The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-07-07
AN UMSTOCkED TRADE.
One Buainess Which Has to Hunt For
Good Workmen.

There, is one class of vorkruru who
in Now York Mt least. do not have to
look for e,nplovncnt. but are eagerly
Sought for by employers. ihey are
the skilled carriage printers AMI var
nishers, the batter particularly. sayS
the Kew York Press Til" enprinous
growth of the automobile hr>iiitSS ere
atcd u demand that IL nowhere nearly
met There are establishments in the
CITY that constantly are on the watch
for good men, and While they are wait
ing for them they run the painting
department of their business af a big
loss. Other firms are more fortunate,
for they possess the right men or the
right man, but ut the very best there
is nm element of gamblingoIn ali fine
vehicle painting.
The work requires a special knack.
sneciaI trimming and care that never
for n moment relaxes. house paint
or frescn painter or even piano var
Djsher is apt to be Il bungler at the
work single mistake or slight ac-
cdent may ncccssitate the whole
tedious process being gone through
again. When vanishing is done the
room Is locked against all intrUders,
the cracks of the windows and doors
arc stuffed with rags and paper. the
floors. lower part of the walls and the
window stills are sprinkled with water.
and the place is vigjlantly searched
lest fly or other insect may be there.
If Il spcck of dust settles while the
varnish is being flowed on 1t will make
an ugly lump that stands ont glariDg-
" In contrast to the rest of the smooth
surface A fly lighting on the fresh
varnish will cause an upheaval rela-
lively as great as sun spot. And
sudden changes of temperature may
cause unequal drying, and crack will
result In any Of these cases there is
no possibility of patching and covering
over the defect. The coating has to be
burned off down to the lead and the
work done over again. An inexpert
man in the paint shop can In couple
Of days wipe out the profits of the
rest of the establishment. and. unfor-
tunatcly. expert men are harder to get
as the relative number of vehicles in
creases.
Even when job leaves the place in
good condition the difficulties of the
painter are not ended. A carriage may
be caught i'm shower, and the mois
ture may dry on it, That will cause
spOtting AMI streaking The carriage
may be housed in an unventilated
stable. and the fumes will affect the
gum copal or the resin or other gum
in the varnish and cause it to turn
yellow Then the owner comes back
at the painter. and it takes tact and
persuasive power to convince the own
er that he has been in any way at
fault
Another minor difficulty occurs in
the matter of brushes. A good set of
four varnish brushes, genuine badger
hair, Of from one to three inches, can
be bought for 81 or So But the buying
of the brushes only begins the opera
ton. The must lie tested, worked
out and seasoned before they can be
used Oh fine work. Not long ago
carriage painter sold his set of four
vanishing brushes which he had used
for fifteen years for $500.
and the yarnishcr who got them com
s,Jcrod f. l. ID Il barG1:a The
brushes were perfect III every respect
and could be depended upon in any
job. no mattpr how difficult.