CERTAIN MATERIALS TO BE USED FOR CEMENTING AND PAINTING, AND ALSO APPLICABLE TO PRINTING AND DRESSING OR FINISHING FABRICS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, of 32, Essex
Street, Strand, London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "CERTAIN
MATERIALS TO BE USED FOR CEMENTING AND PAINTING, AND ALSO APPLICABLE TO
PRINTING AND DRESSING OR FINISHING FABRICS."-A communication from
Professor Frederic Kuhlmann, of Lille, France.
Sealed the 8th May 1855, and dated the 10th February 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux
Bellford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 10th February 1855.
F, AUGUSTE EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 32, Essex Street, Strand,
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
" CERTAIN MATERIALS TO BE USED FOR CEMENTING AND PAINTING. AND ALSO APPLICABLE
TO PRINTING AND DRESSING OR FINISHING FABRICS," being a communication from
Professor Frederic Kuhlmann, of Lille, France, to be as follows, viz. :-
This Invention consists in the application of silicate of potash or of silicate
of soda (otherwise called soluble glass),―

page_text: First, to restoring monuments and sculptured objects by means of a liquid
cement of different colours, so as to cover the crevices of the stones,audrestore
to the parts worn or broken off their primitive shape. This is done either by
successively applying thin layers of a paste made with a solution of silicate of
potash or of soda and of powdered stone of the desired colour, or said paste
being coloured by the addition of any mineral colour, or else by applying the
solution of silicate without any admixture to the stone, which has previously
received a coating of any desired tint.
Second, to preparing colours to be used instead of oil paints or water
colours, the white base of this substitute being, instead of white lead, artificial
sulphate of barytes, as obtained by precipitating a soluble salt of barytes.
To this base I add any mineral pigments or colours which are not liable to
being altered by the alkaline action of the silicate. This improved paint
is applicable to all building purposes, to stone, wood, metals, glass, fabrics,
paper, &
Third, to forming with said silicates, which are thickened by means of
colouring matter, colours for printing upon wood, fabrics, paper, and also
applicable in lieu of printing ink. With regard to this application, the sili-
cates of potash and of soda may also be used for fixing gold and silver leaves
upon wood, metal, glass, &.
Fourth, to dressing and finishing yarns and fabrics for the purpose of
rendering them impervious to water.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 4th July 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTE
EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 32, Essex Street, Strand, London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, Her special licence that I, the
said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, my executors, administrators, and
assigns or such others as I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford,my

page_text: executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands
and Isle of Man, an Invention for CERTAIN MATERIALS TO BE USED FOR
CEMENTING AND PAINTING, AND ALSO APPLICABLE TO PRINTING AND DRESSING OR
FINISHING FABRICS," a communication from Professor Frederic Kuhlmann, of
Lille, France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Auguste
Edouard Loradoux Bellford, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months nextaud
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:―
My Invention consists in the application of alkaline silicates, or of several
silicates with different bases, to cementing, painting, printing, and dressing or
finishing fabrics.
The silicate which I prefer using, as being the most economical to prepare
when it is applied as a solution, is silicate of potash, which is or may be
obtained by heating silica during six or eight hours in a solution of caustic
potaslı, having a specific gravity of 1-160 about, the temperature being that
corresponding with a pressure of five or six atmospheres. Instead of potash,
I also sometimes use caustic soda, but this latter is more liable to produce
white efflorescences on the paintings, especially if the silicious compound be
not thoroughly saturated with silica. The vessel which I use for tlie said
preparing operation is a strong cylindrical steam boiler; the silica is kept
from the bottom of the boiler by means of a diaphragm of perforated sheet
iron, and by using silex, or pieces of common gun flint, such as they are
found in chalk formations; the calcareous matter adhering to the same having
previously been got rid of by washing with dilute muriatic acid, it will be
found that the dissolving process is effected without any sediment settling at
the bottom of the boiler. When sand is used, it will be advisable to adopt
some mechanical means of stirring or agitating; but I generally prefer using
gun flint, either in its native state, or else after having disintegrated the same,
by chilling it in cold water when red hot. However, all silicious matters may
be used, and yield solutions that are more or less colourless. The solutions

