VAR

VAR

( 465 )

tv-arm pour m a pint of oil of turpentine, alfowarm; ftrain the varnifh before it gets coldthrough a piece of linen, and bottle it. Theolder it is before being ufed the better. Thisis a very valuable varnifh though higher co-loured than the preceding ; when dried care-fully in a (love it becomes very hard. Ambervarnilh is reckoned harder than copal varnilh,on which account it is preferred for fome works,it has the difadvantage however of being muchdeeper coloured. To prepare this varnilh,

12. Take of amber coarfely pounded 1 6ounces, and melt it in a clean iron pot, thenadd to it 2 ounces of melted lac and io ouncesof drying oil boiling hot ; incorporate the wholeaccurately by ftirring, then remove it from thefire, and add a pint of warm oil of turpentine.

The beautiful black varnilh ufed by thecoach-makers is thus prepared.

13. Take of amber 16 ounces, and melt it inSi clean iron pot, then add to it half a pint ofdrying linfeed oil boiling hot, and 3 ounces ofrolin, and the fame quantity of afphaltum, eachin fine pov der, ftir the materials together tillthey are thoroughly melted and incorporatedtogether; then remove the varnilh from the fire,and add to it a pint of warm oil of turpentine.

The above oil varnifhes are intended to dry toa very hard confidence: thofe however that areemployed for making filk and linen water a: dair tight are required to be tough, without anydegree of hardnels. A varnilh of this kind,which was firft applied to balloons, is thuscompofed.

1 4 - Take of the bell oil of turpentine 3Ounces, and of caoutchouc in flips a third of anounce; put the whole in a clofe corked bottle,and keep it at the ufual temperature for threeor four days, in which time the caoutchouc willfor the rnofl part be difiolved, forming a tena-cious thick fluid; pour this into a pint of dryinglinfeed oil, and heat the mixture for a fewminutes nearly to boiling, then ta.ve it from thefire and ftrain it while warm through a piece oflinen. This is a very effedlual varnilh, but itis long in drying. The following therefore isto be preferred.

_ 15. Take of very drying linfeed oil half apint, and of birdlime 1 pound, put the mixturein ail iron pot, and heat it nearly to boiling, tillthe birdlime ceafes to crackle, then pour in 21-pints more, of drying oil, and boil it for aboutan hour with conftant ftirring, taking care thatit does not boii over. When it has acquiredfo much tenacity that a little rubbed betweentwo knife blades will draw out into threads on the

1QU. it.

reparation of the blades from each other, it may-be removed from the fire, and well mixed witha quart of oil of turpentine, and then (trainedand bottled. In order to apply it, the filk orlinen muft be quite dry and the varnilh luke-warm ; a thin coat is to be firft laid on on onefide, and about twelve hours after two othercoats fhould be laid on one on each fide, and intwenty-four hours after the fluff will be dryenough to be ufed.

§ 4. Of Lacquers.

A lacquer is a tranfparent varnilh applied tothe furface of metals, both for the purpofe ofprotedling them from the aftion of air andmoillure, and for heightening their colour andbringing it nearer to that of gold. The metal*that are commonly lacquered are brafs and tin.The following are fome of the bell varnifhesfor the purpofe.

17. Take of turmeric pulverized r ounce,and of faffron and arnotta each 2 drachms; in-fuie them at a moderate temperature for a weekor more in a pint of redlified alcohol: feparatethe yellow tindlure thus obtained, by (trainingthrough a piece of clean linen, and add to theclear liquor three ounces of good feed lac: letthe materials digeft together for fome days in xbottle, with frequent fliaking, and then ftrainoft the clear part, which is the lacquer. If thepiece of brafs to which it is to be applied islarge, as a lock for example, it is to be warmed,and the lacquer alfo warm is to be fpread onwith a brufh; if the articles are fmall they areto be made up into packets, then warmed andafterwards dipped into the varnifh.

Another lacquer for brafs flill cheaper thanthe foregoing, and nearly as good, is made byfubftituting half a drachm of the heft dragon’^biood inflead of the faffron and arnotta.

The following varnifh may be applied tolamps and other articles of tinned ware, inorder to make them refemble brafs-

18. Take of turmeric one ounce, and ofdragon’s blood two drachms; infufe the ingre-dients in a pint of alcohol, and when the tinc-ture is compleated, ftrain it through a piece ofclean linen, and add to the clear liquor threeounces of feed lac; in a few days the folutionwill be compleated, after which the varnifh isto be drained and is then fit for ufe.

One more lacquer remains to be mentioned,namely that which is employed in the prepara-tion of gilt leather as it is called. The appear-ance of gilding is produced on leather by fixingupon it, by means of ftrong fize, very highlyburntfhed tinfoil or filver leaf, and then coating3 »