=Materials.=--The materials used for the purpose above named are: white lead ground in turpentine and the best white lead in oil; a clear, quick, and hard-drying varnish, such as the best copal, or the varnishes for enamel manufactured by Mr. W. Urquhart, 327, Edgware Road, W.; or white coburg and white enamel varnish, ground and lump pumice-stone, or putty-powder, great care being taken in the selection of the pumice-stone, as the slightest particle of grit will spoil the surface; and rotten-stone, used either with water or oil.
=Tools.=--The tools required are several flat wooden blocks, of various sizes and forms, suitable for inserting into corners and for mouldings--these must be covered with felt on the side you intend to use, the felt best adapted for the purpose being the white felt, from a quarter to half an inch in thickness, which can be obtained of Messrs. Thomas Wallis & Co., Holborn Circus, or at the woollen warehouses; two or three bosses (made similar to polish rubbers) of cotton-wool, and covered with silk (an old silk handkerchief makes capital coverings); wash or chamois leather, and a good sponge.
=Mode of Operation.=--If the wood is soft and porous it is best to commence with a coating of size and whiting applied in a warm state, which is allowed to dry; it is then rubbed down with glass-paper, and two coats of common paint given, mixed in the usual way and of the same colour as you intend to finish with. In practice this is found to be best; after these two coats are thoroughly dry, mix the white-lead ground in turps, with only a sufficient quantity of varnish to bind it, thinning to a proper consistency with turps. It is as well to add a little of the ordinary white-lead ground in oil, as it helps to prevent cracking. Give the work four or five coats of this, and allow each coat to dry thoroughly. When it is hard and ready for rubbing down, commence with a soft piece of pumice-stone and water, and rub just sufficient to take off the roughness. Now use the felt-covered rubbers and ground pumice-stone, and cut it down, working in a circular manner. The greatest care is required to obtain a level surface free from scratches.
After the work is well rubbed down, if it should appear to be insufficiently filled up, or if scratched, give it two more coats, laid on very smoothly, and rub down as before. If properly done, it will be perfectly smooth and free from scratches. Wash it well down, and be careful to clean off all the loose pumice-stone. Then mix flake-white from the tube with either of the above-named varnishes, till it is of the consistency of cream. Give one coat of this, and when dry give it another, adding more varnish. Let this dry hard, the time taken for which will of course depend upon the drying qualities of the varnish; some will polish in eight or nine days, but it is much the best to let it stand as long as you possibly can, as the harder it is, the brighter and more enduring will be the polish. When sufficiently hard, use the felt, and very finely-ground pumice-stone and water; with this cut down till it is perfectly smooth; then let it stand for a couple of days, to harden the surface.