AN IMPROVED COMPOSITION FOR ENAMEL. PAINT, VARNISH, CEMENT, OR PLASTER
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Willian Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
COMPOSITION FOR ENAMEL. PAINT, VARNISH, CEMENT, OR PLASTER."-A com-
munication from abroad by William Barney Watkins, of the City,
County, and State of New York, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert
Lake at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 27th November 1865.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Con-
sulting Eugineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED COMPOSITION FOR ENAMEL, PAINT, VARNISH. CEMENT, OR PLASTER,"
a communication, to be as follows:-
The said Invention consists in the combination and application of the
silicate of soda or potash of the strength of twenty to thirty degrees Baumé,
with finely ground white statuary marble or other unburnt carbonate of lime,
china or white clay, white oxide of zinc, dry colors for paints, for coloring
the composition when required, and the use of certain degrees of artificial
heat for fixing or hardening the enamels, cements. and paints, as herein-after
[Price 8d.]

page_text: described. These ingredients are all ground in a suitable mill before using
them to an impalpable creamy-like consistence, and according as it is used
either as a paint, varnish, cement, or enamel, the composition is tempered by
adding either more ground marble or other carbonate of lime to stiffen it,
or more of the liquid silicate of soda or potash to thin it, as may be required.
As a base for the composition of matter, the following proportions are used:-
For cements, two parts by weight of ground marble to one part by weight
of the silicate of soda or potash; for the enamel, about equal parts by
weight of the ground marble and silicate of soda; for the paints, two parts
by weight of the silicate of soda to one part by weight of ground marble, to
which is added about one part by weight of the white oxide of zinc to about
four parts by weight of the ground marble, and about one part by weight of
china or white clay to about every ten parts by weight of the ground marble
used; and for the varnish, five to ten per cent. by weight of ground marble
to one part by weight of the silicate of soda, and heated in a suitable vessel
till a thick scum rises on its surface, when it is allowed to cool and settle,
and the clear solution drawn off for use as a varnish for covering the paint,
enamel, or cement, as required. Small quantities of the white oxide of zinc
may be used instead of the marble in the preparation of the varnish. For
coarse cements and plasters, sand or fine gravel stones may be added to the
composition to give body to it. And to give the paints, enamels, or cements
different colors, any or all of the varions dry colors employed for paints may
be used, by mixing them with the several compositions of matter as required.
For the ordinary purposes of painting, the composition drys readily, and
forms a perfect coating to the wood or other article to which it is applied,
that cannot be rubbed off, and at the same time when dry is insoluble, and
when varnished over by the silicate of soda varnish has a highly finished and
glossy surface. In the application of thecomposition of matters for enamelling
or coating the surfaces of metals, earthenware, and other articles, the said
composition is first exposed to the atmosphere for several hours to dryit; after
which it is submitted to about three hundred degrees of heat Fahrenheit grade
to vitrify the enamel. It is then finished by a coating of the silicate of soda
varnish. Where however the heat used to harden the enamel does not exceed
one hundred and fifty degree of heat Fahrenheit grade, the silicate of soda
varnish may be applied before heating it. In some cases oil or resinous varnishes
may be used to finish the surfaces of paints, plasters, or other compositions
as a substitute for the silicate of soda varnish, but of course will not become
hard and vitreous like the silicate varnish. The application and preparation
of the composition for use as an enamel, paint, cement, or plaster, may be

page_text: modified in the proportions of the ingredients, and also as to the degree of
heat used, without materially affecting the qualities of the composition, any
such modificatiors, therefore, as may be made are hereby claimed as being
substantially the same as the Invention herein described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 4th May 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of November, 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 William Robert Lake, Her special licence that I, the said
William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
aud 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 "AN IMPROVED COMPOSITION FOR ENAMEL, PAINT, VARNISH, CEMENT,
OR PLASTER," upon the condition (amongst others) that the said William
Robert Lake, 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 William Robert Lake, 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:-
I take about equal quantities by weight of fine white marble and an alkaline
ilicate, the silicate being about 25 to 30 degrees Baumé, and mix them

