J APANN I N G. 6g7 
Yellow grounds may be likewife formed of the Dutch 
pink only ; which, when good, will not be wanting in 
brightness', though extremely cheap. 
Green Grounds. —Green grounds may be produced by 
mixing the king’s yellow and bright Pruflian blue, or ra¬ 
ther the turpeth mineral and Pruffian blue ; and a cheap 
but fouler kind, by verdegris with a little of the above- 
mentioned yellows, or Dutch pink. But, where a very 
bright green is wanted, the cryftals'of verdegris, called 
dijlilled verdigris, fliould be employed ; and to heighten 
the effeCt they fliould be laid on a ground of leaf-gold, 
which renders the colour extremely brilliant and pleating. 
They may any of them be ufed fuccefsfully with good 
feed-lac varnilh, for the reafon before given ; but will be 
ilill brighter with white varnilh. 
Orange-coloured Grounds. —Orange-coloured japan grounds 
may be formed by mixing vermilion or red-lead with king’s 
yellow, or Dutch pink 5 or the orange-lac, which will 
make a brighter orange ground than can be produced by 
any mixture. 
Purple Grounds. —Purple japan grounds may be produced 
by the mixture of lake and Pruflian blue ; or a fouler 
kind, by vermilion and Pruflian blue. They may be 
treated as the reft with refpeCt to the varnifli. 
Black Grounds to .be produced without Heat. —Black grounds 
may be formed by either ivory-black or lamp-black; but 
the former is preferable where it is perfectly good. 
Thefe may be always laid on with fliell-lac varnifli; and 
have their upper or polifliing coats of common feed-lac 
varnifli, as the tinge or foulnefs of the varnifli can be here 
ao injury. 
Common Black Grounds on Iron or Copper, produced by means 
of Heat. —For forming the common black japan grounds 
by means of heat, the piece of. work to be japanned mult 
be painted over with drying oil; and, when it is of a 1110- 
defate dryiiefs, muft be put into a ftove of fuch degree of 
heat as will change the oil to black, without burning it 
fo as to deftroy or vyeaken its tenacity. The ftove fliould 
not be too hot when the work is put into it, nor the heat 
Increafed too fall; either of which errors would make it 
blifter; but the flower the heat is augmented, and the 
longer it is continued, provided it be reftrained within 
the due degree, the harder will be the coat of japan. 
This kind of varnifli requires no polifli, having received, 
when properly managed, a fufficient one from the heat. 
The fine Tcrtoife-Jhell Ground produced by means of Heat .— 
The bell kind of tortoife-lhell ground produced by heat 
is not lefs valuable for its great hardnefs, and enduring 
to be made hotter than boiling water without damage, 
than for its beautiful appearance. It is to be made by 
means of a varnifli prepared in the following manner: 
“ Take of good linfeed-oil one gallon, and of umbre half a 
pound ; boil them together till the oil becomes very brown 
and thick ; (train, it then through a coarfe cloth, and fet it 
again to boil; in which ftate it muft be continued till it 
acquires a pitchy confluence; when it will befit for ufe.” 
Having prepared thus the varnifli,. clean well the iron 
or copper plate or other piece which is to be japanned ; 
end then lay vermilion tempered with fliell-lac vamifli, 
or with drying-oil diluted with oil of turpentine, very 
thinly on tjie places intended to imitate the more tranl- 
parent parts of the tortoife-lhell. When the vermilion is 
dry, brufh over the whole with the black varnifh, tem¬ 
pered to a due confidence with oil of turpentine; and, 
when it is fet and firm, put the work into a ftove, where 
it may undergo a very ftrong heat, and muft be con¬ 
tinued a confiderable time; if even three weeks or a 
month, it will be the better. 
This was given amongft other receipts by Kunckel; 
but appears to have been negleCted till it was revived 
with great luccefs in the Birmingham manufactures, where 
it was not only the ground of fnuff-boxes, drefling-boxes, 
»nd other luch final! pieces, but of thole beautiful tea- 
waiters which have been fo juftly efteemed and admired 
in feveral parts of Europe where they have been lent. 
