CHAPTER III. PRIMING--LEAD COATS--RUB LEAD--KNIFING LEAD--PUTTY AND PUTTYING--SANDPAPERING--ROUGHSTUFF, APPLYING AND RUBBING IT--MATERIALS USED IN FOUNDATION COATS--MIXING FORMULAS, ETC.

Fine and durable carriage and wagon painting cannot be accomplished upon foundations in anywise weak or unstable. The supreme aim of the painter, then, should be to begin at the base of the foundation and, with patient toil and skill, aided by materials of recognized value, bring up a surface of uniform excellence and quality.

MATERIALS.

White lead and raw linseed oil; an invincible combination in the old days—shall we not say invincible still? Assuredly, nothing surpasses it today when conditions are favorable to its proper treatment; nothing upon the horizon of coming events bids fair to surpass it. It is only when the limitations of time intervene, when we must perforce bow down and worship the great American idol, Hurry, that the sinewy strength and permanency of white lead, linseed oil, and the few other constituents which enter into the foundation coats, are seriously shattered.

White lead, for example, must of necessity figure as an elemental part of the lead coats, if not of the priming, of putty, and of roughstuff. It is not now impossible to find primers being used entirely devoid of lead, but the burden of proof remains favorable to the excellence of lead. A pigment filler is quite as necessary as a liquid one. And pure white lead, Dutch process, if it please my readers—observe its properties in this respect: It is of great density, body, permanent to a rare degree, of impalpable smoothness when properly ground, and chemically unites with oil, forming a kind of varnish, which makes it a filler and pore sealer of great value. In addition, it absorbs more oil, solidifies it, and remains elastic for a greater length of time, except red lead perhaps, than any other pigment so far discovered. Moreover, it mixes happily with all other pigments which do not contain a sulphur ingredient. Briefly, these are the properties which recommend it to the carriage painter. Its noble running mate, raw linseed oil—what of it as a paint oil? Its chief virtue lies in the fact that when exposed to the air it gradually, in drying, absorbs a large proportion of oxygen, which, it is declared by Hurst, "forms a new compound of a resinous character," remarkably elastic and stable.

Since the failure of the P. W. F.'s and various other substitutes for the historic lead and oil surfacing agents, to meet the exacting needs of the trade, the swift processes now practiced have pressed into service time quickening aids which, in a work of this kind, it would scarcely seem fit to omit.

Many painters have adopted yellow ochre as a main ingredient for priming, and in particularly hurried instances, or, in fact, in the priming of a certain grade of regular factory work, varnish and, to some extent, turpentine are used. Ochre of good quality, finely ground (a coarse ground ochre is worthless in carriage painting), and containing a strong percentage of silica, is a valuable component of priming. Silica is an acknowledged pore filler, and in many of the wood fillers heralded along the highway of commerce it is the piece de resistance. A high grade ochre is a good drying and a very permanent pigment. It is a first-class surfacing material and not easily affected by atmospheric or other impurities. Thus we have the ingredients which, properly combined and manipulated, form the basis of all beautiful and durable carriage painting as gauged according to present day standards. Let us now consider the separate parts of the foundation building.

PRIMING.

Priming is the agent required to go into and saturate the minute cells and pores of the wood, getting a firm grip of the fibers, sealing them against moisture, and affording the painter a tough, elastic ground for his leveling materials to follow.

Primer No. 1.—White lead and raw linseed oil, darkened to a lead color with lampblack. A teaspoonful of coach japan to be added to each pint of the mixture, or omitted, as the time limit may impose.

No. 2.—White lead, 2 parts; yellow ochre, 1 part. Liquid, raw linseed oil. The use of japan to depend upon circumstances.

No. 3.—White lead, 1 part; yellow ochre, 2 parts. Liquid, raw linseed oil.

No. 4.—White lead, 1 part; yellow ochre, 2 parts. Liquids, rubbing varnish 1/4; turpentine 1/4; raw linseed oil 1/2. A tablespoonful of japan to each quart of the mixture. This is a very quick primer, that can be sandpapered the day following its application.

