JAPANNING. 



Ja)wnninij 

 at tin nnj 



ns is necessary, the work is polished with a rag dipped 

 in fine powdered pumice stone, or rotten stone ; and 

 when a good surface is thus obtained, it is finished by 

 rubbing it with the hand alone, or with butter or 

 oil. 



About the middle of the last century, almost all ele- 

 gant furniture was japanned by these means ; but it is 

 now disused, except for coaches, and for some small ar- 

 ticles. The japanning of such articles as will bear the 

 heat of a stove, to harden the varnish, is now brought 

 to a very high perfection, and is very cheap compared 

 with the lac japan. 



Japanning of tin and paper mares ly the stove. This 

 i s distinguished into two kinds ; clear work, in which 

 es the japan is required to be transparent ; and black ja- 

 " e " pan, which is opake. The varnish for clear work is 

 Clear japan composed of raw linseed -oil, umber, and a little am- 

 vsrniah. ^^ w j[ n a sma u portion of white rosin. These ma- 

 terials are boiled for several hours in a cast-iron pot, 

 which is set in brickwork over a furnace, and the 

 mouth of the pot surrounded by a funnel or chimney 

 of brickwork, with only one opening to obtain access 

 to it ; and this opening is provided with an iron door 

 to shut close in case the materials should take fire. The 

 boiling evaporates the most fluid parts of the oil, and 

 the varnish becomes thick. It is known to be suffi- 

 ciently boiled by letting fall a drop on a piece of tin- 

 plate; and if it does not spread upon the surface, but 

 keeps in a circumscribed spot, the varnish is esteemed 

 sufficiently boiled, and may be taken out of the boiler. 

 This varnish is to be mixed up to a proper consistence 

 for working with spirit of turpentine, the varnish being 

 .a little warm. 



Black japan The black japan varnish is made by the same pro- 

 varnish. C ess, but aspnaltum is used instead .of amber ; and it 

 is thinned for use with tar spirit instead of spirit of 

 turpentine ; also lamp black is added to the varnish. 

 . Either of these varnishes are to be laid upon the work 

 by a soft hog's hair brush, such as is known by the 

 name of a painter's tool, and it must be prepared by 

 drawing out all the hairs which are thicker than the 

 others, or all those which have the flesh end downwards. 

 The work must be carefully cleaned from dirt, resin, 

 j&c. and with this brush it is thinly coated over with 

 the varnish. Jt is left for a few minutes to set, and 

 it is then put into the drying stove, the heat of which 

 at first makes the varnish more fluid, and it flows with 

 great evenness over all the surface ; but when the spi- 

 rits evaporate, the varnish becomes solid, and in thirty 

 or forty minutes may be taken out, and suffered to cool 

 previous to varnishing again. The proper time for the 

 1 second application, is known by applying the ringer 

 on the varnished surface with a moderate pressure; 

 if the adhesion of the varnish is such that the finger 

 will not slide over the surface, at the same time that 

 there is no actual sticking to the finger, it is then in 

 .the right state to receive another coat of varnish. 

 The work should not be suffered to dry beyond this 

 state, otherwise the successive coats wjll not adhere 

 so firmly. A second varnish being applied, the article 

 is dried again ; then a third coat is applied, and the 

 work is left in the stove five or six hours, or all night, 

 to harden and dry off the varnish. If it is the clear 

 varnish which is thus treated, this time will be suffi- 

 cient ; but it will grow darker in proportion as it is 

 longer exposed to the heat, or as the heat is increased. 

 For black work the heat is raised as high as possible, 

 without melting the soldering, or charring the varnish ; 

 &nd this is continued three or four days. This process 



makes the hardest and most durable of all varnishes, Japanning, 

 and of a most brilliant jet black colour. V *""Y"'' 



To obtain a smooth surface, it is rubbed with wool- 

 len rag with pumice stone powder and water, and it is 

 polished by rottenstone powder, and finished by the 

 friction of the bare hand with a little butter. 



Mottled japan in imitation of tortoise shell. This Mottled ja- 

 is done by covering the tin with one coat of varnish as pan, in imi- 

 above, mixed with Venetian red, and then it is coated tatio ? of 

 with black varnish. The fingers are drawn over the '"j"' 86 

 varnished surface in a waving direction, to distribute 

 the varnish unequally, and thus cause the red colour to 

 be shewn through in spots or clouds, imitating tortoise 

 shell. Otherwise the tin is painted in spots with ver- 

 milion mixed in shell lac varnish ; and this is coated 

 with the clear varnish, which is afterwards stoved till 

 it becomes deeply coloured, and is rather opake, so that . 

 it shews the vermilion spots and the surface of the tin 

 beneath in an imperfect manner, and much resembles 

 the clouds of tortoise shell. 



Some simple articles in wood may be treated in this 

 way, provided they are not put together in pieces with 

 glue, and are not liable to be split by the heat ; for in- 

 stance, walking canes are most beautifully ornamented 

 at Birmingham. These processes of japanning by heat 

 are to be found in some receipts by Kunkel, but do 

 not appear to have been practised till the Birmingham 

 manufacture was begun. 



When ornamental painting or gilding is required, it 

 is done upon a clear japan ground when the same is 

 set. A layer of gold size being spread over the sur- 

 face, (see GILDING,) the leaf gold or gold powder is 

 applied, and also the required painting, the colours be 

 ing mixed as before directed for lac japanning. Sten- 

 cils are sometimes used to lay the gold powder in par- 

 ticular patterns : they are pieces of paper with openings 

 cut out in particular forms ; and being applied upon 

 the surface of the work, if the powder is applied by a 

 piece of rag it will be laid according to the pattern cat 

 out. A variety of different coloured metallic bronze 

 powders are used in the Birmingham ware ; and for the 

 smaller parts they lay them on with stump brushes. 



Transparent or Ponl-y-pool Japan. The articles ja- Transpa- 

 panned in this way are prepared by a good ground of rent or 

 black varnish made very smooth; a layer of gold size is Pont-y.pool 

 then laid on, and the whole surface is covered with silver J a P 3n - 

 powder ; upon this is laid a coat of thin varnish mixed 

 with the desired colour, such as Prussian blue, or lake 

 mixed with spirit of turpentine, to make it spread. When 

 this is dry, it is sized over, and painted or ornamented 

 with gilding in silver leaf or powder. The whole is 

 coated with an external varnish of a gold colour, which 

 changes the colour of the silver leaf to that of gold. 



The use of the first coat of silver powder is to give a 

 resplendency to the colour, which is very beautiful. 



The French have a mode of producing flowered stains 

 of colour of the most brilliant hues, which are waved 

 very much like the flowers which are found in a frosty 

 morning upon the windows of an apartment. We are 

 informed that it is done by means of an acid applied to 

 the surface of the tin before it is japanned. 



The stoves for japanning are built of brick or stone, 

 generally three stories high, with three stoves upon each 

 floor. The fire is at the bottom, and is covered over 

 with a strong iron plate. The flues are carried up at 

 the sides and ends of the stoves, and are made to af- 

 ford three different degrees of heat, for drying off the 

 clear varnish, or for darkening it, or for darkening the 

 black varnish, (j. F.) 



