thickness of the colour applied."


VARNISHING JAPAN WORK.

Varnishing is the last and the finishing process in japanning. It
consists in (1) applying, and (2) polishing the outer coats of
varnish, which are equally necessary whether the plain japan ground be
painted on or not. This is best done in a general way with common
seed-lac varnish, except on those occasions where other methods have
been shown to be more expedient, and the same reasons, which decide as
to the propriety of using the different varnishes as regards the
colours of the ground, hold equally with those of the painting, for
where brightness is a material point and a tinge of yellow would
injure it, seed-lac must give way to the whiter resins; but where
hardness and tenacity are essential it must be adhered to, and where
both are necessary a mixed varnish must be used. This mixed varnish
should be made from the picked seed-lac as directed in the case of the
white japan grounds. The common seed-lac varnish may be made thus:
Take 1-1/2 lb. of seed-lac and wash it well in several waters, then
dry it and powder it coarsely and put it with a gallon of methylated
spirits into a Bohemian glass flask so that it be not more than
two-thirds full. Shake the mixture well together and place the flask
in a gentle heat till the seed-lac appears to be dissolved, the
shaking being in the meantime repeated as often as may be convenient;
then pour off all the clear and strain the remainder through a coarse
cloth. The varnish so prepared must be kept for use in a well-corked
glass vessel. The whiter seed-lac varnishes are used in the same
manner as the common, except as regards the substances used in
polishing, which, where a pure white or the greater clearness or