infallible recipes for mixing colors, on account of the difference in the tone and color strength of pigments, both dry and in oil, many samples having as high as fifty per cent. of barytes or other white makewright material, which not only lessens the color strength of the mixture in proportion to their volume, but weakens the color, in a small measure, by their presence as white material. Hence, color formulas are made subject to modification, not only to please the taste of the mixer, but on account of the presence of poor, weak and adulterated pigments.

The writer has selected a few formulas from which the learner may gain some knowledge of colors, which he can improve upon by experiment.

Note.—Part means in bulk, not by weight.

Plumb.—White lead 2 parts; Indian red, 1 part; ultramarine blue, 1 part. If too dark, add more white lead. (Outside.)

Brick.—Yellow ochre, 2 parts; Venetian red, 1 part; white lead, 1 part. If too dark, add more ochre. Don’t depend upon the common ochre of the stores. It has but little tinting power. Use French ochre ground in oil. (Outside.)

Bronze Green.—Chrome green, 5 parts; lampblack, 1 part; burnt umber, 1 part. If too dark, use more green. (Outside.)

Jonquil Yellow.—White lead tinted with chrome yellow and vermilion.

Lead Color.—White Lead, 16 parts; ultramarine blue, 1 part; lampblack, 2 parts. (Outside.)

Light Buff.—White lead tinted with yellow ochre (Outside.)

Lemon.—Lemon chrome yellow, 5 parts; white lead, 2 parts. (Outside.)

Brown.—Indian red, 3 parts; lamp black, 2 parts; yellow ochre, 1 part. If too dark, use more ochre or less black. (Outside.)

Chestnut.—Venetian red, 2 parts; lamp black, 1 part; medium chrome yellow, 4 parts. (Outside.)

Lilac.—Light Indian red, 3 parts; white lead, 3 parts; ultramarine blue, 1 part.

Purple.—Light Indian red, 4 parts; white lead, 3 parts; ultramarine blue, 2 parts.

London Smoke.—Burnt umber, 2 parts; white lead, 1 part; Venetian red, 1 part.

Brown.—Venetian red, 3 parts; drop black, 2 parts; chrome yellow, 1 part. (Outside.)

French Gray.—White, tinted with ivory or drop black. (Outside.)

Olive Yellow.—Burnt umber, 3 parts; lemon chrome yellow, 1 part. For lighter shade, add more yellow.

Pearl.—White lead, 6 parts; Venetian red, 2 parts; lamp black, 1 part. If too dark, add more lead. (Outside.)

Olive.—Lemon chrome yellow, 10 parts; ultramarine blue, 1 part; light Indian red, 1 part.

Cream Color.—White lead, 8 parts; French yellow ochre in oil, 2 parts; Venetian red, 1 part. (Outside.)

Tan.—Burnt sienna, 5 parts; medium chrome yellow, 2 parts; raw umber, 1 part. If too red, add more raw umber.

Pea Green.—White lead, 5 parts; chrome green, 1 part. Vary the proportions to suit.

Drab.—White lead, 10 parts; burnt umber, 1 part. Vary to suit.

Canary.—White lead, 6 parts; lemon chrome yellow, 2 parts, or less, as you like it. (Outside.)

Fawn.—White lead, 8 parts; chrome yellow, 1 part; Indian red, 1 part; burnt umber, 1 part. (Outside.)

Grass Green.—Lemon chrome yellow, 3 parts; Prussian blue, 1 part.

Peach Blossom.—White lead, 1 part; light Indian red, 1 part; ultramarine blue, 1 part; lemon chrome yellow, 1 part.

Light Gray.—White lead, 10 parts; ultramarine blue, 1 part; lampblack, 1 part. Make lighter or darker by using more or less white lead, as the case may require.

Purple Brown.—Dark Indian red, 4 parts; ultramarine blue, 1 part; lampblack, 1 part. Light up with white lead to fancy. If too purple, use less blue; if too red, use more black. (Outside.)

Leather Brown.—Venetian red, 2 parts; yellow ochre, 4 parts; lampblack, 1 part; white lead, 2 parts or more, to suit. If too dark, use less black. (Outside.)

Dregs of Wine.—Tuscan red with a little lampblack and white lead.

