The Project Gutenberg eBook, Practical Carriage and Wagon Painting, by Mayton Clarence Hillick

Transcriber's Note:

The advertisements on pages [ix-xxiii] follow the body of the book, and each page includes an image of the page followed by the advertisement text in simplified format.

[An additional transcriber's notes] is at the end.

THIRD EDITION—PUBLISHED APRIL 15, 1903.

Practical
Carriage and Wagon
Painting

A TREATISE ON THE PAINTING OF CARRIAGES,
WAGONS AND SLEIGHS, EMBRACING
FULL AND EXPLICIT DIRECTIONS
FOR EXECUTING
ALL KINDS OF WORK.

INCLUDING

PAINTING FACTORY WORK, LETTERING,
SCROLLING, ORNAMENTING,
VARNISHING, ETC.

——WITH——

MANY TESTED RECIPES AND FORMULAS

PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED

By M. C. HILLICK

CHICAGO, U. S. A.:
PRESS OF THE WESTERN PAINTER
1903

Copyright 1900
By
Charles H. Webb.

DEDICATED TO THE
VEHICLE PAINTERS OF AMERICA
AND THE WORLD.

PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION.

The great demand for Practical Carriage and Wagon Painting has already exhausted the second edition, and orders are arriving in increasing numbers every day. The publisher wishes to express his grateful thanks to the trade for the generous patronage accorded the work. Not only would we express our thanks to those who have purchased the book, but we feel deeply grateful to the trade press for the generous reviews and kindly expressions of approval that they have given the volume. We send the third edition forth with the conviction that it is an improvement over the old ones in many respects, although we think the other editions were well worth the price charged for them.

It has been almost twenty years since a volume on carriage and wagon painting made its appearance in this country, during which time the enterprising carriage painter has been wide awake. He has found many new processes and a multitude of new materials of which the workman of twenty years ago knew nothing; he has raised vehicle painting from a simple mechanical process, which was intended to preserve the surface from decay, to a fine art of the highest order, and fashionable people now take as much pride in having beautiful and stylish equipages as they do in wearing clothing that is up to date, or in securing jewels that are sufficiently brilliant to dazzle all beholders.

No one realized more fully than the writer that an up-to-date work on the difficult but noble calling of the carriage and wagon painter was badly needed, so he began to cast about for someone who was fully qualified for the task of writing such a book. He knew that the author of such a work should be a man of extended trade practice and one who could divest himself of high-flown scientific terms and make his language so plain that any workman who cared to do so could easily comprehend the instruction given. A careful survey of the field led to the selection of Mr. M. C. Hillick, whose work for the magazines during the past ten or twelve years has done so much to assist carriage and wagon painters to elevate their calling to its present high standard. Mr. Hillick has long held a high place among the best-known carriage painters in this country, is thoroughly posted on all the various branches of the business, and has the happy faculty of being able to impart his knowledge to others in such a plain, practical way that they cannot fail to understand him. His excessive modesty came very near causing him to decline, but he was finally induced to undertake the work, and Practical Carriage and Wagon Painting is presented to a generous public with the knowledge that its superior has never made its appearance in this country.

It is but a short time since the demands of the times gave birth to that great institution—the factory shop—that monster establishment from which hundreds of vehicles are turned out daily. The writer pleads guilty to a strong prejudice against the class of work done in these factories, yet he is compelled to admire the finished product and applaud the genius of the painter who can thus marshal his forces and, by working to a set of fixed rules, seem to defy natural laws, and out of it all bring a thing of beauty which, while it does not prove a "joy forever," does possess a degree of durability that we of the old school of carriage painters were led to believe was impossible. It has remained for Mr. Hillick to take us through this great establishment, and he describes the processes and gives us the formulas that are employed, in such plain, helpful language, that no one can read his words without profit as well as pleasure.

Time and space forbid (even if I had the ability to give it) a comprehensive review of this work. It would be impossible to enumerate the millions of good points it possesses, so it is best to let the succeeding pages speak for themselves. They will do it much more eloquently than I could hope to do. I am sure of one fact, and it is that if carriage and wagon painters all over the world will read and practice the teachings of the succeeding chapters they will become better painters, better citizens, and our country roads, as well as our boulevards, will sparkle with a stream of better painted and more beautiful vehicles.

When the writing of Practical Carriage and Wagon Painting was committed to Mr. Hillick, the writer expected great things of him. Now, as I look over the chapters of the completed work, I am happily conscious of the fact that I am not disappointed in the slightest degree, and I wish to thank Mr. Hillick for giving to the vehicle world a work on painting that will prove helpful to the master workman as well as to the ambitious apprentice.

CHARLES H. WEBB.

CHICAGO, April, 1903.

CONTENTS.

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS.

INTRODUCTORY.

In many of its elementary principles the art of carriage and wagon painting as at present exemplified does not materially differ from the art as it was interpreted in the remote past. Processes and systems have changed and adapted themselves to the swifter modes of life, but not a few of the paint materials, especially those used in the foundation and surfacing coats, remain practically the same as used in former times. The P. W. F.'s, as surfacing agents expected to take the place of white lead and oil and their assistant pigments, tossed merrily upon the topmost wave of favor for a brief period some two decades ago, but the fiat of their decline went forth and at the present time the great majority of carriage and wagon painters still adhere to white lead, raw linseed oil, ochres, and regulation roughstuff pigments for their foundation materials, as did their instructors and predecessors.

The abbreviated time allowance accorded the painter for the painting and finishing of a vehicle has made necessary a readjustment of proportions of both liquid and pigment ingredients which, it must be confessed, has operated in a way harmful to the natural durability of the material employed. The painter, however, can in no wise be held responsible for the general lack of durability which is said to distinguish the painting of the present as compared to that of the past. The great inexorable Public is the master, the painter its unwilling but submissive servant.

Nevertheless, conditions of permanency and durability are still wrought and achieved in the modern field of carriage and wagon painting, conditions which conform, with a large measure of credit to the art of painting, to the other resultant durable effects obtained along nearly all other lines of industrial activity.

Our painting today fails to excel the painting of tradition simply because the exactions of a wonderfully fast age tend directly to promote failure rather than to aid success.

The job of painting which withstands fierce and continuous attacks of service for a reasonable length of time must be justly registered durable, regardless of what it would have been termed in the past. Past conditions and circumstances cannot fairly be used as yardsticks to measure what we at present call beautiful and enduring in the art of painting.

In the matter of tools, appliances for handling work, colors and varnishes used, carriage and wagon painting, amid the advances made in all the other constructive departments of industry, has enjoyed improvement. Brushes in greater variety, finer in quality, and better adapted to the practical needs of the painter, are in evidence. Colors of a wider range of hues, tints, shades, and incomparably finer as to quality than were obtainable formerly, are now at the disposal of the painter. And the varnishes—surely they have been improved, made more reliable, more uniform in quality, better behaved and more suited to the ever-varying requirements of service.

Carnage and wagon painting has become as much of a business as an artistic venture. Commercial conditions have of late years so shaped themselves that the painter, to successfully conduct a painting business, must of necessity study the profound science of business quite as thoroughly as he does the science of building paint structures and developing color effects. He imparts a moral, business, and mechanical force to the community. He now has available sources of education more easily within his reach than at any former time. Paint trade literature, so far as it is represented in magazine form at least, is at hand to render him aid and encouragement. He is rapidly becoming better fitted to meet the expanding limits of competition, to critically analyze both the theory and practice of painting, to become, in short, a greater power for good in the community as well as a studious and original mechanic.

In the inseparable community of business interests, the painting of the vehicular equipment has reached the level of a prominent industry.

Its chief attainments are, firstly, to preserve the structural parts of the vehicle from the action of the elements; secondly, from the remorseless and gnawing tooth of service; thirdly, to aid in making the vehicle really beautiful, a work of art.

The mission of the following chapters will be to record the systems, methods, and processes practiced in modern carriage and wagon painting, to the end that the apprentice—good luck to him, and may he pluck the peach from the sunniest side of the fence always—may be enlightened, that the already skilled workman may be interested somewhat, and that the trade of carriage and wagon painting may be welcomed as a delightful guest, worthy of enthusiastic entertainment.

