# Cyclopedia of Painting/Stains

STAINS.
Mordants are chemical preparations, the effect of which is to fix and enhance the colors given by stains and dye-stuffs. Spirits of niter is used for the satin-wood stain, a strong solution of oxalic acid for the oak, and dilute nitric acid for mahogany.
Mahogany Stains. 2 ounces Dragon's-blood dissolved in a quart of rectified spirits of wine, shake frequently during process of dissolution.
Dark. In 1 gallon of water boil $^1$⁄$_2$ pound of madder and 2 ounces of logwood chips, brush the decoction, whilst hot, well over, and when dry, paint over the work with a solution of pearlash, composed of 2 drams of pearlash to a quart of water.
Light. In 1 quart of oil of turpentine dissolve 2 ounces of Dragon's-blood, keeping the vessel in a warm place, and frequently shaking it. When completely dissolved, the mixture is to be applied to the work, or if the latter be small, it may be steeped in the stain.
Grind raw sienna on a slab, using beer as a medium, during grinding, add burnt sienna until the desired color is obtained. This mixture is then to be thinned, either with more beer or with water, and is to be applied with a brush, and wiped off with a piece of flannel. It is desirable to avoid foxey colored mahogany, and if this stain should give too brown a color, a wash made of madder or logwood boiled in water may be passed either entirely or partially over it. The work may then be oiled, varnished, or polished, as desired.
Dragon's-blood is a name given to several resins found in commerce, which have a similar appearance, a fine dark ​red. They are produced by one or two species of calamus, or cane-palm, and are used for coloring varnishes, and for dyeing horn so as to make it resemble tortoise-shell. The following are the various kinds of dragon's-blood: In sticks, called stick dragon's-blood. Dragon's-blood in drops or beads, said to be the best. Dragon's-blood in tears. Dragon's-blood in lumps.
Madder is one of the most important coloring substances known, and there are several species of it. The plant is extensively cultivated in Southern Europe and in Holland. Very large quantities of the root come from Smyrna, Trieste, Leghorn, and other Mediterranean ports, much of that which is received from Holland is in powder, and comes in large casks. The Turks formerly understood the manufacture and uses of madder better than other nations, and the color thus obtained the name of Turkey red. In commerce there are the following varieties of common madder: Smyrna, French, Syrian, and Italian roots, and French, Dutch-crop, Ombros, and Mull ground madders.
Logwood. The tree producing this dye-wood is a native of Yucatan in South America, the principal town of which, Campeachy, situated on the river San Francisco in the bay of Campeachy, was formerly the mart for logwood, but it is now extensively cultivated in Jamaica, and the chief trade is removed to Belize, a British settlement in the Bay of Honduras, whence immense quantities are annually exported.
The coloring matter of the logwood tree depends upon a peculiar principle called hæmatin or hæmatoxylin, a red crystalline substance which is so abundant in some samples as to exist in distinct blood-red crystals. The stems are cut into large logs, and the bark and alburnum or white wood is chopped off, the dark red inner wood being the only valuable portion. The color of a decoction of logwood is of a brownish blood-red. Acids change it to the bright color of red ink, which is often made of an infusion of logwood chips to which acetic acid is added. The alkalies strike a purple ​or violet, and the salts of iron a dark violet approaching a black color.
Rosewood Stain. In 3 pints of water boil $^1$⁄$_2$ pound of logwood until the decoction is of a dark red color, then add $^1$⁄$_2$ ounce of salts of tartar. The wood is to receive three or four coats of this liquid, which must be used whilst boiling hot, each coat being allowed to dry' thoroughly before another is applied. Veins may be formed in this with the black stain, using grainers' combs or other implements, but if this is done, the work is removed from mere staining and becomes an imitation of graining. Immerse $^1$⁄$_4$ pound red sandalwood and $^1$⁄$_2$ pound of potash in 1 gallon of hot water. When the color of the wood is extracted, 2+$^1$⁄$_2$ pounds of gum shellac are to be added, and dissolved over a quick fire. The mixture may then be used over the stain above described.
