Dictionarium polygraphicum. To make wood of divers colours.

Dictionarium Polygraphicum:
Or, The Whole Body of Arts Regularly Digested.
Vol II.
London: Printed for C. Hitch and C. Davis in Pater-noster Row, and S. Austen in St. Paul's Church Yard. MDCCXXXV.
1735
For a red.
Take half a pound of Fernambouc, or what other you think fit, rain-water, a handful of quick-lime, and two handfuls of ashes; let them steep for half an hour in the water, and settle to the bottom; then take a new earthen pot, and put in the Fernambouc, with the lye made of lime and ashes; and having steep'd half an hour, boil it. Then let it cool a little, and pour it into another new pot, adding to it half an ounce of gum-Arabick; then put some rain-water and a piece of alum into another pot or pan; boil it, soak the wood in this alumed water, then take it out and dry it; then warm your red colour, and with a brush, rub it as long as you think necessary; then dry it and polish it with a dog's tooth, and it will be of a shining scar let colour.

Another excellent red.
Boil Brazile in rain-water till it be high coloured, then strain it through a cloth; but you must be sure, not to use any thing of iron about it, as ladle, &c. Then give your wood one laying or washing of saffron, steep'd in water, which will render it of a pale yellow; when it is dry, give it several washings of the Brazile water, till the colour is to your mind; let it dry and burnish it with a tooth, and varnish it with drying varnish, with the palm of your hand, and it will be of a beautiful red inclining to orange. If you put a spoonful of lee amongst the Brazile, it will make the red deeper; or if you boil it with a little alum: but the yellowing it, improves the colour; and by how much the wood is whiter, by so much the more beautiful will the colour be.

Another red for wood.
Reduce orchanet to fine powder, and mix it with oil of nuts, make it luke-warm, and rub the wood.

Another.
Temper Brazile in oil of tartar, with which, rub over the wood, and it will become of an excellent red.

To stain wood of a yellow colour.
This may be done either with French-berries and alum, or with turmerick or saffron, or Merita-earth. A polish'd black for wood. Cover the wood with lamp-black, ground with gum-water, with a pencil; and when it is dry, polish it with a tooth, and it will look very well.

Another black dye for wood.
Put little pieces of very rusty iron into good black ink, and let it stand for some days; afterwards rub the wood with it, and it will penetrate it, then polish it with a tooth, and it will look very beautiful.

To counterfeit ebony wood.
The most solid wood, and freest from veins, is best; such as pear-tree, apple-tree, and service-tree; take any of these woods, and black it well, and when it is dry, rub it with a cloth; then having made a little brush with rushes, tied near the ends, melt some wax in a pot, mixing some lamp-black with it; then with the brush, throw on some of the wax, brushing it till it shine like ebony; then rub it with a cloth, and some of the wax.
The wood should be well polish'd and rush'd, before it is black'd.
Holley is the best of woods for counterfeiting of ebony. This is to be put into a hat-maker's copper, where he dyes his hats; and when it has been ting'd to the thickness of a six-pence (which you may know by cutting it) take it out and dry it in the shade, that it may the better imbibe the dye-water; then polish it with an iron, to take off the foulness of the dye; and afterwards, with rush, powder of charcoal, and sallet-oil; as is done to ebony.
The wood of Tunis polishes easily; it also burnishes well with a tooth, and is better to cut than ebony, which is very brittle.

An excellent blue colour for wood.
Boil a quarter of a pound of turnsole for an hour, in 3 pints of lime-water, and colour the wood with it.

A violet colour for wood.
Temper Dutch turnsole with water, and strain it through a cloth; before it is used on your work, try it on 2 piece of white wood, to see if it be not too deep. When you have laid on the colour, put some of the same colour to a quantity of water, to render it very thin, and wash the wood with this, till it become bright; then dry it, burnish, and varnish it; and if the wood be white before, it will then be of an excellent blue.

Another Violet.
Boil 4 ounces of Brazile and 8 ounces of logwood together, in a quarts of water, with an ounce of common alum; and in these, boil the wood.

A purple colour for wood.
Steep turnsole as is directed for the violet-colour, and add to it, the tincture of Brazile boil'd in lime-water, and it will be an excellent purple: this ought to be varnished, both to beautify, and to preserve it.

A way of staining, or marbling wood.
Grind white-lead and chalk together on a marble; put it into apor, and temper it again with the yolk of an egg, beaten with water; then lay on this white with a large pencil; let it dry, and go over it again with the same; let it dry again, and then take a point made of a stag's horn; draw off the white, where and in what form you will; then sprinkle the lime mix'dwith urine. The violet wood which dyers use, will become black as ebony; by sprinkling it with lime and urine, plum-tree and cherry-tree, turn of a deep red; the pear-tree and service-tree, turn reddish; walnut-tree grows black, by mingling some galls in powder, with lime and urine.
A pencil made of mutton-suet, rubb'd where you would draw with yolks of eggs, will do the same thing.
It will be excellent upon black cherry-tree, plum-tree, or any wood of a dark colour.