page_text: well together, until the same is about the consistency of thick cream, then
grind them together. The ingredients may be heated when mixed, but prefer
to use them without heat. I use sometimes a less weight of the silicate to
the marble used. If it is to be used as a plaster or cement, I use about 2
parts of marble to 1 part of the silicate; if for an enamel, I use about equal
parts; if for a paint, I use about 2 parts by weight of the silicate to 1 part
of marble, the silicate being of specific gravity about 20 degrees. I use in
the paint about equal parts of carbonate of lime, as, for instance, Paris white
or whiting, that is to say, equal parts of dry fine white marble and carbonate
of lime, with about twice its weight of the silicate aforesaid at 20 degrees.
I use in the composition for the paint about 1 part of white oxide of zinc to
every four parts of the marble used, and I use about 1 part of China clay
or white clay to every 10 or 12 parts of marble used. All these substances
I grind in a mill before using, except it is for a coarse paint. I can and do
use in the above composition of matter which forms my enamel, cement,
plaster, and paint, and which I have described, some of the following earthy
and metallic colors, for the purpose of giving color to the composition of
matter, terra sienna, red and yellow ochre, india red, vermillion, ultramarine,
oxide of iron, alumina, red chalk, chromes, ivory and lamp black, &c. The
alkaline silicates which are used for the purpose of a gloss or varnish over
the surface of the paint, enamel, and plaster is prepared as follows:-I use
the same silicious silicate that I form my composition for paints. I add
from 5 to 10 per cent. of marble in powder to the silicate, which silicate
should be 18 to 20 degrees Baumé, and then heat it until a thick scum rises
on the surface. Then I let it settle, and when it becomes clear I use it as
a varnish over the white colors, I use it to saturation, and to the extent
of producing a fine gloss. For the purpose of varnishing over colors I use
the same silicates prepared in the same manner with from 2 to 3 per cent. of
a white oxide of zinc, instead of the carbonate of lime or the marble as
aforesaid. In the event of the enamel or the paints becoming too thick for
use I use more alkaline silicates (prepared as above named) to thin the
paints and enamels, and if I find the paints too thin, I use more of the dry
materials in their composition. For a very thin paint I use 3 parts of
silicate to 1 part of the dry materials by weight. The formation of my com-
position of matter (whether as a paint or enamel by the use of the described
substances, and the relative proportions herein-before set forth,) are such that
after their first application of one single coating to any substance, and after
it becomes dry on such surface it resists water and is insoluble, and is also
blaze-proof to fire. In the enamelling of surfaces I use all of the different

page_text: colors previously mixed up with the white enamel as a base, as follows:-I
place the colors in drops or in larger bodies on the marble enamel while the
same is soft, and before it becomes dry, then spread or diffuse the colors into
the ground work by concussion, giving it the appearance of native or natural
marble. I can use on my composition of matter when it becomes dry on
the surface, either in the form of enamel or paint any of the well known
resinous or oil varnishes instead of a silicate varnish if preferred, with a
good result. In the use of the enamel paint for the purpose of covering
iron, steel, or other solid metallic substances, or for the production of an
artificial marble or stone, crockery, buttons, ornaments, porcelain, enamelling
iron vessels, and for various other similar purposes, I apply a heat to the
article so covered, or coated, or fabricated, not to exceed 300 degrees
Fahrenheit. I submit the article to this heat after its coatings are dry, and
this I do before I apply the gloss or silicate varnish on the enamel or paint,
but when the article so coated requires a low degree of heat, say from 100
to 150 degrees, the silicate varnish can in that case be applied before heating.
In the preparation of the composition for a cement to apply on stone, brick,
or for the production of artificial stone, or for coating roughly on surfaces of
any kind, I use sand, pebbles, gravel, or similar hard earthy substances in
the cement in different proportions for the purpose of utility and economy,
and then afterwards apply the silicate varnish to the same and on the
surfaces of the same, to give it a hard vitreous finish. For the purpose
of applying the enamel to paper or cloth and other articles, I dry the
enamel after its application very slowly, and after it is thoroughly dry, I
find that the application of a resinous varnish, as copal, shellac, damar, &c.,
produce a very good effect, particularly on substances liable to warp or
shrink, also giving the enamel more elasticity.
Having now described the said Invention as communicated to me from my
foreign correspondent, I will proceed to set forth what is claimed as new,-
1st, a composition of matter formed and prepared from ground or
pulverized marble, and an alkaline silicate as a base, substantially as set
forth, for the purposes of making an enamel, cement, and paint.
2nd, the use of a carbonate of lime, white oxide of zinc, and silicate of
alumina into the base of the composition of matter for the purposes of a
paint, enamel, and cement, substantially as set forth.
3rd, the method or process for the preparation of alkaline silicates,
preparatory to its use in the composition of matter, and for its uses as a
varnish in the application of the paint, enamel, and plaster, substantially
as described.

page_text: 4th, the use and application of the different colors and shades of colors
by the mode or process of blending by concussion or otherwise into the
composition of matter, while the same is soft or fluid, and before the
same has become hard, substantially as set forth.
5th, the mode of the application of certain temperatures of heat to the
articles fabricated from the composition of matter, and to metallic or
earthy substances coated and enameled therewith, substantially as set forth.
6th, the use of an oil or an oil and resinous varnish, or the composition
of matter (after the same has become dry) in one or more coatings,
substantially as set forth.
7th, the use and application of sand and pebbles into my composition of
matter, for the purposes of a cement, &c., substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)
Witness,
GEORGE HASELTINE.