CHAPTER I.
THE SHOP AND ITS EQUIPMENT.
"Give ample room and verge enough."—Gray.

It would not be fit nor seemly to lay down any arbitrary rules for the guidance of the painter in the selection or construction of the paint shop. Conditions and circumstances here control. But so far as the painter is able to have authority in the matter it should be directed in favor of large, roomy apartments, high ceilings, and a fine outfit of windows. Light is an indispensable commodity in the paint shop. And room—there is never an excess of it. To do good work at a profit invokes an easy, commodious working space. To this end, therefore, the painter may well direct his best endeavors. Nor should the ventilation be neglected. A ventilator in quite common use, old-time but effective when the construction of the shop permits of its use, consists of the regulation stove pipe, say 12 inches in diameter and extending 18 inches or 2 feet above the roof of the building, furnished at its upper extremity with a revolving hood or cap. The local tinsmith usually has an invention of his own in the way of revolving ventilators which is workable and nicely suited to the needs of the paint shop. Where ceiling ventilators are not practicable, apertures some 8 inches in diameter may be made in the walls well up toward the ceiling, one or two on each side of the room, according to the size and location, and into these apertures insert tin frames, both ends of which are covered with wire gauze, the gauze on the inside or room end of the fixture being fitted to a hinged lid frame. Into this tin and gauze compartment put clean curled hair or moss. Metal caps may be fitted to cover the inside opening of these ventilators, so that if necessary the air can be shut out entirely so far as entrance through these channels is concerned. There are numerous other styles of ventilators, but they do not call for mention, as local and individual needs will suggest the kind most feasible to adopt.

Fig. 1—Wheel Jack.

Fig. 2—Wheel Jack.

Fig. 3.

The mixing bench should be located in a light corner of the room. It should be furnished with a slab of marble or stone, preferably marble. A cupboard with tightly fitting doors should be over, or at the side of, the bench with specially prepared boards on which to wipe brushes near at hand. A first-class paint mill should be a fixture in close proximity to the paint bench.

Fig. 4—Long-Acre Body Trestle.

Fig. 5—Body Trestle.

Fig. 6—Body and Gear Trestle.

The varnish room (sacred temple of the painter's hopes shall we say?), over which men rarely fail to disagree, needs to be every inch as large as conditions will permit. It should have ventilators, such as above described or similar, in plenty. The gauze and tin funnel ventilators might well be used near the floor and ceiling, thus driving the room impurities up and out. The varnish room cannot well be too large, nor too light, nor too cosy. Nor can it follow too closely the Quaker's code as to furnishings, for "unadorned, adorned the most" strictly applies to this historic apartment. It is agreed that the northeast corner of the shop is the best location for the varnish room. The north light is the most restful and the easiest light to work by, and it is esteemed the best drying light. The room ought not to be placed immediately over the smith shop. It should have plenty of windows, north and east, and made to lower at the top. If possible, have a hardwood floor, and oiled, with ceiling and side walls of matched lumber, good quality and preferably painted white or some very light color, that it will reflect the light. Personally, I am in favor of blue colored shades for north windows and yellow ones for east and west windows. If possible, connect a "set room," provided with abundance of light, with the varnish room, into which the work may be removed the morning after finishing. The varnish room requires a small cupboard for holding varnish, cups, dusters, brushes, chamois skins, sponges, etc., a body trestle or two, a few wooden, low-cut horses for supporting the varnished work, a stove, if the shop be not heated by other means, a sliding door or two, and—that's all.

Fig. 7—Gear Frame.

Fig. 8—Seat Frame.

The colors, pigments, and brushes will be considered in their appropriate order as the chapters proceed. Many shop fixtures will be similarly presented.

Fig. 9—Frame for Bodies.

Fig. 10—Gear Horse.

The work-handling appliances here furnished have been observed, studied, and many of them used by the writer in his travels up and down the land of paint shops. The revolving wheel jack is an indispensable fixture in the paint shop. [Fig. 1] has a plank base, and an axle for a standard. The cut shows how it is made. Many shops use it.[ Fig. 2] is frequently seen in provincial paint shops. It consists of a hardwood scantling of the size noted in the cut, with a 5/8-inch or 3/4-inch round iron stuck into one end and projecting 7 inches out. A hole to nicely take the iron is bored through the floor into a joist, a floor plate is placed over it, and the upright is ready to revolve. A tapering piece of round iron 3/4 inch at the base is driven through the upper end of the standard, having a projection of 7 or 8 inches. A thick metal washer is then slipped over the arm, thus completing the fixture. [Fig. 3] is largely used in factory shops. It is the finest wheel jack extant. Observe the bottom. Almost any foundry will cast one at from $1.25 to $1.50 each. Weight, from 40 to 60 lbs.; diameter, 18 to 20 inches; hole for insertion of arm, 1 inch to 1 1/4 inches. Weld stub axle to the round arm. Have varying sizes of axle stubs, from 3/4, 7/8, and 1 inch to 1 1/4 inches. This is a particularly fine jack for wheel striping purposes. Can be easily transferred to any part of the shop, and runs true.

Fig. 11—Rubbing Deck.

Fig. 12—Asphalt or Cement Deck.

The Long-Acre body trestle, a London production, is often met with in the paint shop. [Fig. 4] shows it in working order, on rollers, and the wheels connected with a wooden pin for a pivot. [Fig. 5] is a second body trestle, neat, easy to work, and the cut quite completely explains how it is built. Height, and proportion of parts can be made to suit the individual fancy. [Fig. 6] represents a combination body and gear trestle largely used in factory paint shops. Height, 3 ft., 2 in.; length of revolving frame pieces, 27 in., 2×2 in. in size. A 4×4 inch piece 9 in. long supports the frame. Inclined pieces are 25 in. long; size, 2×2 in. The trestle is of hardwood, or should be, bolted together. [Fig. 7], a gear frame, fits onto the frame of [Fig. 6]. It should be 4 ft., 6 in. long and 14 in. wide. It easily takes the shortest gears as well as the longest, and the workman is enabled to always obtain the best possible light. [Fig. 8] is a seat frame made to fit the trestle, [Fig. 6]. Make it of 1-inch stuff. Length, 2 ft.; height at rear, 9 in.; front, 2 in.; width, 13 1/2 in., to fit frame. This holds a carriage seat in capital shape for painting and finishing. [Fig. 9] is a frame for holding bodies while varnishing them or while rubbing the varnish. One-inch pine boards 6 in. in width afford good material for the frame. Let it be from 32 to 36 in. high, about the same in length, and 27 in. wide. At top of standards bolt 7×1-inch pieces 6 in. long, containing steel brads to hold the work in place. [Fig. 10] is a horse for holding carriage gears during the process of painting and finishing. Gear horses can't all be revolving ones, and this one is strong and handy to work around. Make the legs of 3×1 1/2 pine or ash and the bed piece, to which the iron standards are bolted, of ash 3×3 inches. Bolt the legs to the bed piece and stay them in the middle. The iron standards, 5/16 in. thick and 1 1/2 in. wide, are cranked over at right angles, as shown in cut, bolted firmly to bed piece, and at upper ends are hollowed out to hold the axle arms. Height of horse, 30 to 34 inches; width, wide enough to take a gear from 4 ft. to 5 ft., 4 in. Let the iron standards go 30 inches long, cranked at the middle. A rubbing deck for roughstuff and varnish rubbing, washing up work, etc., is a necessity even in the small shop. [Fig. 11] explains an inexpensive one. A A is the shop floor, D the wall, B B the false or double floor inclining to the center, where a shallow metal gutter is let into the floor opening to a waste pipe which conveys all the waste matter outside the shop. The outer edges of the double floor rest upon stoutly-secured blocks of wood. [Fig. 12] shows an asphalt or cement rubbing deck in general use in many leading shops. G is the shop wall, F the waste pipe, E the deck. The asphalt deck is not an expensive fixture, neither wears nor rusts out, and, like [Fig. 11], is a practical time saver. And along with the rubbing deck the painter should adopt measures for securing a plentiful supply of clean soft water for shop uses, and, if possible, have it piped directly to the rubbing deck. These are days of hard-fought business battles, and any aid that will out-foot one's competitor is an effective aid. A good water supply right at hand helps mightily. [Fig. 13] is a deck barrel for holding a ready supply of water for the rubber; also for holding certain styles of carriage and cutter bodies while rubbing. The slit cut at an angle lets a buggy, surrey, or other carriage seat in, and holds it fast while the rubbing proceeds.

