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Miscellaneous Recipes and Processes.(Pre World War II)

WARNING! Many of the substances used in the following recipes are highly poisonous and serveral of the ensuing processes are very dangerous and should NOT be attempted by persons unless expert in their use and knowledgeable of the chemicals involved.

Acid-proofing for Woodwork.
Woodwork which has to be proofed against acids (e.g. laboratory benches) can be treated with the following:
Copper sulphate . . . . . . .one eighth part.
Potassium chlorate . .......one eighth part.
Water . ..........................one part
The wood should be thoroughly clean and well sanded and the above ingredients brought to the boil and applied liberally while still hot.
When dry, apply, cold:
Aniline oil . . . . . . 3 parts.
Hydrochloric acid . . . . .4½  parts
Water. . . . . . . . 25 parts
When dry, repeat the process, applying a further coat of the first solution, followed, after a drying interval, by another coat of the second. When dry, wash with soap and water to remove any excess chemicals.

Adhesive for Labels on Tins.

Gum tragacanth . . . . . . 2 oz
Hot water . . . . . . 1 pint.
Dextrin . . . . . . . . 1 oz.
Household flour . . . . . . 6oz
Dissolve the gum in the hot water. In another vessel, place the dextrin and flour, adding a little cold water and mixing well. Then pour in the gum tragacanth solution, stirring continuously. Add a pint of boiling water and stir thoroughly again. When the whole is well mixed and free from lumps, stir in:
Salicylic acid . . . . . 1 oz.
Glycerine . . . . . . . 1 oz
Boil for a few minutes. The surface of the tin must be clean and adhesion is improved if it is slightly roughened with emery cloth or other abrasive.

Adhesive for Sticking Paper to Glass, Metal, etc.
A useful adhesive, which can be employed in shop-window dressing for sticking paper pelmets, etc., to glass, or for similar purposes, can be made as follows:
Milk casein . . . . . . . ½lb.
Water . . . . . . . . 1pint.
Liquid ammonia . . . . . . ½oz.
Add the casein to the water, breaking down any lumps and add the ammonia. Stir well and heat the mixture to a temperature not higher than 150 deg. F.,- until a smooth paste is formed. If necessary, thin by the addition of warm water. This paste has the advantage of being only very slightly opaque.

Antique Cracking Effect.
An antique cracking effect is sometimes required for the treatment of such articles as lampshades, period furniture, etc. It can be carried out as follows:
See that the surface of the oiled paper or parchment used for the lamp­shade (or the existing finish, if furniture is being treated) is clean and then brush or spray on a coat of clear spirit varnish. Allow this to become thoroughly dry and then coat the whole surface with a solution of concentrated glue and hot water or, alternatively, dextrine and warm water. Within a few minutes of application, this will have the effect of cracking the varnish film into irregular square or oblong formation. If desired, two coats of varnish may be applied instead of one, and the thicker the coating and the softer the varnish, the wider will be the crack formation. Thus, a very thin film of hard varnish will produce very small squares.
Allow the cracking solution to dry thoroughly and then rub over the work with a lintless rag lightly charged with ready-bound drop black, umber, sienna, or other suitable pigment, well thinned with turpentine. The colour will penetrate the cracks and can be rubbed off the remainder of the surface by means of another rag, moistened with turpentine or white spirit. After allowing several hours for drying, take a sponge dipped in warm water and go over the work to remove the glue or dextrine coating.

Antiquing Copper .
An appearance of antiquity can be obtained on copper or bronze objects, such as casts, door furniture, etc., in various ways. The metal should be clean and free from grease and then immersed in the following solution:
Copper nitrate. . . . . . . 8 oz.
Calcium chloride . . . . . .8oz
Ammonium chloride . . . . . 8oz
Water . . . . . . . . 1 gal.
Alternatively, use the following:
Nitrate of iron . . . . . 4 oz.
Hyposulphate of soda . . . . . 4 oz
Water . . . . . . . 1 quart.
Apply until the required tone is obtained and then rinse with clear water.

Barbers’ Poles Painting.
A simple method of finishing barbers’ poles in the traditional red, white, and blue colouring is as follows:
After the usual preparation, prime, undercoat, and coat the whole pole in white paint. When this is dry and hard, wrap the pole with strips of masking paper or tape, so as to cover the areas which are to remain white and, with a flat brush, apply the blue, taking care not to allow any of the colour to flow beneath the paper or tape. When dry, wrap again and apply the red in a similar manner.
For this work, ready-bound coachpainters’ colours, thinned, if necessary, with pure turpentine, are suitable, finishing with a coat of pale varnish.