Leaf Bud.—Equal parts white lead, orange chrome and chrome green. If too dark, add more lead. (Inside only.)

Coral Pink.—Vermilion (English), 5 parts; white lead, 2 parts; chrome yellow, 1 part. (Inside.)

Maroon.—Tuscan red, 3 parts; ultramarine blue, 1 part. If too red, add more blue.

Myrtle.—Dark chrome green, 3 parts; ultramarine blue, 1 part. Light up with white lead.

Stone.—White lead, 5 parts; French yellow ochre, 2 parts; burnt umber, 1 part. Tint to desired shade with raw umber; a very little will do. (Outside.)

Snuff.—Medium chrome yellow, 4 parts; Vandyke brown, 2 parts.

Rose.—White lead, 5 parts; carmine, 2 parts. (Inside only.)

Portland Stone.—Raw umber, 3 parts; yellow ochre, 3 parts; white lead, 1 part. (Outside.)

Ashes of Roses.—White, lightly tinted with black, blue and lake. (Inside only.)

Silver Gray.—Tint white lead with lampblack and indigo.

Fine Chocolate.—Tint the best burnt umber with Munich lake. (Inside only.)

Fine Maroon.—Tint any deep red lake with a little orange chrome yellow.

Vienna Smoke.—Tint fine burnt umber with lemon chrome yellow and a little Venetian red.

Quaker Green.—Chrome green, 3 parts; lampblack, 1 part; Venetian red, 1 part; medium chrome yellow, 1 part.

Chamoline.—Lemon yellow, 1 part; raw sienna, 3 parts; white lead, 5 parts.

Clay Drab.—White lead, raw sienna, raw umber, equal parts. Tint with chrome green.

Pearl.—White lead, tinted with ultramarine blue and lampblack.

Copper.—Medium chrome yellow, 2 parts; Venetian red, 1 part; drop black, 1 part.

Buttercup.—White lead tinted with lemon chrome yellow.

Flesh.—White lead, 8 parts; light Venetian red, 1 part; orange chrome, 2 parts.

Olive Brown.—Lemon chrome yellow, 1 part; burnt umber, 3 parts.

Deep Buff.—White lead tinted with yellow ochre and a little Venetian red. (Outside.)

SOME EXPENSIVE COLORS.

Claret.—Carmine, 2 parts; ultramarine blue, 1 part.

Carnation Red.—Carmine lake, 3 parts; white lead, 1 part.

Chocolate.—Fine burnt umber, 5 parts; carmine or lake, 1 part.

French Red.—Indian red and English vermilion, equal parts, glazed with carmine.

Rose.—White lead, 5 parts; carmine, 2 parts.

Yellow Lake.—Burnt umber and white lead, equal parts; tint with chrome yellow and lake.

SUGGESTIONS FOR TINTS AND COLORS.

Delicate Flesh Tints, white predominating.—1st, white and light red; 2nd, white, Naples yellow, vermilion; 3rd, white, vermilion and light red.

Gray and Half Tints, white predominating.—1st, white, vermilion and black; 2nd, white and terre verte; 3rd, white, black, Indian red and raw umber.

Deep Shades, color predominating.—1st, light red and raw umber; 2nd, Indian red, lake and black.

Carnations.—1st, white and Indian red; 2nd, white and rose madder; 3rd, white and lake; 4th, white and Naples yellow.

Carnations, color predominating.—1st, rose madder and white; 2nd, Indian red, rose madder and white.

Green Tints.—1st, white and ultramarine blue, with any yellow; 2nd, white and terre verte; add a little raw umber.

Gray Tints.—1st, ultramarine blue, light red and white; 2nd, Indian red lake, black and white.

Pearly White, white predominating.—1st, white, vermilion and black; 2nd, white, vermilion and black; 3rd, white and black.

Gray.—White, Venetian red and black.

Yellow.—Yellow ochre and white.

Olive.—Yellow ochre, terre verte and umber.

Sky.—French blue and white.

PAINTING CARS AT HOME.

Probably no other subject dealing with the problem of the motorist has been so little, or to be correct, so unsatisfactorily treated as the home painting of cars. Most of the literature dealing with the subject is written in a technical vein, purely for the delectation of the professional painter. This naturally leads the novice to believe, owing to the great number of coats these writers say is essential for good work, that it is entirely out of the question for a car owner, without previous experience in painting, to repaint his car satisfactorily.