Fig. 13—Deck Barrel.

Fig. 14—Varnish Room Stove.

The varnish room stove, when one is forced to use such a fixture, gives the painter much concern. In [Fig. 14] is to be observed a way of enclosing the stove in sheet-iron, after the fashion of the railroads once upon a time. Cut an opening in the wall separating the varnish room from some one of the other apartments, set the stove just inside the varnish room, inclose it in the sheet-iron cylinder, making the cylinder fit close into the wall opening, and have the opening to the stove, and the stove door, reached from the room adjoining the varnish room. Even when wholly located in the varnish room such a cylinder, enclosing the stove all over, is a practical reducer of stove dirt, etc.

Note.—Figs. [3], [5], [6], and [14] of this chapter, and Figs. [1], [2], and [3] of Chapter II. are published by permission of the Hub.

CHAPTER II.
BUYING AND SELECTING BRUSHES—CARE OF THEM—SOFTENING HARD BRUSHES—BRUSH KEEPERS—PRESERVING LIQUIDS—BRUSHES USED IN VEHICLE PAINTING, ETC.

One conspicuously famous brush maker has declared the art of brush making to be "an art preservative." The carriage and wagon painter is deeply concerned in the achievements of that art, because every distinct advancement made therein makes possible an equally distinct advancement in the art of painting. To a greater extent, perhaps, than any other class of painters, the carriage and wagon painter should be interested in making up his brush equipment of tools of the best quality. The brush made of reliable stock, having the proper "hang" and point, and which balances like a "thoroughbred," is an economical tool to buy, regardless of the price. The vehicle painter requires a brush made scientifically, by the outlay of honest workmanship, and of material that is wholly above suspicion. A brush that has simply the price to recommend it is usually an unreliable article and worketh evil, like a thief in the night, unexpectedly. In making choice of a brush for putting on priming, lead, and roughstuff, and for such other features of general use as require a round or oval bristle brush, the painter may properly look at the filling of the tool. Deception, if practiced at all, is usually placed where it shows the least. The first-class brush is distinctively the brush that shows good quality—uniform quality—from center to outside. Other things being equal, the brush that is made up uniformly as to its bristle equipment will develop a good point, and all carriage painters are alive to the importance of this virtue in both paint and varnish brushes.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Much of the usefulness of a brush depends upon the manner of caring for it when it comes into the paint shop. The bristle brushes used for priming, lead, and roughstuff require bridling until worn down somewhat. There are many patent brush bridles now procurable at a nominal cost which tend to give a brush much better shape than the shop-made bridle. If these are not at hand, the painter can take "tufting cord" (our friends, the carriage trimmers, keep it) and wind the brush securely but not too tightly; or he can take a piece of light weight rubber cloth and, extending the piece well down on the handle, tie it at the proper distance around the bristles. The rubber side of the piece should be fastened next the bristles. Then, from where it is tied around the bristles, fold the piece back onto the handle and tie securely. Trim off, and a bridle is furnished that is perfectly water- and paint-proof, the cloth side of the rubber being folded inside. For a shop-made bridle the writer finds this a serviceable one. After bridling, drop a little oil paint into the heel of the brush and set it away in a dustproof compartment for a few days. Then use the brush for a time in oil paint, suspending the brush when not in use in raw linseed oil. In the course of two or three days the brush may be put into other paint if desired and suspended in water. Suspend the brush just up to the butts of the bristles, or so they are just covered, and invariably keep the water up to that point. Under no circumstances permit a brush to rest upon its point when not in use. It destroys the form of the tool and lessens its spring and elasticity. The bristle paint brushes require a clean storage quite to the extent that the color or varnish brushes do. Therefore, the receptacle in which they are kept should be fitted with a cover and should be tight enough to keep out all forms of dirt. A common tobacco pail procured of the local grocery, painted inside and out, fitted with a cover, and having nails driven at certain distances apart all around it, one-third of the way down from the top, on which the brushes may be suspended, makes a cheap and excellent keeper for the ordinary paint brushes.

Complete Set of Finishing (Flowing) Brushes.

Camel-Hair Flowing Brush.

Coach Duster.

Chiseled Paint Brush.

Camel's hair color brushes may well have a little paint, one-half oil and one-half turpentine, dropped into the heels of them. These brushes, used in japan ground colors, need to be kept suspended in water. Change the water frequently and make sure that it is clean. A brush keeper such as is recommended for varnish brushes is one of the best possible keepers for color brushes. It insures cleanliness. And vehicle painting without cleanliness is like unto a landscape painting with the beauties of nature left out. The brushes kept in water do better in rain water than in hard water. During the cold months, especially in shops where freezing is liable to occur, it is advisable to add a little glycerine to the water. The glycerine delays the freezing point and does not injure the brushes. Never soak a brush in water before using it in paint. Animal fat circulates in the capillary tubes of all bristles and hair, and if water is soaked into these arteries, the spring and elasticity of the brush is not only destroyed, but it speedily becomes a very much water-logged tool. To swell up a brush which for some cause has become dried out and shrunken, part the bristles so that the end of the handle is exposed, and pour in a small quantity of water, say three or four teaspoonfuls. Then stand it away, bristles up, handle down, for two or three hours and the brush will have returned to its normal condition. If a brush handle gets smeared with paint or varnish, a wire scrub brush dipped in a solution of sal soda will clean off the sticky substance in short order. To test the bristles in a brush, remove some of them and submit them to a smart flame. Bristles, the real animal product, will curl and writhe and emit a peculiar odor. No known adulterant burns this way.

Round Paint Brush.

A brush that has been allowed through accident or neglect to get "soggy" may be limbered up nicely by soaking in heated turpentine. Hardened brushes may often be softened into workable condition again by soaking the bristles in hot linseed oil. A simple soaking in turps or benzine will sometimes effect the needed softening up. Brushes, however, that have dried up, saturated with quick drying colors or paint, can at best never be restored to a first-class working condition. The best form of economy, therefore, is to throw such brushes away. Remedies in impressive array have been marshalled wherewith to restore varnish brushes that have become lousy, but the vehicle finisher recognizes no reliable or economical remedy for the purpose named. A dirty varnish brush can be cleaned by washing in oil first, then in turps, and lastly worked in for putting on first rubbing coats, and thus gradually brought back to its original cleanliness. But the varnish brush once lousy, look you! always lousy. Better

"To the fire I now consign thee,

Peace unto thine ashes be."

When a varnish brush is accidentally dropped on the floor while being used, pick it up carefully and, holding it at an acute angle, bristles down, pour a small quantity of turpentine over it, thus flooding the accumulated dirt completely off.

Camel-Hair Color Brush.

Oval Chiseled Varnish Brush.

There is a considerable diversity of opinion as to the best preserving liquid in which to keep the varnish brushes. Local needs and requirements are probably the safest guides in the matter of choosing preserving liquids for varnish brushes. When the brushes are used daily, as they are in big shops, it is a very good way to keep them in raw linseed oil. Then, every morning before beginning work, the brushes may be rinsed out in turpentine, wiped out clearly over the edge of the cup, and an elastic brush full of life is assured.

Badger-Hair Flowing Brush.

Brushes used daily upon clean surfaces are, or should be, clean, and rinsing in turpentine can do no harm to a clean brush. But in the case of brushes used every two or three days or occasionally, different treatment is needed. Such brushes are liable to be used upon surfaces and amid surroundings less cleanly than those which obtain in the fine factory or custom shop, and the rinsing in turps, consequent upon preserving them in oil, would merely serve to loosen and set in motion the dirt and flocculent matter gradually collected and forced up into the body of the tools. For this reason it were better to keep them in finishing varnish or, preferably, brush keeping varnish, i. e., varnish minus its driers. Whatever the preservative, the brushes require the most watchful attention. If kept in finishing varnish, the liquid should be changed frequently. So delicate a tool, of which so much is expected, makes imperative the observance of gentle, cleanly treatment. Varnish brushes ought never to be left lying around for any considerable length of time when not in use. Dust is never idle, but always moving and, like the dew of the evening, it falleth upon the just and the unjust, varnish brushes included. Have a stiff, partly-worn brush to clean the handles of varnish brushes. Wiping them with cloth distributes lint.

