How to Imitate Furniture Wood.

Manufacturer and builder 11, 1884

After the color has been applied to the panel, take a large dusting brush of the kind used by painters. and, working the reverse way of your color, lightly pass over the surface with the tips or ends so as to blend together, as it were, the light and the dark. Quickness of manipulation is essential to obtain the desired effect while the color is wet, for it dries or "sets" very quickly. Use judgment in passing over the work so as to vary the "beating" by turning your hand according to the various directions the veins have taken when first laid on.

Next take a piece of wash leather, damped and folded, to form a round, elongated edge, and proceed to wipe out all the light parts lying between the heavy color; then with another piece of leather fastened on to the end of a stick and brought to a point like a pencil, proceed to cut out all the finer lines. If you find that your color sets while working, you must dab it on the surface — not rub it, else you will probably wipe of all the color. As soon as the panel is dry, you can, by means, of a flat fitch, proceed to put in all veins (or "worms" its they are sometimes called) which cross the grain, by using a little burnt umber diluted with beer to the necessary tint. If you want the work to have dark shades on its surface, then you must work in a little Vandyke brown. These dark shades and veins can be formed with a camel's hair or sable pencil, and blended together with the badger.

Passing on next to mahogany, we shall see by examining a piece of Honduras wood that it is much easier to imitate mahogany than oak. When the ground color is thoroughly dry, smooth and level the surface so that the brush marks shall be hardly discernible. Attention to this point will materially contribute to secure a good Imitation. After this, proceed as before to remove with a damp wash-leather all grease and dust. You will be able to judge whether the surface be free front grease or not, since no moisture will be absorbed by such spots, but they will appear dry and shimming. If necessary you may use soap and water. Some grainers will even rub the surface over with whiting and water, which has a good effect. Having prepared some Vandyke brown ground and mixed in beer, proceed to thinly spread it over the work, and while the color is quite wet freely dab a piece of sponge over it to pin the effect of light and dark shades, at the same time drawing the sponge a little. With your "softener" proceed next to blind the edges of the dark into time light shades, so that the eye may not perceive any broken liars or edges, and towards the finish use the softener (or badger) in the direction of the grain, or rather in the direction in which the dark veins of the mahogany are intended to run. When the work is dry get a tint of Vandyke brown ready, and with tool filled with a little color form the lightest of the dark veins or shades, using a drier brush to obtain the effect of a kind of over-grain. These veins ought to run in the direction of the light, above and below it. A little practice will soon familiarize you with this process. To gain a nice rolled mottle, as it were, a light dab of color must he given just under the lightest portion, so as to render it solid and opaque. Next blend all well together, which can be done, in the first instance, by means or the dusting-brush before mentioned, while the badger may be employed for touches.