An ordinary paint brush will be used and care must be taken not to miss any small parts, and not to apply the paint too thick; a very thin, even coat is what is to be aimed at. The coat of paint will dry in an hour, but it is better to leave it for 8 or 10 hours before applying the second coat. A good plan, if the weather is dry, is to apply one coat early in the morning and the second at night. If the paint shows any signs of roughness it may be lightly rubbed over with very fine sandpaper. In that case the bath tub must be dusted out before a second coat is applied. As a rule three coats will be ample and two will usually suffice. If the paint is properly mixed and properly applied there will be no difficulty in determining when the surface has received a sufficient number of coats; that point will be reached when the tub is quite uniform in appearance. The beginner will be likely to view the work, however, at this stage with some doubt, owing to the unfamiliar appearance of the flat surface, without gloss. Persons have abandoned the work at this stage under the impression that the unfamiliar appearance looked too much like whitewash. However, this appearance is quite what might be expected, but it will quickly be removed by the next process which is that of applying a coat of varnish.
Now it must be very distinctly understood that ordinary varnish, even of the best quality, is useless for painting a bath tub. It must be special bath varnish, or one made specially for resisting hot water. There should not be any difficulty in getting a bath varnish at any good painters' supply house. Most of the best varnish firms manufacture excellent bath tub varnishes, which may be absolutely relied upon, and as the quantity required for an ordinary bath tub is but very small, the cost is nominal.
In applying the varnish it should be remembered that a thin coat only is required, and it is far better to give a second coat after the first coat is dry if a high degree of brilliancy is required than it is to apply a thick coat at one