Spoke Brush.

Chiseled Fitch Tool.

In [Fig. 1] is shown a double compartment brush keeper. It can be made of tin or zinc and is not expensive. Attach lock and key to it, and the brushes conditioned to a peerless trim are secure. Make the keeper 8 in. long, 5 in. wide, 9 in. deep; outfit with spring fasteners, run wires through 3 in. from top, and 3/4 in. from bottom of the can locate a rack made of small wires criss-crossed on a light wire frame. The dirt which collects in the keeper goes to the bottom beneath the gauze rack, and should a brush fall into the preserving liquid it is held aloof from the dirt accumulations. These are regulation brush keepers, clean, durable, and cost in the neighborhood of $1. [Fig. 2] represents the famous thirty-cent brush keeper, several times illustrated but still deserving a place here. It is claimed to be made upon scientific principles, namely, the break between the body of the keeper and its lid or cover occurs at the bottom and below the point of brush suspension, instead, as in the ordinary keeper, at the top and above the point of suspension. It can be made of any size to meet individual needs. Such a can affords a splendid keeper for camel's-hair color brushes and for color-and-varnish brushes. [Fig. 3] displays what has been somewhat widely heralded as the western idea of a brush keeper, although the gentleman who first published a cut of the keeper and who, I believe, was the inventor of it, has seldom, if ever, been given credit for his ingenuity. My veteran brother of the brush, Mr. V. B. Grinnell, is deserving of the thanks of the trade for his invention. It consists of an ordinary glass fruit can (a metal top with rubber attachment is best), in which is located a tin cup, having a heavy wire soldered to it and projecting up to near the top of the can. This allows the cup to be easily removed from the top of the can. A second wire is soldered onto the first one so that it projects out horizontally over the cup, allowing for the suspension of the brushes in the liquid contained in the cup. The illustration shows how the keeper is made completely. Two or three brushes may be kept in each can, and they may be kept air-tight, too, a matter of moment to the vehicle painter.

Pear Flowing Varnish Brush.

The vehicle painter's brush equipment should consist of a good assortment of round or oval bristle brushes for putting on priming, lead, and roughstuff. For the best grade of carriage painting, the chiseled brush is advised for the priming and lead coats. In size they should run about 4.0. For working upon large surfaces, however, larger brushes will be needed, hence any exact size cannot be advised to meet all cases. Spoke brushes, dusters in plenty, flat chiseled bristle paint brushes, extra thick camel's-hair color brushes, varying in size from 1 in. to 3 in., camel's-hair flowing brushes, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 in. in size, for applying color-and-varnish of some kinds, chiseled badger hair brushes, double thick, 1 in. to 2 in. for varnishing gears, oval chiseled sash tools for cleaning up surfaces and painting when needed certain parts of a vehicle, chiseled fitch tools for cleaning up panels, and lastly not less than four sets of varnish brushes for varnishing vehicle body surfaces, along with some oval or round chiseled varnish brushes required especially in wagon painting.

The painter needs a set of at least three brushes, 1 in., 1 1/2 in., and 2 1/2 in. in size, for varnishing the inside surfaces of bodies, these to be used for no other purpose. Then, properly, he should have a set of brushes for putting on first rubbing varnish coats, consisting of a 1-inch chiseled badger hair brush, and a 2 1/2 in. and one 3-in. bristle brush. Then another set of the same number for the remaining rubbing coats.

Long-Handled Spoke Brush.

The finishing kit of brushes may properly consist of five chiseled half elastic flowing brushes, as follows: One 1-in., one 1 1/2-inch, one 2-in., one 2 1/2-in., one 3-in. Some finishers prefer a 1-in. badger hair brush for flowing the edges of the panels, but the set of flowing brushes herewith illustrated answers every purpose fully and completely. The art of fine brush making has so far advanced within recent years that it is now possible to get varnish brushes which require but very little working in varnish to prepare them for flowing on the finishing coats.

To clean a new varnish brush preparatory to using it as a finishing brush, first draw the stock of the tool through the fingers, continuing this operation until the loose dirt is quite fully worked out. Then repeatedly submerge it in clean linseed oil and wipe out over the edge of a cup, after which use it for a week or two in rubbing varnish. The brush may then safely be used for applying finishing coats of varnish.

Oval Chiseled Sash Tool.

All brushes not specially mentioned in the foregoing as round or oval brushes are assumed to be flat, this style of brush being the one chiefly employed in vehicle painting.

Chiseled Flowing Varnish Brush.

In the matter of camel's-hair, badger hair, and flowing varnish brushes, the painter desires said brushes to be tough, durable fibre, having soft ends, elastic, and which wear soft until worn out.

In selecting the brush equipment, it is a most happy mental exercise to remember that the highest type of brush, if not mightier than the sword, at least hath its victories.

The numerous accompanying excellent illustrations of brushes specially adapted to the needs of the carriage and wagon painter are the result of valuable and courteously extended assistance tendered by that celebrated brush making firm, John L. Whiting and Son Co., Boston, Mass.

CHAPTER III.
PRIMING—LEAD COATS—RUB LEAD—KNIFING LEAD—PUTTY AND PUTTYING—SANDPAPERING—ROUGHSTUFF, APPLYING AND RUBBING IT—MATERIALS USED IN FOUNDATION COATS—MIXING FORMULAS, ETC.

Fine and durable carriage and wagon painting cannot be accomplished upon foundations in anywise weak or unstable. The supreme aim of the painter, then, should be to begin at the base of the foundation and, with patient toil and skill, aided by materials of recognized value, bring up a surface of uniform excellence and quality.

MATERIALS.

White lead and raw linseed oil; an invincible combination in the old days—shall we not say invincible still? Assuredly, nothing surpasses it today when conditions are favorable to its proper treatment; nothing upon the horizon of coming events bids fair to surpass it. It is only when the limitations of time intervene, when we must perforce bow down and worship the great American idol, Hurry, that the sinewy strength and permanency of white lead, linseed oil, and the few other constituents which enter into the foundation coats, are seriously shattered.

White lead, for example, must of necessity figure as an elemental part of the lead coats, if not of the priming, of putty, and of roughstuff. It is not now impossible to find primers being used entirely devoid of lead, but the burden of proof remains favorable to the excellence of lead. A pigment filler is quite as necessary as a liquid one. And pure white lead, Dutch process, if it please my readers—observe its properties in this respect: It is of great density, body, permanent to a rare degree, of impalpable smoothness when properly ground, and chemically unites with oil, forming a kind of varnish, which makes it a filler and pore sealer of great value. In addition, it absorbs more oil, solidifies it, and remains elastic for a greater length of time, except red lead perhaps, than any other pigment so far discovered. Moreover, it mixes happily with all other pigments which do not contain a sulphur ingredient. Briefly, these are the properties which recommend it to the carriage painter. Its noble running mate, raw linseed oil—what of it as a paint oil? Its chief virtue lies in the fact that when exposed to the air it gradually, in drying, absorbs a large proportion of oxygen, which, it is declared by Hurst, "forms a new compound of a resinous character," remarkably elastic and stable.

Since the failure of the P. W. F.'s and various other substitutes for the historic lead and oil surfacing agents, to meet the exacting needs of the trade, the swift processes now practiced have pressed into service time quickening aids which, in a work of this kind, it would scarcely seem fit to omit.

Many painters have adopted yellow ochre as a main ingredient for priming, and in particularly hurried instances, or, in fact, in the priming of a certain grade of regular factory work, varnish and, to some extent, turpentine are used. Ochre of good quality, finely ground (a coarse ground ochre is worthless in carriage painting), and containing a strong percentage of silica, is a valuable component of priming. Silica is an acknowledged pore filler, and in many of the wood fillers heralded along the highway of commerce it is the piece de resistance. A high grade ochre is a good drying and a very permanent pigment. It is a first-class surfacing material and not easily affected by atmospheric or other impurities. Thus we have the ingredients which, properly combined and manipulated, form the basis of all beautiful and durable carriage painting as gauged according to present day standards. Let us now consider the separate parts of the foundation building.

