VARNISH. 



Varnish, Copal Oil, called in France vernis martin, is 

 made by pouring into a well-glazed Urong carthern pot, in 

 ftiape refembling a chocolate pot, and in iize large enough 

 to hold about a gallon, and made warm, four ounces of 

 Chio or Cyprus turpentine, and when this is diffolved, eight 

 ounces of finely powdered amber ; mingling them well, and 

 fetting them on the fire for a quarter of an hour ; take off 

 ;the pot, and pour gently into it a pound of copal, finely 

 ■ bruifed, but not powdered ; ftir the mafs, and add four 

 ounces of Chio turpentine, and a gill of warm turpentine 

 oil ; then fet it on a brillc fire for about half an hour, and 

 taking it off, ftir the contents well, and add two ounces of 

 the fineil and whitcil colophony. Let the pot be put on a 

 very briflc fire, and remain till the whole is diffolved, and 

 become as fluid as water; let it be removed from the fire, 

 ! and remain for a few minutes, and then gradually pour in 

 twenty-four ounces of poppy, nut, or linfeed-oil, made 

 drying, and boiling hot, and ftir the mafs with a deal ftick. 

 When the gums and oil are thoroughly incorporated, fet 

 them over the fire for a few minutes, ftill ftirring them 

 ,about, and let them boil once up ; and having taken off the 

 pot, pour into it a quart of hot turpentine ; ftir them toge- 

 ther, and give them one boil up ; take off the pot, and pour 

 into it a pint more of hot turpentine, ftill ftirring it well. 

 If the gums arc thoroughly melted, and well incorporated, 

 the varnilh is made ; which, being cool, is ftrained through 

 a clofe cloth into another veffel, and, if it be too thick, 

 thinned with oil of turpentine, till it becomes of the con- 

 fiftence of linfeed-oil ; ftrain it a fecond time, bottle it for 

 ufe, and let it ftand a month, at leaft, before it is ufed. 

 This varnilh is ufed for coaches, cabinets, &c. ; and the 

 piece, whatever it be, after having been varniftied fmoothly, 

 and dried in the intervals half a dozen times, and fuffered 

 thoroughly to dry, muft be rubbed with a wet coarfe rag, 

 dipped in pumice-ftone, powdered and fiftod, till the ftreaks 

 ef the brufh and all blemifties are removed. When it is 

 perfeftly fmoothed, waftied, and dried, the coats of varnifti 

 arc to be repeated, for ten or twelve times, till there be a 

 fufficient body. After having again ufed the powdered 

 pumice-ftone, and waftied it off as before, let it be rubbed 

 with fine emery, till the furface becomes even and fmoothas 

 glafs ; then with powder of fine rotten ftone, till by paffmg 

 the palm of the hand two or three times over the fame 

 place, you difcover a glofs equal to that of glafs : having 

 dried it clean, dip a rag, or piece of flannel, in fweet oil, 

 and rub the furface a few times over, and clear it off with 

 fine dry powder, flour, or the hand ; and a piece of fine 

 flannel, dipped in flour, and rubbed over it, when cleared of 

 th9 oil, will give it an excellent luftre. Between every coat 

 of varnifti it will be advifeable, if the fubjeft admits of it, 

 to fet it in a warm oven ; or to heat the varnifhed pieces 

 by ttoves. See Copal. 



Varnish, Gold-coloured. See Lacquer. 



The compofition of a gold-coloured varnilh, ufed by the 

 EiigUfli artitts for brafs and filver, was communicated to 

 fome of the French academicians in 1720, by Mr. Scarlet, 

 and in 1738 by Mr. Graham, and publidied in the volume 

 of the French Memoirs for 176 1. It is as follows : Take 

 two ounces of gum lac, two ounces of yellow amber, 

 forty grains of dragon's blood in tears, half a drachm of 

 faiTron, and forty ounces of good fpirit of wine : infufe and 

 digeft in the ufual manner, and then ftrain through a linen 

 cloth. The piece to be varniflied muft be heated before 

 the liquid is applied : it receives from the varnifli a gold 

 colour, and may be cleaned, when fullied, with wairm 

 v/ater. 