No. 5.—White lead, shaded with lampblack. Liquids, rubbing varnish 1 part; raw linseed oil 5 parts.

In the above formulas keg lead is referred to.

Priming should contain just enough pigment to stain the oil. Only in this form does it perform the functions of a primer. Some hardwood surfaces, negative in composition, require a priming thinned somewhat with turpentine; otherwise such close textured spaces of wood are not sufficiently penetrated by the oily particles of the priming. The durability of the priming rests largely upon the penetration of the oil into the arteries of the wood along with a certain necessary per cent. of the pigment.

It is a good plan not to follow the surfacing of a job in the wood shop too closely with the priming. Immoderate pressure of the wood fibres usually results from the pressure of the wood worker's leveling methods. Give the wood time to expand before priming, but not time to absorb moisture. Graining out of surfaces often results from priming a surface too soon as well as too late. Many factors must necessarily be considered in order to have the priming coat do all that it should do. The condition of the wood, the climate, season, atmosphere, etc., all require diligent study. The application of the priming to the surface deserves particular attention. Granted that first-class filling and surfacing pigments, combined with liquids rich in gummy resinous matters, make the ideal primer, the coating fails of its mission when practices of neglect mark its application to the surface. Therefore, apply the priming smoothly and in a uniform film to the surface. Coat all parts of a job, outside, top, bottom—everywhere. Insist upon its being well brushed out—just as any coat of paint should be.

THE LEAD COATS.

What we shall be pleased to term "first lead" was formerly made of white (keg) lead thinned to a brushing consistency with linseed oil and turpentine, half and half. That was at a time when egg-shell gloss coats were in demand. A different principle has been established of late years in reference to the composition of the lead coats, and the egg-shell gloss is now regarded with suspicion and, to a large extent, abandoned altogether.

Consequently, the first lead should be mixed of 3/8 oil to 5/8 turps, or even with a still smaller percentage of oil if the limitations of time so direct. Apply this lead with a bristle brush and enforce rigidly the rule of smoothness and sleek brushing out.

"Second lead" means in modern paint shop lingo "flat lead"—a lead that dries to a dull, lustreless appearance, practically "dead lead." It is composed of white lead, thinned to a working consistency with turpentine, and given a binder of oil to the extent of, say 2/3 of a tablespoonful of oil to a pint of the lead. These lead coats should properly contain 1 teaspoonful of japan to a pint of the lead, and be shaded with lampblack. The flat, or dead, lead is best applied with a camel's-hair brush.

RUB LEAD.

In connection with these lead coats attention must be directed to the rub lead process as a part of the system of lead surfacing now practiced in the leading shops of the country. The rub lead is usually used directly upon the priming coat. There are several formulas in circulation for the mixing of the lead, but the writer thinks the one here given (used in the leading factory paint shops) covers the painter's practical needs fully. Mix dry white lead to a grinding consistency in 3/4 raw linseed oil to 1/4 japan, the liquids to be carefully measured. Add enough lampblack to give the mixture a clean slate color, then run through the paint mill, after which reduce to a brushing consistency with the proper proportions of oil and japan. Make the lead just stiff enough to brush on with a fairly stiff bristle brush. Apply to the surface and, after permitting the mixture to take on a "tack" for a quarter of an hour or more as the drying conditions of the apartment may be favorable or otherwise, proceed to rub the lead into the surface with the palm of the hand. For getting a fine, velvety, and very dense surface of pigment, the rub lead system has no rival. However, it cannot be worked over and re-coated so soon after being applied (it should be given 48 hours in which to dry) as can the knifing lead. This

KNIFING LEAD,

or "glazing lead," or "draw putty," as it is variously and locally known, renders it possible to quickly fill and level up a surface, making it compact and solid as to texture.

Knifing lead, No. 1.—Dry white lead 2/3; keg lead 1/3. Liquids, rubbing varnish and japan, thinning to the exact working consistency with a little turps.

