[17] Staining Common Wood.

The Manufacturer and Builder 11, 1870

There are two ways of staining common wood to a walnut or any other color - one with water-color and one with oil; we prefer the latter. To stain with water-color, a decoction is made of Fernambuck, Brazil, or any other dyewood or bark of sufficient strength to give the desired shade, according to the nature of the wood to be stained and that you wish to imitate. It is put on with a brush. To stain with oil, you mix raw linseed oil with either Vandyke brown, raw, or burnt sienna, or a mixture of those or other paints of the desired shade, and put it on thin with a brush also. After drying, you put on one or two coats of some brown transparent varnish, and this finishes the job. In regard to the staining with water-color, you have to oil it when dry, and, after the oil is dry, you put on your varnish. In regard to sizing, this is not to be recommended when wood is stained and not painted. You must take into account that sizing is only done to save the more expensive oil, as it prevents it from penetrating the wood, and a single coat of paint will then have the same effect as three coats without size; but it is not so durable, as it is apt to peel off, the coat of paint not being united with the wood, but separated from it by a layer of glue, which by moisture will detach itself. The size used is simply common glue, dissolved in plenty of water. - The Editor.