PRIMING.

Priming is the agent required to go into and saturate the minute cells and pores of the wood, getting a firm grip of the fibers, sealing them against moisture, and affording the painter a tough, elastic ground for his leveling materials to follow.

Primer No. 1.—White lead and raw linseed oil, darkened to a lead color with lampblack. A teaspoonful of coach japan to be added to each pint of the mixture, or omitted, as the time limit may impose.

No. 2.—White lead, 2 parts; yellow ochre, 1 part. Liquid, raw linseed oil. The use of japan to depend upon circumstances.

No. 3.—White lead, 1 part; yellow ochre, 2 parts. Liquid, raw linseed oil.

No. 4.—White lead, 1 part; yellow ochre, 2 parts. Liquids, rubbing varnish 1/4; turpentine 1/4; raw linseed oil 1/2. A tablespoonful of japan to each quart of the mixture. This is a very quick primer, that can be sandpapered the day following its application.

No. 5.—White lead, shaded with lampblack. Liquids, rubbing varnish 1 part; raw linseed oil 5 parts.

In the above formulas keg lead is referred to.

Priming should contain just enough pigment to stain the oil. Only in this form does it perform the functions of a primer. Some hardwood surfaces, negative in composition, require a priming thinned somewhat with turpentine; otherwise such close textured spaces of wood are not sufficiently penetrated by the oily particles of the priming. The durability of the priming rests largely upon the penetration of the oil into the arteries of the wood along with a certain necessary per cent. of the pigment.

It is a good plan not to follow the surfacing of a job in the wood shop too closely with the priming. Immoderate pressure of the wood fibres usually results from the pressure of the wood worker's leveling methods. Give the wood time to expand before priming, but not time to absorb moisture. Graining out of surfaces often results from priming a surface too soon as well as too late. Many factors must necessarily be considered in order to have the priming coat do all that it should do. The condition of the wood, the climate, season, atmosphere, etc., all require diligent study. The application of the priming to the surface deserves particular attention. Granted that first-class filling and surfacing pigments, combined with liquids rich in gummy resinous matters, make the ideal primer, the coating fails of its mission when practices of neglect mark its application to the surface. Therefore, apply the priming smoothly and in a uniform film to the surface. Coat all parts of a job, outside, top, bottom—everywhere. Insist upon its being well brushed out—just as any coat of paint should be.

Putty-holder.

THE LEAD COATS.

What we shall be pleased to term "first lead" was formerly made of white (keg) lead thinned to a brushing consistency with linseed oil and turpentine, half and half. That was at a time when egg-shell gloss coats were in demand. A different principle has been established of late years in reference to the composition of the lead coats, and the egg-shell gloss is now regarded with suspicion and, to a large extent, abandoned altogether.

Consequently, the first lead should be mixed of 3/8 oil to 5/8 turps, or even with a still smaller percentage of oil if the limitations of time so direct. Apply this lead with a bristle brush and enforce rigidly the rule of smoothness and sleek brushing out.

"Second lead" means in modern paint shop lingo "flat lead"—a lead that dries to a dull, lustreless appearance, practically "dead lead." It is composed of white lead, thinned to a working consistency with turpentine, and given a binder of oil to the extent of, say 2/3 of a tablespoonful of oil to a pint of the lead. These lead coats should properly contain 1 teaspoonful of japan to a pint of the lead, and be shaded with lampblack. The flat, or dead, lead is best applied with a camel's-hair brush.

RUB LEAD.

In connection with these lead coats attention must be directed to the rub lead process as a part of the system of lead surfacing now practiced in the leading shops of the country. The rub lead is usually used directly upon the priming coat. There are several formulas in circulation for the mixing of the lead, but the writer thinks the one here given (used in the leading factory paint shops) covers the painter's practical needs fully. Mix dry white lead to a grinding consistency in 3/4 raw linseed oil to 1/4 japan, the liquids to be carefully measured. Add enough lampblack to give the mixture a clean slate color, then run through the paint mill, after which reduce to a brushing consistency with the proper proportions of oil and japan. Make the lead just stiff enough to brush on with a fairly stiff bristle brush. Apply to the surface and, after permitting the mixture to take on a "tack" for a quarter of an hour or more as the drying conditions of the apartment may be favorable or otherwise, proceed to rub the lead into the surface with the palm of the hand. For getting a fine, velvety, and very dense surface of pigment, the rub lead system has no rival. However, it cannot be worked over and re-coated so soon after being applied (it should be given 48 hours in which to dry) as can the knifing lead. This

KNIFING LEAD,

or "glazing lead," or "draw putty," as it is variously and locally known, renders it possible to quickly fill and level up a surface, making it compact and solid as to texture.

Knifing lead, No. 1.—Dry white lead 2/3; keg lead 1/3. Liquids, rubbing varnish and japan, thinning to the exact working consistency with a little turps.

No. 2.—Dry white lead, mixed in equal parts of rubbing varnish and japan.

No. 3.—Dry white lead 5/8; keg lead 1/4; roughstuff filler (finely ground) 1/8. Liquids, rubbing varnish 1/2; japan 1/4; turpentine 1/4. This last for large panels.

These leads should all be colored slightly in the direction of the final color to be used upon the work. Carriage and wagon painters use knifing lead on running parts very largely, and especially upon work that must be gotten out quicker than the rub lead would permit. On the panels of business wagons of the medium grade, knifing lead is used to the exclusion of roughstuff. On such panels it is advisable to apply the lead with a bristle brush, applying the lead to the surface a little heavier in body than ordinary paint, and then shortly going over it with a broad blade putty knife, pressing the pigment into the wood and removing the surplus.

Knifing lead deserves to be used and applied with circumspect care and skill if the best and most durable results would be achieved. It demands a firm pressing into the cellular fabric of the wood, accompanied by a clean, tidy removal of all the pigment not actually necessary to the full and complete development of the surface. But little sandpapering should be needed to fit it for any of the succeeding coats of material.

In the painting of running parts of the best grade, when rub lead or knifing lead is employed, the second lead, previously designated as "flat" or "dead" lead, should be employed over the rub or knifing lead, the puttying of the deep cavities and indentations being done directly upon said rub or knifing leads.

PUTTY—MAKING AND USING IT.

Putty No. 1.—The putty of history—past, present, and shall we say of the future?—so far as history applies to carriage painting, is this putty No. 1. Dry white lead, japan and rubbing varnish, the liquids of equal proportions. Probably the best known putty in the jobbing carriage paint shop today.

Spatula.

No. 2.—Dry white lead 3/4; keg lead 1/4. Rubbing varnish and japan, half and half.

No. 3.—Keg lead, 4 parts; dry white lead 1 part. Rubbing varnish and gold size japan, equal parts.

No. 4, a putty for white work.—Dry white lead 1/2; pulverized steatite or soapstone 1/4; dry oxide of zinc 1/8; dry silica 1/8. Liquids, very pale rubbing varnish 1/2; light (in color) japan 3/8; turpentine 1/8.

No. 5.—Dry white lead 2/3; keg lead 1/3. Rubbing varnish and japan, equal proportions. Into this mix the woof or fine pickings of velvet or plush. This is especially intended to be used around glass in heavy vehicles.

No. 6.—This is a putty to be used on old work having rough cavities, splintery crevices, and the like. It cannot be sandpapered, but will dry tough, neither chipping nor flaking. Keg lead 1 part; whiting 2 parts. Mix stiff in thick varnish and raw linseed oil, equal parts; then thicken up to the right consistence with dry white lead.

No. 7.—For shallow cavities requiring a filling that dries quick and hard. Dry lead 3 parts; plaster of paris 1 part. Equal parts of quick rubbing varnish and japan.

No. 8.—Deep hole putty. Whiting mixed with raw linseed oil and japan, equal parts. Then into this mixture mix plush woof. Drive a small head tack or two in bottom of hole and then fill in nearly level with the surface with this putty. Slash a couple of openings into it with putty knife to quicken the drying, and then in due time level up with regular putty.

Square Point Putty Knife.

No. 9.—Expansive shallow dents in a carriage surface require a peculiar kind of putty or cement. Finely ground pumice stone 3 parts; dry lead 1 part. Mix to a working condition in thick glue. Apply the putty so that it will show some above the surface. After 10 hours rub down with lump pumice stone and raw linseed oil.

