Young's Demonstrative Translation of Scientific Secrets Part 27

516. DIAMOND PASTE FOR RAZORS

By rubbing a little of this paste on your razor-strap, it is astonis.h.i.+ng how speedily you will be able to sharpen a razor. It is made simply by mixing flour of emery and sweet oil, to the consistence of paste.

517. FOR STAGGERS IN SHEEP

Dissolve a.s.safoetida in warm water, and put half a tablespoonful in each ear of the sheep. It is a speedy remedy.

518. WATER-PROOF FOR LEATHER

Take of linseed oil, 1 pint; yellow wax and white turpentine, of each, 2 oz.; burgundy pitch, 1 oz.; melt all together, and colour with lampblack. This being applied to boots, you may stand in water all day, and your feet will be dry at night.

519. TO BROWN GUN-BARRELS

Rub the barrel, after it is finished, with aquafortis, or spirit of salt diluted in water; leave it by for a week, till a complete coat is formed; then apply a little oil, and after rubbing the surface dry, polish it with a hard brush and a little beeswax.

520. LIQUID GLUE

Put 1 oz. of borax into a pan with 1 quart of water, set it on the fire; when melted, which will be very soon, put in 8 oz. of gum sh.e.l.lac, and boil until dissolved; if too thin add more gum; when cool bottle for use.

521. TO TAKE INK SPOTS OUT OF MAHOGANY

Apply spirits of salt with a rag, until the spot disappears, and immediately wash with clean water; or to half a pint of soft water put 1 oz. of oxalic acid, and 1/2 oz. of b.u.t.ter of antimony; shake it well, and when dissolved it will be very useful for extracting stains out of mahogany, as well as ink, if not of too long standing.

522. TO CLEAN MARBLE, SIENNA, JASPER, PORPHYRY, &c.

Mix up a quant.i.ty of strongest soap-lees with quicklime, to the consistence of milk, and lay it on the stone, &c., for 24 hours; clean it afterwards with soap and water, and it will appear as new.

This may be improved by rubbing or polis.h.i.+ng it afterwards with fine putty powder and olive oil. This is a beautiful article for cleaning marble monuments, &c.

523. TO CLEAN SILVER FURNITURE

Lay the furniture piece by piece upon a charcoal fire; and when they are just red, take them off and boil them in tartar and water, and your silver will have the same beauty as when first made. Try this method once and you will never forsake it; it will not remove a portion of the silver, as article that are sold in vials, boxes, &c., for this purpose will do.

524. A FINE BLACK VARNISH

Take 2 ozs. of bitumen of Palestine, 2 ozs. of resin, and 12 ozs. of umber; melt them separately, and afterwards mix them together over a moderate fire; then pour upon them, while on the fire, 6 ozs. of clear boiled linseed oil, and keep stirring the whole from time to time; take it off the fire, and, when pretty cool, pour in 12 ozs.

of essence of turpentine. This varnish is for coaches and iron work.

525. TO PAINT SAIL-CLOTH, SO AS TO MAKE IT PLIANT, DURABLE, AND WATER-PROOF

Grind 96 lbs. of English ochre with boiled oil, and add to it 16 lbs. of black paint; dissolve 1 lb. of yellow soap in one pail of water, on the fire, and mix it while hot with the paint. Lay this composition, without wetting it, upon the canva.s.s, as stiff as can conveniently be done with the brush, so as to form a smooth surface; the next day, or the day after, (if the latter, so much the better,) lay on a second coat of ochre and black, with a very little, if any, soap; allow this coat a day to dry, and then finish the canva.s.s with black paint.

526. PHOTOCROMATIC OIL PAINTING

INSTRUCTION:

Chemicals used in executing them:--chemical varnish, No. 1, 2 oz.