Vgl,. X. No. 704., 
This ground may be decorated with painting and gilding, 
in the fame-manner as any other varnilhed furface, which 
had bell be done after the ground has been duly harden¬ 
ed by the hot ftove ; but it is well to give a fecond an¬ 
nealing with a .more gentle heat after it is finiilied. 
Method of Pa in ting. —-Ja pan work ought properly to be 
painted with colours in varnilh ; though, in order for the 
greater difpatch, and, in 1'ome very nice works in fmall, 
for the freer ufe of the pencil, the colours are l'ometimes 
tempered in oil; which fliould previoully have a fourth 
part of its weight of gum-animi diilplved in it; or, in 
default of that, of gum-fand.arac or gum-maftich. When 
the oil is thus ufed, it fliould be well diluted with fpirit 
of turpentine, that the colours may be laid more evenly 
and thin ; by which means, fewer of the polifliing or up¬ 
per coats of varnifli become neceflary. 
In Tome inftances, water-colours are laid on grounds of 
gold, in the manner of other paintings ; and are bell when: 
lo ufed in their proper appearance, without any varnifli 
over them ; and they are alfo l'ometimes fo managed as to 
have the e tie cl of embofled work. The colours employed 
in this way for painting, are bell prepared by means of ifm- 
glais fize corrected with honey or fugar-candy. The body 
of which the embofled work is railed, need not however be 
tinged with the exterior colour, but may be bell formed 
of very ftrong gum-water, thickened to a proper confiit- 
ence by bole-armenian and whiting in equal parks ; which 
being laid on the proper figure, and repaired when dry, 
may be then painted with the proper colours tempered in 
the ifinglafs fize, or in the general manner with fliell-lac 
vamifli. 
Manner of Varnifling. —The laft and finifliing part of ja¬ 
panning lies in the laying on and polifliing the outer 
coats of varnilh ; which are neceflary, as well in the pieces 
that have only one Ample ground of colour, as with thole 
that are painted. This is in general bed done with com¬ 
mon feed-lac varnifli, except in the Alliances and on thofe 
occafions where we have already Ihown other methods to 
be more expedient; and the fame reafons which decide 
as to the fitnefs or impropriety of the varnilhes, with re¬ 
fpeCt to the colours of the ground, hold equally with re¬ 
gard to thofe of the painting; for where brightnefs is the 
moll material point, and a tinge of yellow will injure it, 
feed-lac muft give way to the whiter gums; but, where hard- 
nefs, and a greater tenacity, are moil efiential, it muft be ad¬ 
hered to; and where both are fo neceflary, that it is pro¬ 
per that one flio<\ld give way to the other in a certain de¬ 
gree reciprocally, a mixed varnifn muft be adopted. 
This mixed varnilh, as we have already obferved, fliould 
be made of the picked feed-lac. The common feed-lac 
varnilh, which is the moll ufeful preparation of the kind 
hitherto invented, may be thus made : “ Take of feed- 
lac three ounces, and put it into water to free it from the 
Hicks and filth that are frequently intermixed with it g 
and which muft be done by Hinting it about, and then 
pouring off the water, and adding frelh quantities in or¬ 
der to repeat the operation, till it be freed from all im¬ 
purities, as it very effectually may be by this means. Dry 
it then, and powder it grofsly, and put it, with a pint of 
rectified lpirit of wine, into a bottle, of which it will not 
fill above two-thirds. Shake the mixture well together; 
and place the bottle in a gentle heat, till the feed appears 
to be dillblved ; the flialdng being in the mean rime re¬ 
peated as often as may be convenient; and then pour off 
all that can be obtained clear by this method, and ftrain 
the remainder through a coarfe cloth. The varnilh thus 
prepared muft be kept for ufe in a bottle well llopt. 
When the fpirit of wine is very ftrong, it will diflolvs 
a greater proportion of the feed-lac; but this will faturats 
the common, which is feldom of a ftrength fufficient for 
making varnilhes in perfection. As the chilling, which, 
is the molt inconvenient accident attending thofe of this 
kind, is prevented, or produced more frequently, accord¬ 
ing to the ftrength of the fpirit; we lhall therefore taka 
this opportunity of lh owing a method by which weaker 
$ P rectified 