No. 2.—Dry white lead, mixed in equal parts of rubbing varnish and japan.

No. 3.—Dry white lead 5/8; keg lead 1/4; roughstuff filler (finely ground) 1/8. Liquids, rubbing varnish 1/2; japan 1/4; turpentine 1/4. This last for large panels.

These leads should all be colored slightly in the direction of the final color to be used upon the work. Carriage and wagon painters use knifing lead on running parts very largely, and especially upon work that must be gotten out quicker than the rub lead would permit. On the panels of business wagons of the medium grade, knifing lead is used to the exclusion of roughstuff. On such panels it is advisable to apply the lead with a bristle brush, applying the lead to the surface a little heavier in body than ordinary paint, and then shortly going over it with a broad blade putty knife, pressing the pigment into the wood and removing the surplus.

Knifing lead deserves to be used and applied with circumspect care and skill if the best and most durable results would be achieved. It demands a firm pressing into the cellular fabric of the wood, accompanied by a clean, tidy removal of all the pigment not actually necessary to the full and complete development of the surface. But little sandpapering should be needed to fit it for any of the succeeding coats of material.

In the painting of running parts of the best grade, when rub lead or knifing lead is employed, the second lead, previously designated as "flat" or "dead" lead, should be employed over the rub or knifing lead, the puttying of the deep cavities and indentations being done directly upon said rub or knifing leads.

PUTTY—MAKING AND USING IT.

Putty No. 1.—The putty of history—past, present, and shall we say of the future?—so far as history applies to carriage painting, is this putty No. 1. Dry white lead, japan and rubbing varnish, the liquids of equal proportions. Probably the best known putty in the jobbing carriage paint shop today.

No. 2.—Dry white lead 3/4; keg lead 1/4. Rubbing varnish and japan, half and half.

No. 3.—Keg lead, 4 parts; dry white lead 1 part. Rubbing varnish and gold size japan, equal parts.

No. 4, a putty for white work.—Dry white lead 1/2; pulverized steatite or soapstone 1/4; dry oxide of zinc 1/8; dry silica 1/8. Liquids, very pale rubbing varnish 1/2; light (in color) japan 3/8; turpentine 1/8.

No. 5.—Dry white lead 2/3; keg lead 1/3. Rubbing varnish and japan, equal proportions. Into this mix the woof or fine pickings of velvet or plush. This is especially intended to be used around glass in heavy vehicles.

No. 6.—This is a putty to be used on old work having rough cavities, splintery crevices, and the like. It cannot be sandpapered, but will dry tough, neither chipping nor flaking. Keg lead 1 part; whiting 2 parts. Mix stiff in thick varnish and raw linseed oil, equal parts; then thicken up to the right consistence with dry white lead.

No. 7.—For shallow cavities requiring a filling that dries quick and hard. Dry lead 3 parts; plaster of paris 1 part. Equal parts of quick rubbing varnish and japan.

No. 8.—Deep hole putty. Whiting mixed with raw linseed oil and japan, equal parts. Then into this mixture mix plush woof. Drive a small head tack or two in bottom of hole and then fill in nearly level with the surface with this putty. Slash a couple of openings into it with putty knife to quicken the drying, and then in due time level up with regular putty.

No. 9.—Expansive shallow dents in a carriage surface require a peculiar kind of putty or cement. Finely ground pumice stone 3 parts; dry lead 1 part. Mix to a working condition in thick glue. Apply the putty so that it will show some above the surface. After 10 hours rub down with lump pumice stone and raw linseed oil.

No. 10.—Here is a putty that will stick and at the same time sandpaper nicely. Shade dry lead with a little lampblack, and mix with 3/4 coach japan and 1/4 rubbing varnish, along with a dash of turpentine.

The carriage painter will do well to use sparingly of whiting—even gilder's whiting—in making a putty intended for use upon fine surfaces. Whiting, or, in the speech of the chemist, carbonate of calcium, is a hard drying, tenacious, stout sticking pigment, but possesses the ever present property of granulating and working coarse and gritty under the putty knife.

