Chap. III. PAINTING, GILDING, ETC.

735
but it hixs not sufficient body usefully to answer the end for wliich it is usually employed.
It prevents tiie oil paint sinking into the wood ; it scales off, and in damp situations its
colour almost immediately changes. The only occasions "wherein it is useful are where
the work is greasy and smoky, in Avhicli the use of it prepares better for the reception of
paint. It should however, never be employed upon joiner's work or cornices to ceilings,
where much enrichment is found
;
for, of all things, it destroys the sharpness and beauty
of the ornaments. Painters are very fond of using it; but their endeavours to persuade
the architect should always be resisted, except in cases of absolute necessity, namely, that
in which a fair appearance cannot otherwise be given to the work. The old work should
be well cleaned and dried, and then the mixture above stated applied. For finishing, the
white lead is mixed in half linseed oil and half turpentine, and used as stiff as possible
;
blue black, or some colour, and a little drier, are requisite.
2273a. Various prepared paints are employed. One of the oldest is Carson's AnticorrO'
sion paint, used for out-door work only, such as farm buildings, implements, fencing, &c.,
all kinds of iron work, brick, stone, compo, &c. It is stated to be lower in price, and
to last twice as long as the best white lead. The powder, in which state it is supplied,
is composed of ground glass bottles, scorise from lead works, burnt oyster shells, and the
required matter for the colour that may be chcsen. 112 lbs. of this paint requires
7
gallons of raw linseed oil and 1 gallon of turpentine
; to be mixed over-night ; 2 coats are
required on paint, 3 on new work; 3 or 4 on brick, compo, &c. ;
everything to be well
scraped first, and the paint rubbed in well. It is thus more laborious to put on than
common paint; it wears out the brushes in a very short time, and as it lasts so long,
painters will seldom use it. The appearance of a surface painted with it is rough, re-
sembling that of unrubbed cast iron or freestone. It will blunt the edges of carpenters'
tools when being sawn or cut through.
22736. Oxide
of
iron paint, of various colours, is a ferruginous paint, for iron and wood,
made at Matlock. Messrs. Peacock and Buchan have successfully applied th&\v improved
coating composition to many iron vessels and life boats, for many years, and it is found to
preserve the plates, keep the iron cleaner, and to stand the sea air and salt water much
better than most, if not all, other paints. The Pure Carbon paint protects iron from
ru.st, and is valuable for all outside work. When tar is used as a paint, about a pint of
spirits of turpentine is put to a gallon of tar as driers, or a larger quantity if it be re-
quired to dry quickly. The addition of yellow ochre will change the black to several
shades of Ijrown.
2273c. The Bidcford ajid mineral black paint has been exclusively used in H. M. dock-
yards, &c., for the last forty years.
"
Its superiority is observable in the preservation of
wood, iron, and canvas
;
it covers the work well, dries quick and hard, is more durable,
and does not blister like other blacks, and has a body inferior only to A\diite lead." The
Torbay iron paints, made at Erixham, in Devonshire, have been much used in dockyards,
&c., for coating materials under water, or in a position to be affected hy damp. Their
peculiar characteristics are, great covering properties, 62 lbs. effectually coating as large
a surface as 112 lbs. of lead paint ; economy, durability, protection of iron from corrosion,
arresting oxidation at anv stage, and resistance to sulphurous and other gases. (Hunt,
Handbook, 1862. Builder, xx. 527.)
2273c?. The Iron minium paint, by A. de Cartier, manufactured at Auderghem, near
Eruxelles, is a pure oxide of iron mixed with about one-fourth its weight of siliceous
clay, and not containing any acids. It is now extensively used in this and other countries
for painting the ironwork of ships, gas-holders, &c., superseding red lead and other pig-
ments for such purposes. It is said to be solid, durable, cheap, and, above all, to pre-
serve iron from oxidation, and of hardening wood. It is a dark brown in colour, but
mixes easily with other colours, such as black, yellow, green, &e. To test its purity, it
is said to be sufficient to dilute it with a small quantity of water, spreading it on paper,
when, if pure, the edges of the paper will preserve the special tint of the iron minium.
If a change of tint is perceived, an adulteration has been effected.
2273c. Warner's Silicate
of iron paint is sold prepared in genuine boiled linseed oil, of
a great variety of colours, for painting iron work. It is said to stand extreme heat and
damp, and not to be affected by the strongest acid, sea-water, sulphuretted hydrogen, or
ammonia; and to be equally well adapted for iron or wood. It adheres so tenaciously,
that sheet iron may be bent until it breaks, without the paint coming off. The powder,
when boiled up with tar, is a very ciieap preservative for iron or wood.
2273/. When visiting Paris in 1860, the present editor was much struck with the
appearance of the margins of the stairs at the hotel. On examination, they proved to be
covered with a thickisli coat of a hard compound, having rather a glossy surface, and
somewhat of a light orange tinge. A water-closet which had been out of. order on one
morning was not only repaired, but the seat and riser, the floor, and the wall to a height
of three feet, covered with this mixture, and ready for use by the next day. The tiled
floor of the manuscript room at the library of St. Genevieve, which had been covered with
the same mixture, was then in various stages of obliteration according to the traffic. The