HOUSE AND GARDEN 
October, 19 ii 
249 
It is stated by expert varnishers that 
wood to be varnished should never be 
oiled before filling. Varnish acts as a 
preservative, filling pores of the wood and 
making them air tight—unless it should 
crack and admit moisture. Therefore the 
important thing is to apply a good var¬ 
nish that does not crack. 
The finishing of inside woodwork is of 
course a much more particular process 
than that for outside. 
A good house varnish should be dry to 
the touch over night at summer tempera¬ 
ture in dry weather, and should stand a 
week before the second coat is applied. 
With a thin soft varnish the application is 
best made by first brushing quickly with 
the grain of the wood, then against it, and 
then with the grain again. This insures 
uniformity in the coating. 
The average person knows in a general 
way the difference between hard and soft 
wood ; but nothing regarding the grain. In 
varnishing and painting the differences of 
grain are important, and the terms ‘‘open 
grain” and “close grain” are used. All woods 
are of course porous; those having small 
pores are “close grained,” like pine, cypress, 
cedar, birch, cherry, maple and whitewood. 
The “open grain” woods, such as chestnut, 
oak and ash, have large pores. Good re¬ 
sults are more difficult of achievement in 
finishing open grain woods—hard and 
soft—than in the close-grain. The reason 
is obvious; open grained woods have the 
grain carefully filled with a “wood filler” 
or “primer,” a sort of paste paint or shel¬ 
lac. This filler is usually thinned with 
turpentine, and the mixture is almost color¬ 
less; if desired to stain the wood the filler 
may be colored with an oil stain. The 
filler is thoroughly rubbed in with a stiff 
brush, and the surplus removed with excel¬ 
sior by rubbing against the grain. Use 
wood sticks to clean out corners; never 
steel tools. The filler should be allowed to 
dry at the least twelve hours. 
If the pores of the wood are not well 
filled before applying the varnish, they will 
show through all subsequent coatings, and 
the finish will be uneven. 
The first coat of varnish over a filler 
is apt to leave the wood slightly rough. 
There are several good methods of pro¬ 
cedure after the first coat is applied. After 
it is dry, in from five to ten days, the first 
coat may be rubbed with curled hair or ex¬ 
celsior to remove the gloss before apply¬ 
ing the second coat. The second coat is 
lightly rubbed with fine sandpaper or 
gloss paper after rubbing with curled hair. 
If the third coat is the last (four coats are 
better) the natural gloss may be preserved 
as a finishing, or it may be rubbed with felt 
saturated with water and powdered pum¬ 
ice, to make a dull or flat finish, which is 
washed with clean water and dried with 
two rubbings of chamois skin. The natural 
gloss finish is supposed to be more durable 
than the dull finish. 
Another method is to use sandpaper on 
the first coat of dry varnish; the second 
to be rubbed with powdered pumice and 
water. Water helps to harden the sur- 
DURABLE AND ARTISTIC ROOFING 
Meurer’s Metal, Spanish 
and Mission Tiles 
Residence of W. T. Phillips, San Mateo, Cal. 
Covered with Meurer’s Metal Tile 
Th« Ideal Roof Covering 
made in tin, galvanized and copper 
MEURER BROTHERS CO. 
MANUFACTURERS 
575 Flushing Ave. Brooklyn, N. Y. 
WORKS, Washington, Penn. 
130 East 129th St., New York Clt 
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