damar varnish, 1 oz. spirits turpentine; (mix well together.) Finis.h.i.+ng varnish, No. 2, 1 oz. spirits turpentine, 1 oz. alcohol, 1 oz. salt, 1 quart water. A camel's hair brush is needed for varnis.h.i.+ng. Take a smooth pane of common window-gla.s.s, any size you choose, clean it well, then varnish one side of it with chemical varnish No. 1, lay it away where it will be perfectly free from dust, and let it dry twenty-four hours; next varnish the same side of the gla.s.s again, and let it dry about one half hour, or until the varnish becomes stickey. Immediately after varnis.h.i.+ng the gla.s.s the second time, take the print that you wish to get an impression of, and immerse it in the solution No. 3; put the solution in a flat pan, and lay the print in with the face side up; let the print lay in the solution about five minutes, or until the paper is completely saturated, then remove it, taking care not to stretch it, and lay it on paper with the face side up, in order that the solution may dry from the face of the print. In this way prepare the print, getting it ready by the time the gla.s.s has dried one half hour. Next, carefully lay the face of the print on the varnished side of the gla.s.s, being particular to lay it on smooth and press it firmly to the gla.s.s, so as to exclude every particle of air; should there be any air left under the paper, it will show itself in spots, and must be pressed out. You now lay it away and let it dry another twenty-four hours; then, wet the back part of the print with water and with your hand or a wet cloth, rub the paper from the back of the print until it is so thin that the outlines of the picture can be seen from the back and of uniform thickness. You next spread a thin coat of finis.h.i.+ng varnish (No. 2) on it and lay it away to dry.

This will render it perfectly clear and transparent.--After this coat of varnish has dried, rub it over with a bit of fine sand paper, to make it smooth, and finish with two or three coats of No. 2 varnish. When dry, put it in a frame with the varnished side out, placing a sheet of light coloured paper on the back, this will give it the appearance of an oil painting. By following these directions you cannot fail to produce a beautiful picture.

527. FOR THE COMPLEXION

Boil a small piece of gum benzoin in some spirits of wine till it is dissolved, (five minutes boiling will be sufficient,) then bottle for use. A few drops of this in a gla.s.s of soft water (sufficient to make the water a milky colour) makes a delicious wash; apply with a towel or linen cloth. This article will make the skin as soft as velvet, and will constantly preserve rosy cheeks and lips, and for this it has not equal in the world; besides, it is as harmless as a sun-shower. As it is not a paint, it will not act just on the moment when applied.

528. ORIENTAL CREAM OF ROSES

Take of tincture of elder blossoms 1/2 oz., best beef marrow 1 teaspoonful, orange flower water 1/2 pint, ca.s.sia buds 1 oz., blanched bitter almonds 2 oz., spirits of oriental roses 4 drms.; mix all, and when the solution acquires the colour and consistency of milk it is fit for use. This article is for beautifying the complexion, making the skin as soft, as fair, and as rosy as that of a healthy infant; apply at pleasure. It is not only harmless, but will prove a speedy cure for all pimples, blotches, &c.

529. INSTRUCTION FOR GILDING

Dissolve a gold dollar in nitro-muriatic acid,--(2 ozs. muriatic to 1 of nitric,) then dissolve a 1/4 lb. of copperas in a pint of hot water, and pour it into the dish containing the gold and acid, pouring in a little at a time, till it stops boiling or foaming up; then let it stand and settle about six hours; then strain off the copperas-water carefully, and the gold will appear like a brown or dark yellow powder in the bottom of the dish. You will then proceed to wash the gold, which is done by pouring hot water on it; let it stand and settle a few minutes, and then drain off. Continue was.h.i.+ng in this manner till there is no acid or copperas taste; then add to the gold in the bottom of the dish from 1-1/2 to 2 oz. cyanuret pota.s.sa, dissolved in about 1/2 pint pure soft water. The solution is then ready for use. Gild by laying a piece of pure zinc in contact with the article to be gilded, in the solution.

530. DIRECTIONS FOR SILVERING

Dissolve a silver dollar in about 2 ozs. of nitric acid by heating; then dissolve a tablespoonful of salt in about a quart of water; pour it into the dish with the silver and acid; let it stand and settle a few minutes, and the silver will settle to the bottom in a white powder. Then drain off the water carefully, and add more water, then drain off again. Continue was.h.i.+ng in this manner till no acid or salt taste remains; then add a quart or more of pure soft water, and cyanuret pota.s.sa enough to take it up, or nearly so.

The solution is then nearly ready for use.

Silver by laying a piece of zinc in contact with the article, the same as in gilding. If the article you are silvering or gilding corrodes or turns black, it wants a little more cyanuret. In gilding or silvering, the article must be thoroughly cleaned, and great care must be taken that the water used is of the purest kind.

When the plating is as heavy as you wish, polish it with a mixture of chalk and alcohol, or of chalk alone, applied with a fine brush, or else a bit of chamois leather or rag.