No. 10.—Here is a putty that will stick and at the same time sandpaper nicely. Shade dry lead with a little lampblack, and mix with 3/4 coach japan and 1/4 rubbing varnish, along with a dash of turpentine.

The carriage painter will do well to use sparingly of whiting—even gilder's whiting—in making a putty intended for use upon fine surfaces. Whiting, or, in the speech of the chemist, carbonate of calcium, is a hard drying, tenacious, stout sticking pigment, but possesses the ever present property of granulating and working coarse and gritty under the putty knife.

When coloring matter is added to putty, be governed by what the final color of the job is to be. Hammer putty well on the mixing block to make it tough and elastic. Do this at the time of making it and before use in order to expel the accumulated moisture. Make it in sufficient quantity to last for some time. Keep the putty in water in a dust proof holder—an air tight one is better. See putty-holder illustrated herewith.

The way in which putty is applied has largely to do with making it serve the surface good or ill. Good puttying is not accomplished by nimble feats of jugglery. The putty knife demands to be skillfully handled and wisely directed. Putty, in the economy of carriage painting, is quite as indispensable as paint or varnish. In point of fact, each is dependent upon the other. Just enough is a critical point in deciding how much and how little of putty a surface requires. Here are four rules for guidance in the art of puttying:

1.—Never putty on the priming coat.

2.—Putty all work as smooth as possible. It is economy and increases the chance for producing first-class work.

3.—Avoid, always, puttying a crevice, depression, or cavity in the wood, or a joint between two pieces of wood, that is subject to diverse forms of resistance. The wrenching and twisting of the vehicle will loosen the putty and eventually eject it.

4.—In puttying over nails, plugs, etc., press the pigment firmly into the hole, filling just level with the surface, and carefully slick up all surplus putty.

The painter will need for general puttying purposes, in addition to a spatula or two (which see), at least four different styles of putty knife; one large or wide blade knife, a two-inch blade say, one square point blade, ordinary size, one beveled point, and one oval point. Knives of different shapes will greatly facilitate the labor of puttying, which at best is often tedious.

SANDPAPERING

If it were feasible, sandpaper would, no doubt, be voted down and out of the paint shop. At present, however, it cannot well be removed from the system of carriage surfacing. The task of sandpapering, viewed from its rosiest side, is toilsome, dirt-inviting, girt up by a waistband of unpleasant features, but, alas! we must have level and smooth surfaces if we would have beautiful ones, and sandpapering affords the means of getting them. It is one of the aids—one of the great aids, let us bear in mind—to the admirable surface effects sought for in the art of carriage painting. It cannot be slighted or to any extent be done imperfectly without marring the appearance or subtracting from the durability of the surface when finished.

Beveled Point Putty Knife.

The use of sandpaper begins before even the priming coat has taken its position. A surface well sandpapered ahead of the priming coat saves a great deal of time and leaves plenty of the priming film on the surface where it is needed. No. 1 paper is the proper size to surface the priming coat, if the surface has previously been well smoothed. The No. 1/2 will do for first lead. This coat requires a very thorough and uniform going over, touching completely all places that need it, touching none with a coarse hand, and never laying bare a flicker of wood needing a full depth of protecting pigment. The second lead, or "dead lead" as we know it, should require only a light going over with No. 0 paper, this to be followed by polishing with curled hair or fine moss used by trimmers.

The rub lead and knifing lead coats usually respond to the smoothing caress of No. 1/2, or finer, paper, the size depending upon the quality of these coats. All along through the system of painting, sandpaper must needs sound its smoothing monotone, but particularly upon the primary coats does the painter use it as the fulcrum by which, among other aids, he seeks to rear his paint foundation into a tower of strength.

Oval Point Putty Knife.

Mouldings, clips, bolt heads, difficult places to work up to, everywhere bespeak the same thorough touch of the sandpaper. There are many sharp edges about a vehicle which may be denuded of pigment at a single rasp of the paper. Such parts require a good measure of protection, otherwise flaking and chipping of the paint and varnish must naturally follow. The painter may well strive to make the work of sandpapering an exact operation—exact as to thoroughness as applied to all parts of a surface, and exact as to a uniformity of results.

In company with the labor of sandpapering must be considered dusting. The latter should be cleanly and tidily done, quite as thorough, indeed, as the sandpapering or any other of the operations, all alike important. We now come to an article indispensable to the painter in arriving at a state of perfection regarding smoothness of surface.

ROUGHSTUFF—HOW MADE, APPLIED, AND RUBBED.

Webster defines "rough" as "having inequalities, small ridges, or points on the surface," and "stuff" as "refuse or worthless matter." But, combining the two words into one—roughstuff—the painter construes the term to mean something different from the construction put upon it by the eminent lexicographer when he cleaved it evenly in twain.

Without the coarse mineral pigments known as "fillers," white lead, and the liquid mediums used to properly unite and weld them together and denominated roughstuff when ready for use, the painter, in his effort to make satisfactorily level and smooth surfaces, would be in almost as sorry a plight as the mariner bereft of his compass. For, mark you, gentle confrères! roughstuff is essential to carriage body surface elegancies and mirror-like effects.

FAVORITE FORMULAS.

No. 1.—To 3 lbs. of any American filler add 1 lb. keg white lead. Beat well together; then reduce to a thick paste with rubbing varnish and japan, after which thin to brushing consistency with turps. This is a safe one-coat-per-day 'stuff.

No. 2.—Equal parts of filler (excepting English) and keg lead, by weight, reduced to a heavy paste in quick rubbing varnish and japan, and then cut with turps to the proper consistency. Two coats per day may be safely applied.

No. 3.—Five lbs. filler (still excepting English); 2 1/2 lbs. keg lead; 1/3 elastic rubbing varnish; 2/3 japan. This is a 'stuff for fine, heavy coach work. Apply coat every 72 hours. Do not rub out under three weeks.

No. 4.—(A London formula.) Dry white lead, ground stiff in turpentine, 1 1/2 lbs.; ochre, or English filling, ground stiff in turpentine, 4 lbs. Mix the two and add 1/2 lb. of tub lead. Add 1 pint of japan gold size and about 1/2 pint of the bottoms of wearing varnish. Reduce with a little turpentine if necessary. This is a very durable and elastic 'stuff.

No. 5.—(M. Arlot's formula.) "Grind separately lump white lead with essence of turpentine, and do the same with unwashed yellow ochre; then mix the two pastes in the proportion of 3/4 of white lead and 1/4 of ochre. Allow the mixture to stand exposed to the air or to a gentle heat in order to evaporate the excess of liquid, and add gradually small portions of good drying oil, taking care to stir and beat the mixture well with a brush, as in distemper painting. The paste thus acquires more body." Concerning this 'stuff the author adds: "It is possible with this composition to give three coats in a day's work, but after the last coat we must wait 48 hours for drying."

No. 6.—English filler 3 lbs.; keg lead 1 lb. Rubbing varnish and japan, half and half, to make a stiff paste. Thin with turpentine.

No. 7.—English filler, mixed stiff with rubbing varnish, 1/2; japan 1/2. Thinned with turpentine.

Probably genuine English filler has but few, if any, equals, and certainly no superiors as a roughstuff pigment. It polishes down very close and compact as to texture, giving a glass-like, non-porous surface. It requires less lead than other fillers, because of which property it was specially mentioned as excluded from formulas 2 and 3. It does not surface down as easily as some of the American fillers, a fact that has probably limited its use largely.

In using keg lead for roughstuff, a moderately stiff ground lead is advisable. A lead ground in an excess of oil will necessitate washing in turps to expel a portion of the oil, if the proper proportions of ingredients would be maintained. In mixing roughstuff, it pays to be exact as to proportions and quantities. Use first-class materials, varnish, japan, etc. Slops and refuse from varnish and japan cans are to be avoided. They leave the user in a state of uncertainty as to the composition of his 'stuff. If made in considerable quantities at a time, the pigment should be stored in a tight, dust-free receptacle and well covered with water or turps, else it will very soon become gummy and unsuitable for good work.

Paint Strainer.

