IMPROVED POLISH OR RENOVATOR FOR POLISHED WOOD, PAPIER MACHE, AND. OTHER FURNITURE OR ARTICLES
Year: 1870

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Hamilton at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th.
September 1870.
I, JOHN HAMILTON, of the Firm of Hamilton and Company, of Milton
Road, in the County Town of Cambridge, Furniture Polish Manu-
facturers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVED POLISH OR RENOVATOR FOR POLISHED WOOD, PAPIER MACHE, AND.
OTHER FURNITURE OR ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is the production of a liquid compound
possessing the quality of refacing or renovating the surfaces of polished
wood, papier mache, and japanned goods, whether as articles of furniture
or fancy articles of a plain or ornamental character simply by laying it
on or spreading it over such surfaces and then wiping the surfaces by
means of a soft cloth.
The liquid compound is composed of four ingredients, and great care
has to be exercised in preparing them or some of them to obtain the
desired effect.

page_text: I will as an example give the proportions for making, say, a six ounce
bottle of the polish or renovator:-I first take a bottle containing four
and a half ounces of the best raw linseed oil; into this I put one grain
of the powder of calcined bones prepared in a special manner as after-
wards explained; the bottle is then well shaken to mix the bone
powder with the oil; I then insert two drachms of water and again
shake the bottle, and afterwards pour in one and a quarter ounces of
mythelated finish when the bottle is to be corked and otherwise prepared
for the market.
I have found by experience that the portion of bone best suited for
the purpose before mentioned is the marrow bone, which is obtained
from between the knce and fetlock joint of an ox. This bone is first
boiled to extract the fat and oily substances from it, after which it is
bleached by exposure for a short time to the atmosphere; it is then
burnt or calcined in an open pan or furnace until it becomes white,
when it is bruised or crushed into powder and sifted to separate the hard
particles from the smooth dust-like portion which is afterwards burnt
in a crucible for about ten hours. The powder after the second burning
or calcining is made into a paste by the addition of water on a flat
surface such as a marble slab, after which it is spread upon sheets of
paper to expedite the drying of it, and then it is again made into powder
and sifted before it is mixed with the oil as before explained. This
treatment of the bone I have found to be essential for preventing the
amalgamation of the particles after mixing the dust with the oil.
To apply my polish or renovator to polished articles which have
become dull from use or from age it is first necessary to remove all
grease and dirt therefrom by washing or cleaning in the usual manner,
then by dipping a soft rag or cloth into a saucer, into which some of
the renovator has been poured, and rubbing the same over the surface
to touch every part of it a beautiful polish or glaze is left thereon
which has not heretofore been obtained without a deal of labour and
a great expense of time. The article or surface so renovated should
be rubbed over with a clean soft cloth to remove any fibre of the first
cloth that may have come from it as well as to finish the surface.