V A&viSH for prefer-oing poiyhed Iron from Ruft. See Iron. 



Many methods have been ufed for preferving iron utenfils 

 from ruft, as animal fats, oils, boiled oil mixed with melttd 

 lead, &c. Ho-nberg's falve for this purpofe confifts of two 

 pounds of hog's-lard, an ounce of camphor, and as much 

 black lead as will render the mixture of an iron-colour ; 

 when this is ufed, the iron muft be previoufly heated. M. 

 Reaumur has difcovered a better compofition for this pur- 

 pofe ; it is oil, infpiffated by being expofed to the air in 

 flat ftiallow veffels, fo as juft to cover the bottom, mixed 

 with a folution of copal in fpirit of wine : this forms an 

 elegant hard varnifti, which, rubbed on poliftied iron, made 

 a little hotter than the hand can bear, will cover it with a 

 folid, thin, tranfparent coat, without any injury to its 

 colour or appearance. See Rust. 



Varnish, Lacca, is made of gum lacca and fpirit of 

 wine, frequently ftiaken till the gum be diffolved, then 

 ftrained, and the clear liquor decanted off. 



The lacca ought to be of the kind called feed lacca. 

 ( See Lac. ) Three ounces of this, well purified by re- 

 peated ablution of water, dried and powdered grofsly, 

 ftiould be put into a bottle with a pint of reftified (pirit of 

 wine, fo as to fill about two-thirds of it, and the bottle 

 placed in a gentle heat ; proceeding as above : though for 

 varniftiing ordinary woods, fliell lacca is often ufed. For 

 this purpofe, five ounces of tlie beft ftiell lacca fliould be 

 grofsly powdered, and put into a bottle, holding about 

 three pints or two quarts, with one quart of reftified fpirit 

 of wine ; and placed in a gentle heat : the mixture muft 

 be filtered through a flannel bag. To this varnifti, the 

 colours ufed in varnifti painting may be added, and pro- 

 perly diluted with reftified fpirit, and kept in phials, or tm 

 veffels clofely ftopped for ufe. But this will not ftand 

 againft the weather. 



For various preparations of this kind, fee Japanning 

 and Lacquer. 



Varnish, Maflich, is made by putting five ounces of 

 powdered maftich into a proper bottle, with a pound of 

 fpirit of turpentine, and fetting them to boil in balnco 

 Mariee, till the maftich be diffolved, and ftraining the folu- 

 tion through flannel. This varnifti may be converted into 

 a proper varnifti for painting, by grinding one ounce of 

 gum anime on a ftone with water, till it becomes an im- 

 palpable powder ; then drying it, and grinding it again 

 with half an ounce of turpentine, and afterwards with the 

 proper colours, and moiftening it with the maftich varnifti, 

 till the mixture be of a due confiftence for working with 

 the pencil. It muft then be kept in phials or tin veflels, 

 and diluted, as there may be occafion, with fpirit of tur- 

 pentine. 



V AKfiiSH for preferving Paintings. See Picture. 



For this purpofe fome have recommended the following 

 compofition : viz. half a pound of gum faudarac ; an ounce 

 and a half of Venice turpentine ; three-quai-ters of an ounce 

 of each of the gums anime and copal ; half an ounce of 

 maftich ; benzoin, gum elemi, and white refin, each tvvo 

 drachms, and one pound of rcftified fpirit. The benzoin 

 and gum anime powdered, are put with the Venice turpen- 

 tine into a phial, with eight ounces of the fpirit of wine ; 

 the copal and refin powdered are alfo put in a phial with 

 fix ounces, and the powdered gum clemi, with two ounces 

 of fpirit of wine. The feveral phials are frequently ftiaken, 

 till the gum, &c. are diffolved ; then the folutions are 

 ftrained through a fine linen in one bottle, and when the 

 mixture has ftood fome days, it is decanted off clear, and 

 kept in a feparate bottle for ufe. Some have fubftituted 

 the farcocolla for the copal. Another compofition is 

 formed, by diffolving maftich and fandarac, grofsly pow- 

 dered, 