page_text: thus obtained are sufficiently thick or dense to be used at once, and it is even
necessary to weaken them for very siccative or fast-drying paints or colours;
on the contrary, when it is desired to produce a varnish, the solution is still
further concentrated. The silicate may also be prepared in the dry process.
The operation in this case is carried on in a reverberatory furnace, by using
one and one-third or two parts of silicate to one part of carbonate of potash,
and I heat the whole during six or seven hours till a complete fusion is
obtained. This modus operandi may be objected to when used for making
solutions for painting on account of certain sulphurets remaining present,
which cause several colours to grow black or dark; but this may be obviated
by melting the compound in a crucible, and adding a small portion of nitrate
of potash to the mixture of silica and of potash.
The solutions of alkaline silicate, which form the base of my new or im-
proved paints, are reduced to the proper liquid consistency for being used with
the brush by mixing said solutions with the greater part of mineral colours
or pigments, either natural or artificial, that are at present in use, excepting
of course those that are altered by the presence of the alkali, as Prussian
blue, for instance. Some colours of the same kind are difficult to apply, and
require great precautions, being rather strongly attacked by the solution of
silicate of potash and by partially combining with silica, for instance, white
lead, chromate of lead, &c. These latter class of colours must, therefore, be
used with weaker solutions, or else in conjunction with substances having a
less affinity for silica. It may also be observed that even the more insoluble
kind of colours are attacked a little by the silicate; amongst these we have the
artificial or natural sulphate of barytes, which forms an exceedingly white and
cheap base, and agrees very well with the silicate by thoroughly uniting with
the same. Although this white base does not cover quite so well as white
lead, yet it is preferable, on account of the low price at which it can be
obtained.
When the improved paints are used, the surface or object to which the
paint is applied must sometimes be filled up or cemented, the same as when
oil, turpentine, gelatine, starch, &c. is used. For this purpose I form a
cement or mastich with the same solution, which is concentrated for the
purpose, and compounded with fast-drying substances, such as white lead,
artificial carbonate of barytes, phosphate of lime, chalk, ochre, oxyd of
maugauese, of iron, &c., the mixture being applied to the joints. When it is
desired to apply a considerable thickness of mixture, such as for mouldings,
I use a petrifying cement which contains silicate as obtained in the dry
process,as above described, and mixed with quick limeand oxyd of manganese,

page_text: or of iron, and sand, all these substances being reduced into fine powder,
screened and thoroughly intermixed before being brought into the liquid state:
The same petrifying cement is also used for rendering different kinds of lime
hydraulic, or for making any mouldings or plastic works, repairs, or restorations
as with natural cement.
The silicate colours above described may be rubbed over or smoothed down
with pummice stone; they can also be laid on in several layers and covered
with a varnish that is made with a dilute solution of the same silicate as has
been used for making the paint itself. The silicious paints may not only be
applied to stone and wood, but also to metals, glass, and porcelain; these
colours adhering very satisfactorily to metallic surfaces, ochre, and still better
oxyd of manganese or of iron; and silicate may be used to preserve the iron
from rust in lieu of minium (red lead) and linseed oil; also, by applying
successive layers of a mixture of silicate and artificial or natural sulphate of
barytes upon brightened surfaces of cast iron, a very durable and hard kind
of enamel is obtained, that can be vitrified by heat, if required. Oxyd of
manganese may be used in the same way, and gives a black enamel of a
similar description.
The silicate colours produce remarkably fine results when applied to glass
painting, and the pigments which I chiefly make use of for that purpose are
transparent or opaque enamels ground fine. All the other colours, and also
organic lakes, are equally applicable; but these latter are liable to get
changed by the presence of free alkali, and are less durable than mineral
colours. 1 also form an imitation of dull ground glass by applying artificial
or natural sulphate of barytes and the soluble silicates on glass, either cold, or
vitrifying the same by heat, so as to produce a white enamel.
For producing plain or flat tints on glass, I line the same by applying to its
surface very thin sheets of coloured glass, which is done, after having covered
the pane to belined with concentrated alkaline silicate, by sliding the coloured
sheet or leaf to and fro upon the white glass, so as to expel the air and super-
fluous liquid from between them both, and thus obtaining double glasses that
are perfectly transparent. In the same way I form plates or pieces of glass
of any thickness and colour required, by fixing successive sheets of plate
glass or of polished crystal upon each other. The pieces of crystal thus
obtained will be found particularly useful in making lenses, and constructing
optical instruments of any dimensions. For producing imitations of stained
windows, I join the pieces or panes of glass that are painted upon or vitrified
by securing or glueing them together at the edges with concentrated alkaline
silicate, which may either be pure or mixed with mineral matters that render