Red Sandalwood. This dye-wood is the produce of a large tree growing to the height of sixty or seventy feet on the mountains and other parts of India. It is usually imported in small billets two or three feet in length, of a fine deep red color, the concentric circles of the transverse section being divided by dark, almost black, lines, with different mordants it yields brownish red, scarlet red, deep crimson, and yellowish red. These colors are not, however, very permanent. Another dye-wood, also called red sandalwood, the native name of which is Rutka-chundun, is the production of the largest trees of India. Neither of these must be confounded with the sweet-scented sandalwoods which are furniture woods.
Black Stains. To 6 quarts of water add 1 pound of logwood and two or three handfuls of fresh walnut peelings. Let the whole boil well until reduced to about half the quantity of liquid, then strain and add a pint of best vinegar, boil again, and apply the stain whilst quite hot. Dissolve 1 ounce of green copperas in a quart of water, and apply this whilst quite hot over the previous stain, which ​will be very much improved thereby. In 3 quarts of water boil $^1$⁄$_2$ pound of logwood chips, and add 1 ounce of pearlash, strain, and apply whilst hot. Boil $^1$⁄$_2$ pound of logwood chips in 3 quarts of water, adding $^1$⁄$_2$ ounce of verdigris and $^1$⁄$_2$ ounce of copperas. Strain this decoction and add $^1$⁄$_2$ pound of rusty steel filings. Wash this stain over the previous one.
Brown Stain. Make a decoction by boiling 1 part of Catechu, Cutch, or Gambier in 30 parts of water, to which add a little soda. Apply this to the wood which is to be stained, and allow it to dry in the air. Make a solution of 1 part of bichromate of potash and 30 parts of water, and apply over the stain, which may be varied in color according to the strength of the solutions used. Catechu, which is much used in dyeing and staining, is the extract of the wood of the Acacia Catechu, the seeds of the Areca Catechu, and the leaves of the Nauclea Gambir. The Acacia Catechu is a small spiny tree, rarely exceeding twenty feet in height, the wood is hard and heavy, the center is of a very dark red color nearly approaching to black, it is from this portion of the wood that the extract is made. In India, it is made by the poorer natives, who move from place to place, selecting jungles where the Acacia is most abundant. They cut down the trees, and chop the heart-wood into chips, which they boil in water, when the water is deeply colored, it is strained off and submitted to the process of evaporation, fresh supplies of the decoction being added until the whole becomes sufficiently thickened by evaporation. It is then poured into clay moulds and left to dry in the sun. The Catechu made from the Acacia Catechu is also called Cutch and Terra Japonica. The term Cutch is said to be named from the native language, in which the substance is called Kutt. Commercially, one variety is called Catechu, and another Cutch, although the source is the same. The former has been poured out onto mats when about the consistence of honey and dried in the sun. When sufficiently hardened, it ​is cut into small square pieces, and, after being thoroughly dried, it is packed into cane baskets for exportation. This variety has a light chocolate-brown color, and the cubes are about an inch square, having an earthy fracture and external appearance. The other variety, Cutch, is of a darker color, rich brown, with a shining appearance and fracture, it comes much mixed with broken leaves, in which it has been laid to dry, it is packed in a similar manner to the Catechu, but is most generally run into one mass. Gambler, or Gambir, is an extract of the leaves of the Nauclea Gambir, this plant belongs to the natural order of the Cinchonas, or Jesuits' bark trees. It is made by boiling the leaves and evaporating the decoction to dryness, in appearance it resembles Cutch, but it is not so glossy in its fracture, and rather lighter in color. It is mostly imported from Singapore, where it is extensively cultivated.
Walnut Stain. Boil 1+$^1$⁄$_2$ ounces of washing soda, bichromate of potash $^1$⁄$_4$ ounce, in 1 quart of water, and add 2+$^1$⁄$_2$ ounces Vandyke brown. This stain may be used either hot or cold.