When coloring matter is added to putty, be governed by what the final color of the job is to be. Hammer putty well on the mixing block to make it tough and elastic. Do this at the time of making it and before use in order to expel the accumulated moisture. Make it in sufficient quantity to last for some time. Keep the putty in water in a dust proof holder—an air tight one is better. See putty-holder illustrated herewith.

The way in which putty is applied has largely to do with making it serve the surface good or ill. Good puttying is not accomplished by nimble feats of jugglery. The putty knife demands to be skillfully handled and wisely directed. Putty, in the economy of carriage painting, is quite as indispensable as paint or varnish. In point of fact, each is dependent upon the other. Just enough is a critical point in deciding how much and how little of putty a surface requires. Here are four rules for guidance in the art of puttying:

1.—Never putty on the priming coat.

2.—Putty all work as smooth as possible. It is economy and increases the chance for producing first-class work.

3.—Avoid, always, puttying a crevice, depression, or cavity in the wood, or a joint between two pieces of wood, that is subject to diverse forms of resistance. The wrenching and twisting of the vehicle will loosen the putty and eventually eject it.

4.—In puttying over nails, plugs, etc., press the pigment firmly into the hole, filling just level with the surface, and carefully slick up all surplus putty.

The painter will need for general puttying purposes, in addition to a spatula or two (which see), at least four different styles of putty knife; one large or wide blade knife, a two-inch blade say, one square point blade, ordinary size, one beveled point, and one oval point. Knives of different shapes will greatly facilitate the labor of puttying, which at best is often tedious.

SANDPAPERING

If it were feasible, sandpaper would, no doubt, be voted down and out of the paint shop. At present, however, it cannot well be removed from the system of carriage surfacing. The task of sandpapering, viewed from its rosiest side, is toilsome, dirt-inviting, girt up by a waistband of unpleasant features, but, alas! we must have level and smooth surfaces if we would have beautiful ones, and sandpapering affords the means of getting them. It is one of the aids—one of the great aids, let us bear in mind—to the admirable surface effects sought for in the art of carriage painting. It cannot be slighted or to any extent be done imperfectly without marring the appearance or subtracting from the durability of the surface when finished.

The use of sandpaper begins before even the priming coat has taken its position. A surface well sandpapered ahead of the priming coat saves a great deal of time and leaves plenty of the priming film on the surface where it is needed. No. 1 paper is the proper size to surface the priming coat, if the surface has previously been well smoothed. The No. 1/2 will do for first lead. This coat requires a very thorough and uniform going over, touching completely all places that need it, touching none with a coarse hand, and never laying bare a flicker of wood needing a full depth of protecting pigment. The second lead, or "dead lead" as we know it, should require only a light going over with No. 0 paper, this to be followed by polishing with curled hair or fine moss used by trimmers.

The rub lead and knifing lead coats usually respond to the smoothing caress of No. 1/2, or finer, paper, the size depending upon the quality of these coats. All along through the system of painting, sandpaper must needs sound its smoothing monotone, but particularly upon the primary coats does the painter use it as the fulcrum by which, among other aids, he seeks to rear his paint foundation into a tower of strength.

Mouldings, clips, bolt heads, difficult places to work up to, everywhere bespeak the same thorough touch of the sandpaper. There are many sharp edges about a vehicle which may be denuded of pigment at a single rasp of the paper. Such parts require a good measure of protection, otherwise flaking and chipping of the paint and varnish must naturally follow. The painter may well strive to make the work of sandpapering an exact operation—exact as to thoroughness as applied to all parts of a surface, and exact as to a uniformity of results.

In company with the labor of sandpapering must be considered dusting. The latter should be cleanly and tidily done, quite as thorough, indeed, as the sandpapering or any other of the operations, all alike important. We now come to an article indispensable to the painter in arriving at a state of perfection regarding smoothness of surface.