To make wood of a silver colour.
Reduce tin-glass in a mortar, to fine powder; add to it water, and grind it to the fineness of paint; put it into an earthen pan, and wash it two or three times till it is very clean; and then mix clear glue with it, and having first warmed the wood, lay the mixture on it with a brush; let it dry, and polish it with a tooth.

To make wood of the colour of gold, silver, copper or brass.
Pound rock-crystal very fine in a mortar, then grind it on a marble with clean water; then put it into an earthen vessel win a woo a little glue, warm it and lay it on your work, as above; rub it with gold, silver or copper, and it will be of the same colour you rub it with, then polish it.

To lay on pencil-gold or silver on wood.
Temper the gold or silver with weak gum-tragacanth water, very clear; lay it on the lights of your work, with a pencil, without touching the shadows, which are to be done with indigo, ground with a weak gum-Arabick water; then varnish it with the drying varnish.

The drying varnish is made as follows.
Mix spike-oil with gum-sandarach; if it be too thick, add some oil: in making it, let it not have a greater heat than may be endured by the hands; black wood, or wood dyed black, is the most proper for gilding.

For silver upon wood.
First lay the wood over with parchment-glue, and when it is dry, figure it as you think fit; shadow and finish with water in which tallow has been boiled, heighten with silver, (as in that of gold) and then varnish it.

To colour wood after the manner of marble.
For a table, &c. first lay 7 or 8 layers of white, as tho' it were to be gilded with burnish'd gold; then having ready ground black, not over-much siz'd, add thereto a little yolk of egg, and a little dry saffron; lay it on, let it dry, and then burnish it exactly.
By this means you may counterfeit to the life, all sorts of marble, having a little experience in colours; and make also all sorts of works; as fretted work, flat work, ovals, &c.
Let there be in the colours, a little yolk of egg and saffron; that is, in such as can bear it, colouring the marble with divers colours; the colours must be laid on clear, like threads. You may also on such a ground before directed, pour out a shell of one colour in one place, then turning it shelving on one side, cause the colours to run, which will make veins; and then take another shell, full of another colour, and do the like; so continuing with all your colours.
Or else with a gross brush, lay all your colours very clear, near one another.
After the colours are dry, you may make use of the pencil to repair the desects; then burnish your work, which will not be subject to dust or spoiling.

To colour a frame with fine speckled red.
Grind vermilion with water, then siw it, and grind it with a drop or two of yolk of egg.
With this colour, speckle the wood of the frame with a pencil, and when it is dry, take lake ground with water, and a little size, two drops of yolk of egg, and with the end of the brush, spot it, letting remain as much white as you lay on red; then burnish it with a tooth, and gild the mouldings with burnish'd gold.

An exquisite way of enriching and beautifying wooden works.
First cover your wooden work with hot glue, then with the mixture of glue, and whiting upon this, lay the size for burnish'd gold, and lay on the gold and silver and burnish it; then having ground right indigo with yolk of an egg, and that being very thin and clear, lay it on the silver, so as that the silver may appear through it. When it is dry, pounce your paper pattern, being whitened with chalk; then with the same indigo, draw over the pounced strokes of your figure as neatly as you can, as if you were to draw a figure with a pen, upon paper; then with the same indigo made thinner, shadow it, and afterwards with umber; then heighten with a wooden point, by hatching the lights, then varnish toe work, and it will seem to be enamelled.

Another way, but more glorious.
Instead of indigo, steep Dutch turnsole for a day or two in water, then strain it through a cloth from the dregs; grind and mix this water with the yolk of an egg, lay this on your silver, then with turnsole ground with turnsole-water, draw with a pencil what lines or figures you think fit, which you may shadow and hatch in the proper places, which heighten in discovering the silver, as before directed; then varnish the work.

To make the ground of a purple colour.
Boil Brazile in lime-water, and mix with turnsole-water. This will not last so well as that done with indigo, because the turnsole in time, is apt to turn red, and will stain the silvery therefore before you varnish, lay upon it the white of an egg beaten into glair, which will render it much more durable, and admirably beautiful.

To inrich carv'd work, or any sort of wooden work.
The wooden work, whether picture-frames, or other things, cover with burnished silver (as taught under the article gildings &c.) and having made some vellum-glue, or parchment-glue, boil'd to a thick jelly, strain it through a cloth; let it stand to settle, and then strain it again; then with this glue, give one laying upon your work with a soft brush: if that be not enough, give a second; and then varnish it. But before you varnish, if you have a mind so to do, you may paint flowers, fruits, leaves, or birds, in water-colours, and in their proper colours; and varnish them, having first laid them over with glue.
Note, you may mix with your glue, either milk, or soap of Alicant.