page_text: the silicate insoluble; this gives to the edge joint the appearance of an opaque
line, which is rather narrow, and may easily be kept of the same width
throughout, thus replacing the leads now used for that purpose. This mode
of forming a joint is also applicable to incrustations or mosaic work in stone,
wood, metal, &c.
The processes above described for glass painting are equally applicable to
porcelain, which may be ornamented with the most varied and elegant colours
either when it is enamelled or not (biscotto), the painting in the latter case
being coated over with silicated varnish or enamel.
In any of the applications above set forth the varnish or enamel after some
time becomes insoluble in water, even ifit be boiling; this insolubility may still
further be ensured by the addition of the colouring oxyds, er of a small
quantity of artificial carbonate of baryte's, which is dissolved in it at a gentle
heat. In some cases, when the colours are not very siccative, they may be
rendered more insoluble by washing the painting after.it has hardened with a
dilute solution of hydro-fluosilicic acid, which fixes the potash; however, this
means need but very seldom be resorted to. The paintings may be made still
more insoluble by washing them with a weakened solution of muriate of
ammonia.
My new black colours or pigments, which are made with lamp black, are as
homogeneous, or mix as well as the others. In these colours there is no
danger of a double silicate forming; will also be found useful to increase
the drying powers of the silicate by adding a little artificial carbonate of
barytes. The same precautions may be taken with respect to other colours
that are not very liable to be attacked by the alkaline silicate. These black
colours may also be used as printers' ink, giving a very fine and durable
letter-press. As the silicated ink, however, is liable to get thick soon under
the roller, a little treacle may be mixed with it to facilitate the work. Instead
of black colours, any others may equally be applied to paper also by printing
a colourless and coucentrated silicious solution on the paper. I prepare the
same for gilding and silvering; or the silicious solution may be used for fixing
on paper and other surfaces thin leaves of metals, which are previously ren-
dered adhesive merely by slightly damping them with saliva, or some guinmy
liquid. The silicious solution is further used for applying on paper, wool, or
cotton powder, so as to produce an imitation of velvet; and also glass and
emery powder, for producing sand and emery paper. The wool and cotton
powder may also be applied directly to the walls. The processes described
with regard to letter-press printing are also applicable to the manufacture of
papers for hanging rooms, &c.

page_text: The same means and processes may also be applied to fixing on fabrics
certain adjective colours, such as ultramarine; and for printing on fabrics any
lake colours of organic origin, which give tolerably solid designs. By means
of this silicious solution, I also sometimes coat linen or cotton cloth with wool
dust on one or both sides, so as to imitate woollen stuffs. The colours may
be fixed by using in suitable proportious any of the above substances employed
for rendering the silicated painting insoluble, or any salt which decomposes the
silicate that is still soluble will auswer the same purpose.
The silicious solution is employed as the base of a most unalterable writing
ink. For this purpose, I prepare a liquid of a brownish black by boiling
pieces of old leather with a solution of caustic soda or potash, and this alkaline
solution is then saturated with silica that is in a state of jelly, and if a deeper
black is to be given to the ink, the carbonaceous ingredients of Indian ink
must be added. The silicates of potash or of soda are also applicable for
giving to fabrics a finish, which may be graduated at will, and renders them
very water-tight.
Another application of the solution of silicate is for mixing the same with
paper and pasteboard pulp, for the purpose of rendering the paper & paste-
board made with it more substantial.
.
In conclusion, what I claim as novel with reference to the preceding
description is,―
First, completely substituting the solutions of silicate of soda or of potash
for oil, essence, glue, &c. for any kind of painting, printing, varnishing, and
gilding on any kind of surface or object, and using for these paints artificial
or natural sulphate of barytes, to be applied in many cases as substitutes for
white lead and zinc white.
Second, the use of solutions of silicate for fixing in the cold state paints,
enamels, varnishes, and gilding upon porcelain and glass; and in the case of
he latter, when it is desired to obtain a plain or uniform tint, by doubling
or lining the white glass with a sheat or leaf of coloured glass fixed upon it
by means of silicate.
Third, the mode of joining pieces or panes of glass edgeways by means of a
ement consisting of an alkaline silicate and certain oxyds.
Fourth, preparing with silicates obtained by the dry process lime and some
ilicious matter, a mortar to be used instead of painters' and hydraulic
ements, and also coments for joining iron, and for mouldings, and other plastic
urposes.
Fifth, the use and application of soluble silicates in letter-press printing

page_text: and writing materials, by forming black or differently coloured printing ink,
and also an indelible writing ink.
Sixth, manufacturing plain and velveted paper hangings, sand, and emery
paper by using the silicate as described.
Seventh, using the silicates for printing fabrics, and fixing upon them
printing colours, such as ultramarine and lakes.
Eighth, using the said silicates for finishing fabrics and stiffening paper
pulp, and also for fixing the latter in a pulverulent state on paper and on
fabrics.
Ninth, the method of colouring, preparing, or dyeing calcareous stones,
shells, or other substances whose base is carbonate of lime, by boiling them
with or without artificial pressure in a more or less concentrated solution of
sulphates of insoluble oxyds, and by fixing the colours or colourless oxyds thus
absorbed by means of an alkaline silicate.
Tenth, the method of using hydro-fluosilicic acid, either for hardening
directly calcareous stones, by covering them with a silicions cement, which
also prepares them for receiving the silicious painting above described, or for
fixing the potash that is contained in stones that have been hardened by
the application of silicate of potash; or else for merely rendering insoluble the
silicious colours after they have been applied.
In witness whereof, I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of June, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
A. E. LOKADOUX BELLFORD. (L.S.)