ROUGHSTUFF—HOW MADE, APPLIED, AND RUBBED.

Webster defines "rough" as "having inequalities, small ridges, or points on the surface," and "stuff" as "refuse or worthless matter." But, combining the two words into one—roughstuff—the painter construes the term to mean something different from the construction put upon it by the eminent lexicographer when he cleaved it evenly in twain.

Without the coarse mineral pigments known as "fillers," white lead, and the liquid mediums used to properly unite and weld them together and denominated roughstuff when ready for use, the painter, in his effort to make satisfactorily level and smooth surfaces, would be in almost as sorry a plight as the mariner bereft of his compass. For, mark you, gentle confrÈres! roughstuff is essential to carriage body surface elegancies and mirror-like effects.

FAVORITE FORMULAS.

No. 1.—To 3 lbs. of any American filler add 1 lb. keg white lead. Beat well together; then reduce to a thick paste with rubbing varnish and japan, after which thin to brushing consistency with turps. This is a safe one-coat-per-day 'stuff.

No. 2.—Equal parts of filler (excepting English) and keg lead, by weight, reduced to a heavy paste in quick rubbing varnish and japan, and then cut with turps to the proper consistency. Two coats per day may be safely applied.

No. 3.—Five lbs. filler (still excepting English); 2 1/2 lbs. keg lead; 1/3 elastic rubbing varnish; 2/3 japan. This is a 'stuff for fine, heavy coach work. Apply coat every 72 hours. Do not rub out under three weeks.

No. 4.—(A London formula.) Dry white lead, ground stiff in turpentine, 1 1/2 lbs.; ochre, or English filling, ground stiff in turpentine, 4 lbs. Mix the two and add 1/2 lb. of tub lead. Add 1 pint of japan gold size and about 1/2 pint of the bottoms of wearing varnish. Reduce with a little turpentine if necessary. This is a very durable and elastic 'stuff.

No. 5.—(M. Arlot's formula.) "Grind separately lump white lead with essence of turpentine, and do the same with unwashed yellow ochre; then mix the two pastes in the proportion of 3/4 of white lead and 1/4 of ochre. Allow the mixture to stand exposed to the air or to a gentle heat in order to evaporate the excess of liquid, and add gradually small portions of good drying oil, taking care to stir and beat the mixture well with a brush, as in distemper painting. The paste thus acquires more body." Concerning this 'stuff the author adds: "It is possible with this composition to give three coats in a day's work, but after the last coat we must wait 48 hours for drying."

No. 6.—English filler 3 lbs.; keg lead 1 lb. Rubbing varnish and japan, half and half, to make a stiff paste. Thin with turpentine.

No. 7.—English filler, mixed stiff with rubbing varnish, 1/2; japan 1/2. Thinned with turpentine.

Probably genuine English filler has but few, if any, equals, and certainly no superiors as a roughstuff pigment. It polishes down very close and compact as to texture, giving a glass-like, non-porous surface. It requires less lead than other fillers, because of which property it was specially mentioned as excluded from formulas 2 and 3. It does not surface down as easily as some of the American fillers, a fact that has probably limited its use largely.

In using keg lead for roughstuff, a moderately stiff ground lead is advisable. A lead ground in an excess of oil will necessitate washing in turps to expel a portion of the oil, if the proper proportions of ingredients would be maintained. In mixing roughstuff, it pays to be exact as to proportions and quantities. Use first-class materials, varnish, japan, etc. Slops and refuse from varnish and japan cans are to be avoided. They leave the user in a state of uncertainty as to the composition of his 'stuff. If made in considerable quantities at a time, the pigment should be stored in a tight, dust-free receptacle and well covered with water or turps, else it will very soon become gummy and unsuitable for good work.

