Evening star., 1942-07-08

finish to tighten too heavy or cum
bersome pieces, sometimes by dark
rub, to tone down white fnlSn
or blend natural wood tones. In
every case it should be restrained
to the nth" degree, never obtruslve,
a means to an end, not an end IN
itself.
Color is fashionable in 1912. and
many living room is better for the
addition of a pair of lacquer RED
chairs, a small table or two or a
wall shelf to hold gay bits OF porce-
lain. No matter how perfectly the
lacuuering is done the intense color
of it's surface will stick out like
a sore thumb" against the back
ground of rugs, walls and draperles
unless it is toned down by rubbing
and blending.
Starting from scratch, give your
chairs two coats of fat white or
gray paint. Sand down carefully
between each coat so that the sur
face is perfectly smooth. Then
apply two coats of red lacquer or
fine enamel Be sure that this is
thoroughly dry and hard before you
start to rub it off. Make a pad OF
very fine steel wool with cloth pad
to protect your hands and rub the
high points of the furniture, where
ever it would naturally be worn, with
the abrasive. Where the arms rest,
the high points of the turnings, and
n1o
cloths would rub down the surface
you may rub down the lacquer until
the white paint shows through. You
might even take it through to the
wood as long as the rubbing is uni
form and gives natural, worn effect.
After this mix a wash OF raw
lumber oil paint with turpentine,
paint this solution back into the
turnings and creviceS. and with a
soft cloth wipe over the whole sur
face OF the lacquer, dulling it down
thoroughly. After this has set for
about 10 minutes polish all the high
surfaces with clean, dry cloth.
Aim to get an effect of the dull
ness that would come with years OF
use, rather than the soiled look OF
bad housekeeping. Stand across the
room and be sure that your furni-
ture blends into its setting and
neither the scratched surface nor
the "antiquing" is too obvious. Give
the whole thing coat Of wax and
polish it off SO that it looks trim and
well cared for. The best plan is
always to start on small piece for
the necessary experience before
tackling something important.
With the vogue for antique white
furniture or the soft greens, pale
blues and other delicate shades, or
the wood tones washed with white
that are so popular, light or white
WASH is necessary to reduce the size
Of piece made too prominent by
solid color. This is especially useful
IN reducing the ponderous size Of
heavy gilt picture or mirror frames
or making outmoded gilt furniture
up to date.
For this the procedure is the same
as for the lacquered furniture. up
to the point where the finish coat
of color is dry. Except with gilt
frames Or furniture which merely
gets a wash of grey or white over
the whole thing, with the high
points wiped off, Then use the
steel wool or fine sandpaper to rub
down the high points and wash over
the entire surface with fiat white
or grey paint thinned with turpen-
tine, and wipe off Immediately on all
points which would be naturally
worn. You may feel that thin
brushing with white following the
grain of the wood on some of the
larger surfaces aids the effect. Do
this with an almost dry brush SO
that each bristle makes its own
mark. This will make cumbersome
old-fashioned furniture exceedingly
attractive, especially against dark
wall paper, or in room which is
not light.
II white effect is wanted on q
natural wood surface scrub the
wood with strong soap and water
and brush. When thoroughly dry
sand it with the grain and paint
a thin wash of color or white over
the whole, wiping off the high points
Immediately. For a stronger white
sand it when dry and repeat the
process until the desired effect is
obtained