solutions are generally used for dark surfaces, such as rosewood
represents, and a still darker shade can be given to any one by oiling
over after the stain is dry. The better way of using these chemical
stains is to pour out into a saucer as much as will serve the purpose,
and to apply it quickly with a sponge rubbed rapidly and evenly over the
surface, and rubbed off dry immediately with old rags. Dark and light
portions, between which the contrast is slight, may be made to match by
varnishing the former and darkening the latter with oil, which should
remain on it sufficiently long; by this means the different portions may
frequently be made to match without having recourse to bleaching or
staining.


=Painting.=--The next process is painting. It frequently happens in
cabinet work that a faulty place is not discovered until after the work
is cleaned off; the skill of the polisher is then required to paint it
to match the other. A box containing the following colours in powder
will be found of great utility, and when required for use they should be
mixed with French polish and applied with a brush. The pigments most
suitable are: drop black, raw sienna, raw and burnt umber, Vandyke
brown, French Naples yellow (bear in mind that this is a very opaque
pigment), cadmium yellow, madder carmine (these are expensive), flake
white, and light or Venetian red; before mixing, the colours should be
finely pounded. The above method of painting, however, has this
objection for the best class of furniture, that the effects of time will
darken the body of the piece of furniture, whilst the painted portion
will remain very nearly its original colour. In first-class work,
therefore, stained polishes or varnishes should be applied instead of
these pigments.