IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF PAINTS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Fentiman, of Upper East Smithfield, in
the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PREPARATION OF PAINTS."
Sealed the 2nd January 1866, and dated the 7th July 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Fentiman at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th
July 1865.
I, GEORGE FENTIMAN, of Upper East Smithfield, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF PAINTS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the preparation of paints.
For these purposes shellac is pulled in hot water till it becomes white or
nearly so, when it is dissolved in spirit. Gum tragacanth is dissolved in
boiling water and the two solutions are mixed together, and by such means a
vehicle is produced with which ordinary coloring pigments are ground or
mixed; in some cases camphor is added to the paints. The proportions of
the materials will vary, but ordinarily the preparation consists of about two
and a half pounds of shellac to each gallon of alcoholic spirit with about four

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Fentiman in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
6th January 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
FENTIMAN, of Upper East Smithfield, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said George Fentiman, Her special licence that I, the said George
Fentiman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said George Fentiman, my 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF PAINTS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Fentiman, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, 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
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Fentiman, 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 state-
ment thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the preparation of paints.
For these purposes shellac is pulled till it becomes white or nearly so, when
it is dissolved in spirit. Gum tragacanth is dissolved in boling water and
the two solutions are mixed. together, and by such means a vehicle is produced
with which ordinary coloring pigments are ground, or mixed camphor and
other materials are advantageously added to the paints.

page_text: And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I
prefer to conduct the process.
I take, say, three pounds of shellac and melt it with a slow heat, then I
stir in one ounce of powdered borax and allow it to cool. As soon as the
gum can be handled I take it out of the vessel and work it by drawing it out
and rolling it together constantly in the hands for, say, about half an hour,
less or more according as the operator works hard or otherwise; during this
time the shellac is dipped frequently into hot water to keep it sufficiently
plastic; thus the shellac is made nearly white. I then dissolve this bleached
lac in one gallon of methylated spirit, to which I also add at the same time
one pound of resin, half a pound of Burgundy pitch, and one ounce of
camphor; the whole is stirred up frequently until the solution is complete ;
heat is not required; the solution should be strained through muslin. I also
dissolve two ounces of gum tragacanth in water by boiling, and I make the
solution of such a consistency that when cold a stick will just stand up in it.
I add to this solution one pound of castor oil, and with the mixture I grind
any pigment according to the color of paint required and the quantity of pig-
ment required, for my improved paints will be the same as would be employed
in making ordinary paint of a similar color. When the incorporation of the
pigment is complete I add the solution of gums and stir the whole together;
when strained the paint is ready for use.
In place of pulling the shellac in the manner above described, I sometimes
bleach the gums after they are dissolved by passing chlorine through the
solution prepared as above described until the color is discharged; as far as
this process will effect it, this method of bleaching is not applicable when
some few pigments or colors are used which chlorine is liable to injure. For
very dark paints the bleaching may be omitted.
In the above composition the camphor is added to render the drying more
rapid;
the castor oil serves to make the paint work smoothly with the brush;
the gum tragacanth gives tenacity to the compound, preventing it cracking
and separating from the surface to which it is applied. Where the paint is
to be used in a dry situation or climate the proportion of gum tragacanth may
advantageously be increased; sometimes I use the paint for coating the
bottoms of ships, and in this case the quantity of resin may with advantage be
considerably increased.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the exact details described; but what I claim is the employment in the

page_text: manufacture of paints of a solution of shellac and other gums in spirit,
together with a solution of gum tragacanth in water, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Fentiman, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Third day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
GEO. FENTIMAN. (L.S.)