The chief mission of roughstuff is to enable the painter to get a firm, hard, level surface. It requires putting on with a good brush, and a skilled and painstaking wielder of the tool. Roughstuff should be carried to a surface a little heavier in body than ordinary paint, but its spreading and flatting property should in no wise be made sluggish and "ropy" by the absence of thinning mediums. Better an additional coat of 'stuff than one coat less because of the excessively thick coats used. Roughstuff, like all quick setting pigments, needs to be applied, brushed out, and leveled quickly under the brush, so that brush marks may not intrude or uniformity in depth of film be wanting. Use a brush suited to the size of the panel; likewise a brush with a softness and fineness of point and sufficient elasticity to insure, if properly wielded, freedom from brush marks. Too heavy a pigment is no more a prolific cause of brush marks than a too nearly worn out brush. If the first coat of 'stuff is laid on the panel with horizontal strokes of the brush, let the second be laid with vertical ones, and vice versa. On a well-surfaced job, four coats should suffice. Where greater inequalities of the surface exist, more coats will be necessary. But it is an established maxim in both the practice and theory of carriage painting that the less roughstuff used upon a surface, granted that the quantity accords perfectly with the needs of the surface, the greater the durability of the paint and varnish structure.

The successful user of roughstuff is one who duly considers the importance of having a correctly-proportioned, finely-balanced mixture skillfully applied to the surface amid surroundings favorable to its prompt and thorough drying.

A guide coat to be used over roughstuff is made of a little of the 'stuff colored a bit with yellow ochre or Venetian red and thinned down considerably thinner than the 'stuff, with turpentine.

The workman who has roughstuff to rub requires, as an outfit, plenty of clean water right at hand, a good sponge, chamois skin, and a varied assortment of rubbing stones and bricks. The rubbing brick product, of German origin, has been considerably improved of late years; to such an extent, in fact, that it is now possible to obtain it as fine as wished for, and running from that up to a very coarse quality. However, for the very high class work, the natural lava, or pumice stone, is not to be surpassed. The quality of the rubbing accomplished depends much upon the selection of the blocks of pumice stone. The blocks of light weight, open grain, tunneled with innumerable air cells, are to be preferred for good cutting properties. Immersed in water, they float instead of sinking. The buoyancy of a piece of lava determines its porosity and its cutting power. This kind of stone may be used until the surface is well reduced, when, preferably, the stone of closer texture and tighter grain may next be used and continued in use until the final dressing up has been concluded. Select stones of large cutting surface. After the sawing, filing, and necessary dressing up of the stone in preparing it for the surface, it merits a thorough washing and rinsing to cleanse it from all minute atoms of grit, etc. In the actual work of rubbing a surface, keep the surface well washed to prevent gumming of the stone and to enable the eye to see just what the mind and muscle are doing; but do not flood the work with water. The rubbing stone is doing its work properly when, under an even, gentle pressure, it cuts smooth and free with a clinging, adhesive motion. When a particle of grit becomes lodged under the stone there will be a rolling, jarring motion, easy for even an unpracticed hand to detect, provided vigilant attention is being directed upon the work. When scratching of the surface occurs, the rubbing stone requires smoothing off with another stone, and the surface, stone, etc., given a thorough rinsing with clean water. Circular, zig-zagging motions of the stone are ill-advised. Straight, clean strokes, all directed in one general direction, are best and most effective. A surface is not always rubbed sufficiently fine when the guide coat disappears. The guide coat may be but a mere wash and disappear almost completely under a few strokes of the stone. The disappearance of such a guide(?) coat is not evidence that the proper surface has been reached. By repeatedly drawing the hand, with a good pressure, across the surface at right angles with the direction that governed the laying off of the final coat of filler, the workman can very accurately decide when an adequately fine surface has been reached.

To determine when a surface has been rubbed just enough usually gives the inexperienced rubber no little difficulty, but with practice he will master the accomplishment. On moulded panels it is advisable to rub the edges of the surface first, as it will lessen the tendency to thrust the stone forcibly against the moulding, thus chipping off atoms of stone to be ground into the surface later on.

Rubbing the roughstuff is the final process in the art of developing the comely and durable foundation. Does not the work, then, merit a full measure of skill, alertness, and patience in its execution?

CHAPTER IV.
PRISMATIC AND OBJECTIVE COLOR—HARMONIZING AND CONTRASTING COLORS—MIXING COLORS—TESTING THEM—ASSAYING FOR OPACITY, COLORING STRENGTH, BRILLIANCY, ETC.—TABLE FOR COMPOUNDING COACH COLORS, HUES, AND TINTS.

While colors, as we know them, differ from each other, they exist, according to the generally accepted theory, as simply different movements of the same element. The immense ocean of ether, which is in all space, is one, and the colors are all waves of that one ocean.

When a ray of light undergoes a change of direction it is divided into many minor rays, which to our visual sense are represented as colors. As, for example, if a ray of white light be directed through the edge of a triangular prism so that its course is bent or refracted, the ray is divided into several different rays of colors, these being thereby termed spectrum colors.

It is practically agreed by authorities that the rainbow affords the most complete illustration of spectrum colors, these being formed by the passage of light through the spray or drops of water in a shower. Color, then, may be said to be due to the action of light. Hence the established dictum, namely, white is a reunion of all the colored rays of the prismatic spectrum. It is a basic element in every color except black, and, as a color, black figures as an absolute neutral, it being devoid of white light.

The conditions and circumstances which unite to produce the varying and various color sensations have never yet been unanimously agreed upon by the eminent color theorists. The practical man may thread the remotest confines of color theories as expounded by Newton, Brewster Jones, Field, Rood, Young, and others, until his adventures bring him out on the toil-won heights and stupendous summits of the modern science of colors, and what he beholds will simply tend to confuse his intellect and more than ever convince him that the mastery of color laws remains yet to be accomplished; that no unalterable rule can be successfully applied to the theory of color. To those of my readers who desire to explore deeply into the recesses of color science, I would recommend the works by the afore-mentioned colorists. It is the purpose to deal in this chapter, so far as possible, with the more practical aspects of the science.

Objective color, as distinguished from what is termed illusive or prismatic color, is confined to those substances or materials endowed with the selective property for absorbing the colored rays from the light which is imparted to them, and which, in the technology of painting, are known as pigments.

The colors which make up the three orders usually, but not invariably, recognized by modern colorists, and which practically apply to the needs of the vehicle painter, may be placed as follows:[A]

Carmine, ultramarine blue, and lemon chrome yellow most nearly approach to the prismatic colors, and, taking them for the primaries, we find, according to the deductions of Chevreul and others, that in proportional strength they rank thus: Yellow, the weakest, 3; red, medium, 5; blue, strongest, 8. To form the secondary colors, yellow, 3 parts, and blue, 8 parts, produces green, which is the contrasting color to red, the contrasting primary being always the color not contained in the secondary. Purple, the contrast to yellow, contains red, 5 parts; blue, 8 parts. Orange, the contrast to blue, has red, 5 parts; yellow, 3 parts. Any color in the secondary column opposite a color in the primary column is the contrasting color to that primary, and in the tertiary column, the tertiary opposite any given secondary may be accepted as the harmonizing color to that secondary's contrasting primary; as, for example, yellow, the primary, has purple as its contrasting, and citron as its harmonizing, color. In like manner russet harmonizes with red and olive with blue. The tertiaries may be produced by uniting the secondaries in equal proportions, or by the primaries being combined in the proportion of 2 parts of any given primary and 1 part of each of the two remaining primaries. For instance, olive is made of purple and green, both secondaries, or it may be made of blue, 2 parts, and 1 part each red and yellow. Citron is made from green and orange; russet from orange and purple. Referring to the three different orders of colors, it will be found that experiment will enable one to effect many changes in the development of color harmony. Any one color of any of the three orders will harmonize with the colors which contrast with the remaining two colors of the same order. Take the primary, blue. The contrasting colors to the remaining two primaries are purple and green, with which blue harmonizes. The contrasts to the primaries, red and blue, are respectively green and orange, with which the third primary, yellow, harmonizes. Or red will harmonize with the contrasts to the primaries, yellow and blue, which are purple and orange. Continuing the experiment to the secondary colors, it is found that green harmonizes with citron and olive, the contrasts to the two remaining secondaries, purple and orange; purple harmonizes with russet (russet contains a double share of red, bear in mind) and olive, both being contrasts to orange and green, the other secondaries. Orange harmonizes with citron and russet, the contrasts to purple and green.

