736

THEORY OF ArvCHITECTURE. Book II.

attendant there spoke very highly in fLirour of its cleanliness. It is believed to be com-
posed of 10 lbs. of purified yellow wax, 10 lbs. of linseed oil, 8 lbs. of spirits of turpentine,
and 5 lbs. of common resin. The wax is dissolved separately in the linseed oil, and the
resin in the spirits of turpentine by heat, and are subsequently intimately mixed, when
they form a pasty compound. In this condition it is used as priming, being nearly colour-
less after application. Pigments gro.und up in oil in the usual way are added in the pro-
portion of one-thitd of the vehicle, and then spirits of turpentine added in quantity
sufficient to produce the desired amount of liquidity. So soon as the turpentine has
evaporated, the coat of paint will support rubbing, if not too hard, without damage, but
it tiikes some time to become completely hard. It is put on in one coat, without apparently
any of the smell or inconveniences attending the ordinary process of painting.
2273^. Among the modern inventions the tbllowiug are noticed. Albissima paint, which
is brilliant and pure, non-poisonous, without smell, and unchanged by gases. The vSani-
tary Paint Company manufactures non-poisonous silicate and other hygienic paints and
colours for all purposes. The Silicate Paint Company manufactures the patent Charlton
white, for use in place of white lead, zinc, &c., and other materials. Price's chez-lui is a
hard drying enamel for metals. The granitic paint and the silicate zopissa composition
is stated to be a cure for damp walls. Morse's
"
perfect oil pa'nt" is put forward for
inside and outside work, old and new
;
and as damp-proof and weather-proof. Magnetic
oxide of iron paints of all colours
;
a cure for damp walls.
2273A. Paint done upon recently set Portland cement will not stand. The work must
be finished in Portland cement compo, and faced with at least half an inch of Keene's
cement or, better still, Martin's cement, followed at once with paint having plenty of
boiled oil in it ; the paint must be put on before the cement is thoroughly set, or the face
becomes greasy and will not tjike the paint. In ordinary work, the stucco or cement
must be di-y, which may take six or twelve months to elfeet, or the paint will go in
blisters, and colours will fly. Pure red lead and good boiled oil should always be the
first or priming coat.
2273t. The Indestructible Paint Company protected in 1880 the obelisk called Cleo-
patra's Needle, fixed on the Thames Embankment, with Browning's patent preservative
solution, which appears to have prevented the stone absorbing damp. (See also Phe-
Sfc'EVATION OF SrONK.)
2273^. Fireproof faints. These are modern inventions. Astrop's patent Cyanite ia
stated to be non-poisonous; a colourless or coloured priming fur p^iint or varnish, or alone
as a staining fjr wood. It is greatly recommended for painting timber as well as for
textile fabrics, to resist the action of fire. {Builder, Sept. 15, 1883.) The Anhcstos -^aS-nt
does not contain any oil, and %vood coated with it has resisted fire. Griffith's Pyri dene
paints and liquids were used in 1887, in the Eoyal Jubilee Exhibition buildings at Old
Traiford, near Manchester, under the recommendation of Professor AVatson Smith. Sir
Sam uel Blane's fireproof paint has been used at the new theatre in the Strand, built, 1
887,
for Edward Terry.
JDisiemper.
2274. The use of distemper is older than that of oil and varnish. IVTiitewafhi'tig is a
kind of distemper, especially when size is used with it. Common distemper colotir for
\alls is Spanish white, or whiting, broken into water, to which is added strong size whilst
warm, and then allowed to cool, when it should appear a thin jelly
;
two coats are generally
necessary. The old work should be first washed by a brush with water. This process
in old publications is called,
"
painting in water colours." It is much used for ceilings,
and always requires two, and sometimes three, coats, to give it a uniform appearance.
It is not generally known that walls which have been distempered cannot afterwards bo
liiiwivhited, in consequence of the lime when laid on whiting turning yellow; oil colours,
however, can be applied, and then whitelead is used as the vehicle. Papered rooms
coloured in this manner, especially over flock papers, look well, as the raised pattern can
be seen through the coats of colour. Rooms niH}' be distempered and dry again in a day,
witii little dirt. When wood is covered with distemper, it is liable to swell with the
damp. Rooms that are to be afterwards varnished are prepared in two ways : I. By
applying the intended distemper colour, and then covering it with as many coats of
varnish, coloured or uncoloured, lis may be required; but if the wood be not dry, the
colour becomes hardened and flakes oflF. II. The colour is ground and mixed up with
varnish, which produces a better result. If the last coat of varnish be applied colourless,
it tiien forms a glazing to the under tints, and its brilliancy will be greater. The use of
size here, again, produces a considerable saving of varnish. For new plaster work a
coating of size is desirable.
227-l. Morse's patent Calcarium distemper, or washable non-poisonous water colours
in cold water, does not require to be washed off previous to re-doing; colours for inside
or o'.itside work, but not on outside painted walls
;
white for ceilings. It will not
rub off; is stated to be one-fourth the cost of lead paint; that one hundredweight will