Red Stains. Boil 1 pound of Brazil-wood in 1 gallon of water for three hours or more, add 1 ounce of pearlash, and apply it to the wood whilst hot, then brush over it a solution made of 2 ounces of alum in 1 quart of water. A solution of dragon's-blood in spirits-of-wine makes a very good stain, as already mentioned. The Brazil-wood is cut from a tree about twenty feet high, with prickly branches and yellow flowers, the decoction yields, in dyeing, rose-color, red, and yellow, according to the mordant used. It is not used in dyeing now as much as it was formerly, owing to the introduction of superior materials.
A decoction of Archil forms a very good red stain for common work, two or three washes of it should be given, after which it should brushed over with a hot solution of pearlash and water. Archil, or Orchil, is the coloring matter of the Orchella weed in solution. It does not in dyeing ​produce a fast color, but it greatly improves other dyes. It soaks, however, into the fibers of wood, and is thus a useful stain for common work.
Oak Stain. Mix 2 ounces of potash and 2 ounces of pearlash in 1 quart of water, which will make an excellent stain. Should the color be darker than required, it may be diluted with water. It must be used very carefully, as the potash will blister the hands if allowed to touch them, the mixture should also be used with a very common brush, as it softens the hair so as to render it of little value afterwards.
Ebonizing Stain. The woods best adapted for ebonizing are sycamore and chestnut, the work should be very well smoothed and rubbed with glass paper before staining, and should be finally rubbed with glass paper or cloth which has been a long time in use, every particle of dust being rubbed off with a smooth cloth.
Boil $^1$⁄$_2$ pound of logwood chips in 3 quarts of water, and add 1 ounce of pearlash. Apply this whilst hot, then boil $^1$⁄$_2$ pound of logwood chips in 3 quarts of water, and add $^1$⁄$_2$ ounce verdigris, $^1$⁄$_2$ ounce copperas, strain the liquid, and then add $^1$⁄$_2$ pound rusty steel filings and some powdered nutgalls, and with this go over the wood a second time. When dry, the work is to be well rubbed down, and if the color should appear uneven, the second stain must be repeated, in which case it must be again rubbed down. French polish, made darker than usual by the addition of finely powdered stone blue or indigo, is then to be used. Or, the black stain first mentioned to be first applied, then a plate or slate is to be held over a lamp until a quantity of the soot has formed, this, which is fine lamp black, is to be collected and mixed with French polish, which is then to be used in the ordinary manner. This, too, may be repeated if required, the work having been previously well rubbed down.
Boil in a glazed pipkin a handful of logwood chips to 1 pint of rain-water, allowing it to simmer until reduced by about one-fourth, and with this liquid give the wood two or ​three coats. Now add to the remainder of the liquid two bruised nut-galls, a few very rusty nails, or a piece of sulphate of iron about the size of a pigeon's egg, and add rainwater until the original quantity of liquid is made up. This stain is to be applied hot, and the work is to be French-polished, a little blue having been previously mixed with the polish.
Nut-Galls. Gall-nuts, oak-galls and galls are excrescences formed upon the young twigs of the various species of oak. Galls are also formed upon other plants, but the nut-galls of commerce are produced on the species of oak called the Quercus infectorius, a small shrub about 5 or 6 feet in height. They originate in the puncture of an insect, Cynips gallæ-tinctoria. The puncture is effected by the ovipositor of the insect, and an egg is at the same time deposited. An interruption in the ordinary functions of the tissue of the plant takes place at the spot where the egg is inserted, the consequence is, that an excrescence of vegetable matter, principally tannin, is formed round the egg, and furnishes a nidus for the grub or larva when hatched. When this takes place, the grub eats its way out through the side of the gall, after which the vitality of the excrescence either decreases or ceases altogether. Several varieties of galls are distinguished in commerce, the principal of which are the blue and white, the only difference is, that the former are gathered before, and the latter after, the insect has escaped. The color of the blue galls is a slaty blue, and something of a grayish green, the white gall is of a light drab color, and much lighter in weight, it is also less valuable than the blue variety. Nut-galls are nearly round, with a few small excrescences over their surface. They yield a fine black color with any of the salts of iron, and are used in the preparation of writing ink.