If you wish to put on a very heavy coat of silver or gold, instead of using zinc alone as a battery, use the following, attach a piece of copper to one end of an iron wire about ten inches long, and a piece of zinc to the other end, and place both zinc and copper in contact with the article being silvered or gilded.

531. USING FRENCH POLISH

There is a mode of using sh.e.l.l-lac varnish which is sometimes denominated the German, but more commonly the French mode. It merits to be generally known, as the process is easy and economical, and the effect beautiful. It has been much employed by cabinet and musical instrument makers, but is not yet so extensively practised as it merits to be. The varnish is applied by means of what is called a rubber, made by rolling up a piece of thick woollen cloth, which has been torn off so as to have a soft, elastic edge. The varnish, put into a narrow-mouthed bottle, is applied to the middle of the flat face of the rubber by laying the rubber on mouth of the bottle and quickly shaking the varnish at once, as the rubber will thus imbibe a sufficient quant.i.ty to varnish a considerable extent of surface. The rubber is then enclosed in a soft linen cloth doubled, the remainder of the cloth being gathered together at the back of the rubber to form a handle to hold it by; and the face of the linen cloth must be moistened with a little raw linseed oil, which may either be coloured with alkanet root or not, applied with the finger to the middle of it. The work to be varnished should be placed opposite to the light, in order that the effect of the polis.h.i.+ng may be better seen, and a surface of from ten to eight feet square may be varnished at once. The rubber must be quickly and lightly rubbed upon the surface of the article to be varnished, and the rubbing continued until the varnish becomes nearly dry. The coil of woollen cloth must then be again wetted with the varnish, (no more oil need be applied to the surface of the linen cloth,) and the rubbing renewed till the varnish becomes nearly dry as before; a third coat must be applied in the same manner, then a fourth with a little oil, which must be followed by two others without oil, as before. You proceed thus until the varnish has acquired some thickness, which will be after a few repet.i.tions of the series.

Apply then a little alcohol to the inside of the linen cloth, and wet the coil with the varnish; after which, rub very quickly, lightly, and uniformly, over every part of the varnished surface, which will tend to make it even, and very much conduce to its polish. The linen cloth must now be wetted with a little alcohol and oil, without varnish; and the varnished surface being rubbed over, with the precautions last mentioned, until it is nearly dry, the effect of the operation will be seen. If it be found not complete, the process must be continued, with the introduction of alcohol in its turn as directed before, until the surface becomes smooth and of a beautiful l.u.s.tre. The preceding process is that in general use; but Dr. Jones recommends, in the Franklin Journal, a rubber of a different sort, as well as a simpler mode of employing it. He takes a piece of thick woollen cloth, six or eight inches in diameter, and upon one side of this pours a teaspoonful of the varnish; he then collects the edges together, so as to enclose the varnish in the cloth and form a handle by which to hold it: this is finally covered with a piece of oiled linen cloth, and the rubber is ready for use.

More varnish is added as often as it is required; and when it becomes occasionally too thick to ooze through, a little alcohol is poured into the cloth. Some difficulties may be at first experienced in performing this process; but Dr. Jones states that a very little practice will enable any handy person to surmount them. The peculiar advantage said to attend it is, that a beautiful polish may be at once obtained by a continued application of the rubber in this way; while, according to the method previously described, successive coats of varnish, which require considerable time to dry, must be used, and a great deal of additional trouble incurred. In varnis.h.i.+ng recesses or carved work, where parts of the surface are difficult to reach with the rubber, a spirit varnish, made with or without lac of the usual gum resins, and considerably thicker than that used for the rest of the work, may be applied to those parts with a brush or hair pencil.

532. LACQUER FOR BRa.s.s

Seed-lac, 6 ozs.; amber or copal, ground on porphyry or very clean marble, 2 ozs.; dragon's blood, 40 grains; extract of red sandal-wood, 30 grains; oriental saffron, 36 grains; pounded gla.s.s, 4 ozs.; very pure alcohol, 40 ozs. Articles, or ornaments of bra.s.s, to which this varnish is to be applied, should be exposed to a gentle heat and then dipped into the varnish. Two or three coatings may be thus applied, if necessary. Articles varnished in this manner may be cleaned with water and a bit of dry rag.