Painting the 

 Automobile 



Bv James M.Kano 



w 



THE enjoyment of that "did it myself" 

 feeling, quite as much as economic 

 reasons, impels the automobile owner 

 to paint or refinish his own car. The time- 

 saving, ready-mixed preparations — full di- 

 rections on each package — now in the 

 market, will aid him greatly. By purchas- 

 ing advertised materials, put up by reliable 

 manufacturers, he can, if he follows the 

 directions carefully, look forward to a 

 satisfactory termination of the work. A 

 few coats of material carefully put on and 

 allowed to dry out thoroughly will look 

 better and give better wear than a dozen 

 coatings carelessly applied. 



If the car is in such bad shape that all 

 the old coatings must be removed down to 

 the wood or metal, procure a can of paint 

 remover, and use as directed. After all 

 the old coatings are removed, wash the car 

 with gasoline to remove all traces of the 

 paint remover, then smooth the surface 

 with No. o sandpaper, and clean out all 

 rust spots, cracks and depressions with 

 emery or sandpaper. Dust off and apply 

 the priming-coat and proceed as in re- 

 finishing. 



Presuming that the car is to be finished 

 in black, which is the safest, and at the 

 present time the most popular, purchase 

 the following materials: 



I — I lb. can of coach black-ground in Japan 



I — I lb. can of white lead 



I can of (black) color and varnish, mixed 



I tube of oil color for lettering and striping 



I quart of turpentine 



x /i pint linseed oil 



Yi pint Japan drier 



i quart rubbing varnish 



I quart finishing varnish 



Yz lb. ground pumice stone 



I putty knife 



I felt rubbing pad, made from old felt hat 



I can patent crack filler 



\i lb. whiting 



Yz doz. sheets No. o sandpaper for rough work 



Yz, doz. sheets No. 00 sandpaper for fine work 



I — 2^-in. flat brush for color 



1 — % or H-in. flat brush for color 



I — 2^-in. flat, chisel shape, varnish brush 



I — % or M-in., chisel shape, varnish brush 



I or 2 camel's hair stripers — fine 



I camel's hair, or sable lettering brush, small 



The large brushes are for the board 

 surfaces, and the small brushes for the 

 edges, moldings, etc. 



The whiting and Japan drier will be 

 necessary to make hard putty, but unless 

 the depressions are deep, use the patent 

 crack-filler exclusively. 



Add enough black color to the putty so 

 that it will match the gray color of the 

 priming coat. Putty is made of whiting, 

 raw linseed oil and Japan. A good putty 

 can be made of dry white lead mixed in 

 equal quantities of coach Japan and rubbing 

 varnish, which is reduced with turpentine 

 if necessary. Whiting is designated in the 

 list of materials, but if the last mentioned 

 recipe is used a small quantity of dry white 

 lead can be used instead of whiting. 



Tell your dealer what you want the 

 materials for. He may be able to give you 

 some valuable information regarding new 

 preparations. 



Painting Room 



Select a clean, well lighted place in which 

 to paint the car. A room that can be 

 heated, if necessary, is best. Jack the car 

 up on 4 strong boxes or trestles. Arrange 

 them far enough away from the wheels to 

 give you room to work on the inner sides 

 of wheels. Do not remove the wheels as 

 the bearings may drop out, and. they are 

 hard to replace. 



Wash off all the mud you can with a 

 hose. Scrape off all greasy mud and grease, 

 with a scraper or putty knife. Take a 

 stiff brush, dip it in gasoline, and loosen up 

 what remains in the crevices and on the 

 surface. Clean out the brush and give a 

 final scrubbing with clean gasoline to re- 

 move all traces of grease and greasy mud. 



457 



