Important: Safety Warning
This page describes practices involving highly flammable materials in ways that create a serious risk of fire or explosion.
In addition, this page describes trade processes that use dangerously toxic materials such as cyanide solutions, mercury amalgams, or strong acids. These processes require training, equipment, and precautions far beyond what the text describes.
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Varnish to Imitate the Chinese
Put 4 ounces powdered gum-lac, with a piece of camphor about the size of a hazelnut, into a strong bottle, with 1 pound good spirits of wine. Shake the bottle from time to time, and set it over some hot embers to mix for 24 2930. Amber Varnish for Photoounce chloroform. (See No. 2929.) 2931. Brilliant Amber Spirit Varnish. Fused amber, 4 ounces; sandarach and mastich, of each 4 ounces; highly rectified spirit, 1 quart. Expose to the heat of a sandbath, with occasional agitation, till dissolved. (The amber is fused in a close copper vessel, having a funnel-shaped projection, which passes through the bottom of the furnace by which the vessel is heated.)
2932. Hare's Colorless Varnish for hours, if it be in winter; in summer time it Photographs. Dissolve shellac by heat in may be exposed to the sun. Pass the whole 8 parts of water and 1 of pearlash. Precipithrough a fine cloth, and throw away what tate by chlorine, and dissolve in rectified remains upon it. Let it settle for 24 hours; spirit. (See Nos. 2933 to 2935.) separate gently the clear part in the upper 2933. Bookbinders' and Colorless part of the bottle, and put into another phial; Varnish. Mr. A. Schmidt gives the followthe remains will serve for the first layers or ing directions for making these and several coatings. other beautiful varnishes: For 1 pound 2924. Varnish for Drawings and good shellac take 4 ounces crystallized car- Lithographs. Take of dextrine, 2 parts; alcohol, 1/2 part; water, 2 parts. These should be prepared previously with 2 or 3 coats of thin starch or rice boiled and strained through a cloth. (See No. 2927.) bonate of soda, and 15 gallons water; put the whole in a clean iron or copper vessel of double the capacity, and, under constant stirring, bring it to boiling over a slow fire. The shellac will dissolve, and, if it is intended to make colorless French varnish (see No. 2935), the solution has to be run through a woolen cloth.
For brown bookbinders' varnish, or a colorless varnish for maps, photographs, etc., the solution has to boil for about an hour longer, but only simmering, and then to cool very slowly without stirring; better let it stand over night, and let the fire go out under it. In the fortius (see No. 1439); after some hours the on the surface of the solution, and the other liquor is separated from the pasty mass, which impurities of the shellac as a deposit on the is then once more dissolved in a small quanti- bottom of the vessel. The solution is likety of water, and spread on glass or porcelain wise to be run through a woolen cloth and to dry at a temperature not exceeding 140° then to be filtered. (See No. 2934.) To make a transparent brown varnish-bookbinders' var-