There is a class of graining that is frequently referred to as commercial graining, because it is done more cheaply and with less care and ac curacy in the matter of imitation than the better work. A glance shows the expert that it is graining and not the natural oak or walnut— for these two woods are the only ones imitated in this cheaper work. This graining is very largely employed in finishing the kitchens of the small houses that are put up for sale by speculative bidders. These grained kitchens will stand hard service and resist steam and dampness much better than genuine oak or wal nut. It is easy to keep grained work clean by simply wiping it down with a damp cloth.
Although graining is too difficult to be under taken except by the specialist, its principles should be understood by the painter and builder.
Several operations are necessary to produce a piece of graining, and these operations require in all from four to seven or eight coats of paint or varnish. First, the work is grounded; then the work is grained either in oil or water color; and lastly the work is shellacked or varnished. Ordinary painted or varnished work seldom has more than four coats.
The first thing to be clone to insure a good job of graining is to get the surface of the wood as smooth as possible. Any surface roughnesses or inequalities will mar the finished work. So, if the carpenter has not thoroughly sandpapered or cleaned up the work, the first duty of the painter is to get at it with sandpaper or steel wool and make the surface smooth. If the grain ing is to be done over old painted work, the paint, if scaly or uneven, must first be removed; if in good condition, it may be cut down with steel wool or sandpaper until a smooth, even surface without gloss is left.
If the graining is to be done on new wood, and there is any danger of the presence of sap in the wood, it should be given a coat of shellac before the first coat of ground color. Indeed, this is always a useful precaution. All knots, of course, must be killed by coating them with shellac.
Where the wood to be imitated is light in color, such as maple, oak, or satinwood, or the work is to be done on new wood, either on clear white pine, whitewood, or spruce that is free from knots, the graining is sometimes done on a ground formed by giving the surface two thin coats of shellac. In some cases a coat of white
glue size is used, although this has the objection of raising the grain of the wood, and it can he used only when the graining is to be done in oil colors, as water or distemper colors would soften up the glue size, causing it to mix with the grain ing color and giving no proper foundation for the work. These methods of graining on a transparent ground, however, are suited only for certain cheap classes of work, particularly for furniture, and are neither so close an imita tion of the wood nor so durable as when the work is done with an oil and pigment ground color.
To prepare the ground for graining, the finest ground pure white lead and colors ground in pure linseed oil must be used. The appearance of the finished work will depend largely upon the care and trouble taken to have the ground just right. For ordinary work, two coats of ground color are applied, but far better results will be obtained by using three thin coats. For the first coat, on new work, only a small pro portion of turpentine is to be used in the thin ners. The second and third coats are thinned with one part of linseed oil to three parts of turpentine. A. little good varnish added to the thinners helps to harden the ground and leave it in better condition for graining. The graining color should always be strained through fine muslin or cheese-cloth before using, and the work must be lightly sandpapered and thor oughly dusted off between coats. Some grainers advocate the use of one part of red lead to three parts of white lead in the priming coat, as this dries harder than pure white lead.
One of the most important things to be con sidered in preparing the ground is the color. In this matter the only safe guide is nature. The ground color should be the lightest color found in the natural wood that is to be imitated after the latter has been finished and varnished. The first and second ground coats should be a little darker than the final one to insure evenness in color tone. Where grained work is to be done to match natural woodwork used in connection with it, it must not be forgotten that all wood gradually darkens in tone, and it is therefore best always to make the graining ground one or two shades darker than the lightest color of the woodwork to be matched.