beeswax 1 pint each of linseed oil and oil of turpentine, 1 gill of patent dryer and the pigments ground in oil. The wax must be thoroughly mixed with the other constituents, or the drying qualities of the color will be affected. It must be remembered that wax is not added as a drying agent, but solely to make the color more amenable to the dividing and wiping-out action of the combs.
Distemper graining pigments are bound by the use of beer. Vandyke brown, however, does not require a binder for overgraining in water, nor do the siennas very often. When using black or the cool tones, either alone or in combination with warmer colors, a little beer is necessary, because black has no binding power; if mixed with Vandyke brown in equal proportions no binder will be required, but it is always best to ensure that the overgraining will not work up when the varnish is applied. In finishing antique oak in black alone, the wash must be strong in beer; for mixed washes, one-half beer is a safe proportion.
For very light oak, the ground color is made from white-lead paint, and is tinted to a decided cream with yellow ochre. The graining color may be stained with raw sienna and raw umber, or the latter alone; the work may be overgrained in water with Vandyke brown and weak blue-black, or indigo.
Ordinarily light oak requires a clean buff ground, stained by ochre, and occasionally a touch of Venetian red or umber. Raw umber is suitable for the graining color, though burnt umber gives a richer cast. For the overgraining, Vandyke brown and blue-black are used.
Medium oak looks best on a warm buff, the red and ochre therein being slightly toned down with umber. Burnt umber alone makes a good graining color, whilst Vandyke brown is generally sufficient for shading.
The grounds for dark oak are best made with three pigments, ochre, burnt sienna and burnt umber. In this mixture red should show prominently, but it should, together