Fortunately this is not true. In the first place, the fewer number of coats that can be applied and still accomplish the desired result, will make far the most durable and lasting job of painting. I maintain, and have proven, times without number, that if a motorist really is in earnest about wanting to paint his cars, the battle is more than half won. Give this class of motorists the proper material mixed ready for use with the proper brushes for their application, and tell him how they should be used, and 99 times out of 100 he will paint his car so well that he will be sorry he had not done it before.

The quality of the material used in this kind of painting is of vital importance and unless they are the very best will give but limited wear. And the proper brushes to use with the different coats is of equal importance. About four-fifths the cost of automobile painting is labor, so that a few dollars saved in buying the materials is false economy.

The general purpose enamels for sale in stores have no place on a motor car. They belong to the home. Probably no other vehicle excepting a locomotive has harder service for paint to withstand. Hence, the necessity for the very best materials.

There is one reputable concern selling repainting outfits to car owners so that greatly simplifies the painting problem, if one wishes to do it himself. These outfits include everything, materials, brushes, and instructions, and range in price from $6 for a small runabout to $8 and $10 for a roadster and touring car. Compared to $35 to upwards of $100 that one has to pay a regular painter, if one wishes to economize, the painting affords a grand opportunity.

The fenders and hood of a car are subjected to severe wear and the time is coming when these parts will always be painted black, regardless of the body color of the car. In fact, a great many of the new cars will be painted this way. There are thousands of cars in use that hardly need repainting, but if the hood and fenders were done over in black it would make them look almost like new cars. There is one concern making these hood and fender outfits and a novice can do a really creditable job of painting with them. They range in price from $3 to $5 and are in two coats with a suitable brush.

The gases from the motor are a big factor in dulling the paint on hoods. It has the same effect that ammonia fumes from a stable has on horse-drawn vehicles. This is one reason why the black painting of hoods is mighty sensible. When your hood gets dull, instead of laying up your car you can paint the hood yourself with little trouble and no loss of time.

For the novice to repaint the average car, for instance a 30 H. P. touring car, it would require in labor only a few hours on four or five different days. The hardest part of the whole operation is preparing the car for paint. It is absolutely necessary to have it thoroughly clean before applying any paint. It should be well washed first, and then given a gasoline bath to the parts on which dirt and grease have been allowed to accumulate. It is really not so complex a proposition after all. If a woman can paint furniture with enamels that are no better than they should be, a man can surely paint a car if given the proper materials to do it with, and if he be instructed in their use.

Now as to striping. This is of course out of the question for the novice. But you can black the mouldings of the body, seats, doors, hubs and rims of wheels so that the absence of striping is not noticed. So far as the striping goes, the tendency is away from it—in fact, the most expensive cars have hardly any striping. The blacking of the mouldings, etc., mentioned makes a harmonious contrast and takes the place of striping. It looks in no ways amateurish—rather like the handiwork of the professional painter.

In addition to the saving that can be effected by repainting your car yourself, there is the feeling of personal pride when the job is finished, of having done something well yourself.

As the majority of the new cars have enameled lamps instead of polished brass as in years past, I believe a few words on the subject will not be amiss. In my experience of twenty years in the painting of vehicles, locomotives and automobiles, I have never had a harder proposition to solve than the enameling of polished brass lamps, particularly gas headlights.

An enamel for this purpose must of necessity be made highly elastic, so that it will contract and expand with the metal and stick on the polished brass surface without any previous roughing. This means that only the most expensive materials can be used in the making of such an enamel. There is one enamel of proven merit for this purpose on the market and it does not have to be baked. I have seen a great many motorists who have used general purpose enamels on their lamps and the experience has usually been that the enamel leaves when the lights are lighted. If I were buying an enamel for use on the brass parts of my car, I should be very careful to buy the one that had been long on the market, for there will undoubtedly be a large number of new ones offered.

I have made some pretty strong statements in the foregoing article, and it is no more than right that I tell you that they are based on my experience of twenty years in the painting of carriages, locomotives and automobiles, two years as the expert for the largest paint and color house in the world, and several years in the manufacture of the highest class of motor car paints.