These experiments in the domain of color contrasts and harmony might be pursued indefinitely, but the above will suffice to afford the student who essays the colorist's art (and what vehicle painter doesn't aspire to that art?) a practical working plan for the acquirement of such information as will enable him ultimately to successfully meet the exacting requirements of modern vehicle ornamentation. Knowledge of the harmony of analogy, a simple, effective, and ready way of varying painting, together with a knowledge of contrasts, the finer, higher, and superior system of effecting the most adorable and fetching color adornment, is an indispensable help to the painter, to attain which he can well afford to make many sacrifices.

The harmony of color as it applies to the use of two or more colors with reference to the relationships which should exist between them, requires to be further intensified by a strict and vigilant regard for the season, conditions, and circumstances which obtain when certain combinations of colors are employed. And for this reason: Blue is a cold color, chilly in the extreme at some seasons of the year, upon certain surfaces. It may be called a space color and imparts a retiring effect to form. Red, applied to form, appears stationary and gives a warmth of sentiment. Orange is, if anything, warmer in its effect than a full red. Bright yellow tends to excitement of the vision. Green has a conspicuous or advancing appearance.

The primary colors have no established hues, tints, or shades, but in every compound of the primaries a hue is recognizable. Green, for instance, as a compound of blue and yellow, can be made to vary surprisingly in hue as the proportion of one primary is increased and the other reduced, and vice versa.

In every compound of the primaries the predominating primary fixes the hue thereof. Hue, then, as an authority has well said, may be "a mixture of two or more colors of any order, but the mixture should not depart from the original color."

Tone, as applied to a color, measures the depth of the hue of that color.

Dilute a color, or the hue thereof, with white, and a tint of that color or hue is the result. To illustrate: By adding white to chrome yellow, the yellow is reduced along down through the long lists of tints until it reaches white.

A color or hue deepened by the addition of black becomes a shade of that color or hue; or, in other words, a shade is any color made deeper by the addition of black. The positive colors contain no white or black by mixture, while the negative colors do contain white or black or both.

THE MIXING OF COLORS,

in view of the fact that the manufacture of them has now reached a very high state of perfection, would seem to be a comparatively easy matter, but it must be understood that in vehicle painting, business vehicle painting especially, there are many hues, tints, and shades demanded which the color maker does not furnish. Such mixtures have to be prepared by the painter, and the work becomes a skilled operation. First he must be fortified with a clear knowledge of the proportions of the ingredients required to form the desired color or hue thereof, or tint or shade. Then he must skillfully and perfectly combine them. The word "perfectly" is emphasized because if the constituents be not perfectly combined, a long train of evils is invited. A most minute and perfect incorporation of all the particles of the paint material must be made, otherwise a lack of uniformity in strength, coloring, and covering power results. Certain colors have a property of unduly asserting themselves when combined with certain other colors in the mixing cup, and if allowance be not made for this assertive strength and a very thorough mixture of the parts effected, the color, when applied to the surface, is apt to show streaks. Some pigments require grinding upon the slab under the muller to obtain an absolutely perfect commingling of the particles.

This rule applies to the mixing of pigments: The more perfect the mixing, the more perfect the product; perfect not only as regards its strength, permanence, and brilliancy of color, but perfect also as regards its working properties.

While two or more pigments may mix nicely together, they may not liquify readily, and unless the workman be thorough in his mixing operations, lack of a uniform film of color ensues, a condition which later on develops the faded and bleached out surface, and in many instances the flaking and shelly one. The painter who would become a skilled mixer of pigment will insist upon exact quantitative measurements of all the ingredients he may employ, both liquids and solids, when such measurements are possible, and he will further see that the ingredients are perfectly united.

The attainment of a high average of results in the use of colors depends greatly upon the achievements of the color maker and upon the uniform quality of his product. Fineness of grinding, uniformity of color in respect to its coloring and covering power, and brilliancy, are valued essentials. It is necessary that the painter should get from the color maker not one, two, or three successive lots of color that are of standard color, tint, or shade, but every lot should correspond to the exact standard. When the painter opens a new lot of color, he desires it to be exactly like the last in every particular, provided, of course, the last lot was standard. Hence, uniformity of color, of tint, of shade, of quality throughout, is a requirement with which the color maker may properly be expected to comply. It will thus be observed that the purchase of colors is one of the really important steps leading up to fine and durable color effects.

In testing a color for covering power or opacity, for coloring strength, and for brilliancy, comparison should always be made with a strictly standard color.

To assay for covering power or opacity, weigh out, say 50 grains, of the standard color and the same number of grains of the color under examination, and to each sample add 10 grains of fine china clay, if the colors be dark, or 10 grains of the highest grade of lampblack (this being a pure black) should they be light, and mix intimately. The sample which departs the least from its own color has the best body or covering power. Or mix exactly equal quantities of the standard color and the color to be assayed, in equal quantities of raw linseed oil, incorporating the oil and the pigment thoroughly, and then apply to glass surfaces (small panes of window glass answer the purpose fully), spreading the pigment as evenly as possible. The sample covering the glass most solidly has the strongest covering power.

Coloring power is determined by mixing a given quantity of a standard sample of color with a certain quantity of china clay or, if preferred, zinc white. Of the sample to be assayed take the same quantity of color and mix with exactly the same quantity of china clay or zinc white used with the standard. The sample showing the greatest depth of color may be accepted as having the strongest coloring power.

The durability or permanency of a pigment may be tested by mixing the pigment with raw linseed oil, spreading on a piece of glass, exposing it to the rigors of the weather, and noting its condition from time to time.

The fineness of a color or pigment can be judged by rubbing the material between two thick pieces of glass or subjecting it to a powerful microscopic examination. Or a common fruit can with a tight cover may be two-thirds filled with clean water, half an ounce of color put therein, and the contents vigorously shaken. The finer the sample is ground, the longer the time it will require to settle out.

The following table is intended to aid in the compounding of the principal hues, tints, and shades of colors used in carriage and wagon painting. It would prove futile to try to make the proportions arbitrary, because the uniformity of colors advocated above does not universally obtain, the product of one firm differing from that of other firms and very often, unfortunately, lacking uniformity in itself.

Moreover, color sense has not reached a uniform development, and the proportions which would, for example, make a cherry red as accepted by one person might not appear that color to the second person. However, in most of the formulas proportions are indicated, and the table is presented not as an infallible guide, but more in the nature of a reliably helpful one.

TABLE OF HUES, TINTS, AND SHADES OF COLORS.

REDS.

Transparent Red—No. 40 carmine.

French Red—Indian red and vermilion glazed with carmine.

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

Wine Color—Carmine, 3 parts; ultramarine blue, 3 parts.

Claret—Carmine and ultramarine blue, or red and black.

Imperial Red—Yellow lake, 1 part; solferino lake, 5 parts.

Cherry Red—Carmine, 1 part; English vermilion, 2 parts.

Maroon Red—Lampblack, 1 part; Venetian red, 8 parts.

Solid Crimson—English vermilion, 1 part; carmine, 2 parts.

Superlative Vermilion—English vermilion, 3 parts; orange mineral, 1 part.

Deep Rose—Victoria lake, 1 part; flake white, 6 parts.

Brick Red—Yellow Ochre, 2 parts; English vermilion, 1 part; white, 1 part.

Metropolitan Red—Carmine and vermilion, glazed with carmine. A stunning and saucy panel color.

YELLOWS.

Primrose—Add a dash of white to lemon yellow. Or, according to Standard Dictionary, 58% of white, 24% of yellow, and 18% of green. It should be of a very pale yellow tint; is fashionable and originally English, you know.

Maroon Yellow—Carmine, 3 parts; yellow, 2 parts.

Rich Yellow—Orange chrome, 1 part; white, 6 parts.

Buff—White, 2 parts; yellow ochre, 1 part.

Oak—Yellow ochre, 1 part; white, 8 parts.

Jonquil Yellow—Flake white and chrome yellow, with a bit of carmine added.