Page:Cyclopedia of Painting-Armstrong, George D (1908).djvu/422

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414
CYCLOPEDIA OF PAINTING

of figures in slight relief, the hairs of animals, the feathers of birds, and the veins of leaves.

Filler-up for Nail-Holes. As a material for filling up nail-holes in wood and broken places, the following is recommended as simple and effectual: Take line sawdust and mix into a thick paste with glue, pound it into the hole, and when dry it will make the wood as good as new.

Filling. A very complete tilling for open cracks in floors: may be made by thoroughly soaking newspapers in a paste made of 1 pound of flour, 3 quarts of water, and a tablespoonful of alum, thoroughly boiled and mixed, make the mixture about as thick as putty, a kind of paper putty, and it will harden like papier-maché.

Filling for Cracked Ceilings. Whiting mixed with glue water or calcined plaster and water makes a good putty for filling cracks in plastered ceilings. Frost-withstanding Mortar. Mortar made in the following manner will stand if used in almost all sorts of weather; 1 bushel of unslaked lime, 3 bushels of sharp sand, mix 1 pound of alum with 1 pint of linseed oil, and thoroughly mix this with the mortar when making it, and use hot. The alum will counteract the action of the frost on the mortar.

Fugitive Colors. Lakes and vermilions are very fugitive when exposed to the light, and an endeavor must be made to mix them so as to retain their beauty and natural color the longest possible time. Varnish containing no resin gum has been found by experience to extend their life and beauty the longest.

Gilding on Iron. The following directions are for putting on japan and gilding on ironwork: The articles to be japanned are clean of oil, usually by the use of turpentine, and the japan varnish applied, when the articles are placed in a hot oven to dry. To gild japanned articles, the part to be gilded is covered with oil size, thinned with turpentine, and gold powder put on with a puff. This is then