25.5.09

Paint for Stoves.

Scientific American 2, 8.7.1868

Black lead is a great institution in this country, and probably few but cooks and housemaids would care to see its use diminished. It certainly has its recommendations, but it can hardly be said to be ornamental, while it entails an immense amount of labor on our servants. In Germany, where a stove and sort of kitchen range are continually to be found in the commong sitting-room of a respectable family, the unsightliness seems to have been felt, and a suggestion has been made to do away with the black lead, and paint the stoves and ovens. Oil paint, of course, cannot be employed, but water-glass (silicate of potash) colored with pigment to match the paint of the apartment is the material recommended. Before this is applied the iron must be thoroughly cleansed from grease, and all spots must be rubbed off with a scratch brush. Two or three coats of the paint may then be put off and allowed to dry, after which the fire may be lighted without fear of injury to the color, which may, indeed, be heated to redness. Grease or milk spilt over the paint has no effect upon it, and it may be kept clean by washing with soap and water. Dutch ovens and like utensils may also be coated with the same materials, and the labor spent in polishing be saved. A good coating of the paint, the author says, will last a year or two.

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