PAI.VTING AND VARNISHING. 393 



and diminishing the japan ; this is called priming for 

 the grounding. After this two or three coats of filling 

 up, or grounding, composed of powdered ochre, japan, 

 and a considerable proportion of turpentine, must be 

 laid on ; after having done this properly, if there are 

 any holes above the heads of nails, or other small 

 indentations in the panels, they ought to be filled up 

 with white lead ground in turpentine and mixed up with 

 japanners' gold size. When all this is quite dry and 

 hard, the painter, having flattened a piece of pumice- 

 stone on one side, applies it with water to the 

 panels, and by constantly and regularly rubbing 

 them all over, produces a smooth, even surface. After 

 this, the body is laid over with a colour, preparatory 

 to that with which it is to be finished. If the colour 

 is ultimately to be light, the preparatory colour must 

 be light also, and the reverse if the colour is to be 

 dark. In this part of the operation, which is called 

 priming for the body colour, two or three coats will 

 be necessary. When all these previous coats are 

 quite dry, the body colour is laid over them, and it 

 depends upon the particular colour and shade what 

 number of coats will be necessary. One coat must 

 succeed another until the colour is quite solid, that 

 is, until there is no cloud or inequality of shade per- 

 ceptible in any part of the whole. After this, the 

 best copal varnish ought to be made use of, and a 

 body cannot be well varnished without six coats, 

 and seven if the panels are to be polished. Betwixt 

 each coat of paint, the panels ought to be smoothed 

 with sand-paper, and after each coat of varnish they 

 ought to be well rubbed down with pumice-stone, 

 reduced to a very fine powder, put upon a piece of 

 woollen cloth, made up into a roll as hard as possible, 

 and moistened with w^ater, care being taken to smooth 