The chief mission of roughstuff is to enable the painter to get a firm, hard, level surface. It requires putting on with a good brush, and a skilled and painstaking wielder of the tool. Roughstuff should be carried to a surface a little heavier in body than ordinary paint, but its spreading and flatting property should in no wise be made sluggish and "ropy" by the absence of thinning mediums. Better an additional coat of 'stuff than one coat less because of the excessively thick coats used. Roughstuff, like all quick setting pigments, needs to be applied, brushed out, and leveled quickly under the brush, so that brush marks may not intrude or uniformity in depth of film be wanting. Use a brush suited to the size of the panel; likewise a brush with a softness and fineness of point and sufficient elasticity to insure, if properly wielded, freedom from brush marks. Too heavy a pigment is no more a prolific cause of brush marks than a too nearly worn out brush. If the first coat of 'stuff is laid on the panel with horizontal strokes of the brush, let the second be laid with vertical ones, and vice versa. On a well-surfaced job, four coats should suffice. Where greater inequalities of the surface exist, more coats will be necessary. But it is an established maxim in both the practice and theory of carriage painting that the less roughstuff used upon a surface, granted that the quantity accords perfectly with the needs of the surface, the greater the durability of the paint and varnish structure.

The successful user of roughstuff is one who duly considers the importance of having a correctly-proportioned, finely-balanced mixture skillfully applied to the surface amid surroundings favorable to its prompt and thorough drying.

A guide coat to be used over roughstuff is made of a little of the 'stuff colored a bit with yellow ochre or Venetian red and thinned down considerably thinner than the 'stuff, with turpentine.

The workman who has roughstuff to rub requires, as an outfit, plenty of clean water right at hand, a good sponge, chamois skin, and a varied assortment of rubbing stones and bricks. The rubbing brick product, of German origin, has been considerably improved of late years; to such an extent, in fact, that it is now possible to obtain it as fine as wished for, and running from that up to a very coarse quality. However, for the very high class work, the natural lava, or pumice stone, is not to be surpassed. The quality of the rubbing accomplished depends much upon the selection of the blocks of pumice stone. The blocks of light weight, open grain, tunneled with innumerable air cells, are to be preferred for good cutting properties. Immersed in water, they float instead of sinking. The buoyancy of a piece of lava determines its porosity and its cutting power. This kind of stone may be used until the surface is well reduced, when, preferably, the stone of closer texture and tighter grain may next be used and continued in use until the final dressing up has been concluded. Select stones of large cutting surface. After the sawing, filing, and necessary dressing up of the stone in preparing it for the surface, it merits a thorough washing and rinsing to cleanse it from all minute atoms of grit, etc. In the actual work of rubbing a surface, keep the surface well washed to prevent gumming of the stone and to enable the eye to see just what the mind and muscle are doing; but do not flood the work with water. The rubbing stone is doing its work properly when, under an even, gentle pressure, it cuts smooth and free with a clinging, adhesive motion. When a particle of grit becomes lodged under the stone there will be a rolling, jarring motion, easy for even an unpracticed hand to detect, provided vigilant attention is being directed upon the work. When scratching of the surface occurs, the rubbing stone requires smoothing off with another stone, and the surface, stone, etc., given a thorough rinsing with clean water. Circular, zig-zagging motions of the stone are ill-advised. Straight, clean strokes, all directed in one general direction, are best and most effective. A surface is not always rubbed sufficiently fine when the guide coat disappears. The guide coat may be but a mere wash and disappear almost completely under a few strokes of the stone. The disappearance of such a guide(?) coat is not evidence that the proper surface has been reached. By repeatedly drawing the hand, with a good pressure, across the surface at right angles with the direction that governed the laying off of the final coat of filler, the workman can very accurately decide when an adequately fine surface has been reached.

To determine when a surface has been rubbed just enough usually gives the inexperienced rubber no little difficulty, but with practice he will master the accomplishment. On moulded panels it is advisable to rub the edges of the surface first, as it will lessen the tendency to thrust the stone forcibly against the moulding, thus chipping off atoms of stone to be ground into the surface later on.

Rubbing the roughstuff is the final process in the art of developing the comely and durable foundation. Does not the work, then, merit a full measure of skill, alertness, and patience in its execution?

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