Beetles, Cockroaches, etc., Exterminating.
Some of the better- known brands of exterminators are probably as effective as anything the painter can make up, but two old and reliable recipes are as follows:
1. Pyrethrum powder . . . . . . 28 parts.
Barium carbonate . . . . . . 3 parts
Caster sugar . . . . . . . i part.

2. Powdered borax . . . . . 2 parts.
Alum . . . . . . . 1 part.
Flour . . . . . . . . 2 parts.
It should be added that it is usually a long and troublesome business eradicating pests of this kind if they have been in a building for some time, because, though the mixtures given above will destroy the adult beetles or cockroaches, new batches of eggs are periodically hatched out. If possible, skirtings, door cases and other fittings where the insects breed, should be removed in an endeavour to destroy the eggs, and the powder laid in the neighbourhood of their runs, but it will in most instances be necessary to persevere with the treatment for a considerable length of time.

Brass Polish.-
1. Petroleum jelly . . . . . . 14 parts.
Tripoli powder . . . . . 10 parts
Fine sifted whiting . . . . . 1part.
Paraffin . . . . .1 part

2. Petroleum jelly . . . 9 parts.
Kieselguhr . . . . . . . 3 parts
Paraffin wax . . . . . . . 1 part.
Powdered chalk . . . . . .1 part
Sodium hypophosphite . . . . . 5 parts.

Brass, to Remove Tarnish from.
To remove tarnish from brass, use a dilute (10 to 15 per cent.) solution of hydrochloric acid. As this is poisonous, it should be handled with great care to ensure that no splashes come in contact with the skin or clothing. Rubber gloves should be worn and the solution applied with a mop.
As soon as the tarnish has been removed, wash the brass thoroughly with repeated changes of water. If this is not done, traces of the acid left on the surface will eat into the metal. The solution will have a slight etching effect which will provide a good key for a subsequent lacquer or varnish coating.

Bright Metallic Finish.
A smooth, silver-like finish, free from the somewhat granular effect of aluminium paint, can be obtained by coating a prepared surface with a mixture half of carriage varnish and half of gold size, allowing this to reach a slight tack, and then dusting on aluminium-bronze powder, burnishing with a pad of cotton wool. When a uniform lustre has been obtained, dust off all surplus powder with clean cotton wool and apply a protective coating of water-white spirit varnish.
By using gold-bronze powder, an effect of burnished gold can be obtained. The spirit varnish must be applied within a short time or the metallic powder will darken.

Bronze, to Clean.
Before attempting to clean bronze shop fronts or similar work, steps should be taken to determine whether the metal is genuine bronze or brass which has been treated to resemble bronze. If the latter, no more than a wash down with a sugar soap or soda solution should be given.
Real bronze can be effectively cleaned with a solution of acetic acid(vinegar) in which as much common table salt as possible has been dissolved.
Swab on to the work and rub with clean coarse rags. This is quite as satisfactory as a solution of sodium cyanide (8 oz. to 1gal. hot water) which has the disadvantage of being extremely poisonous and dangerous to handle.
After cleaning, the bronze must be protected with clear lacquer or varnish or it will tarnish in a short time.

Bronzing Brasswork.
Brass shop-fronts and other brasswork can be given a bronze finish by the following chemical treatment:
Ammonium oxalate . . . . . . 6 oz.
Salammoniac . . . . . . . 6 oz
Vinegar . . . . . . . 2 pints.
Water . . . . . . . . 1 gal.

The surface of the brass must be clean and entirely free from grease. Wash well and then go over the dried surface with a rag moistened in petrol to ensure this. Mix the ingredients mentioned above together and apply with a soft brush or mop, taking care not to allow the solution to come into contact with any adjoining paintwork. Two or three applications may be necessary, according to the shade and depth of colour required. By increasing the proportion of vinegar, the greenish tone can be accentuated.
The above treatment may be used if what is generally known as a “Florentine Bronze” finish is specified.

Brush Cleaners.
Paint brushes, the bristles of which have been allowed to become hard and charged with paint owing to failure to clean after use, can often be revived by using the following solutions:

Solution  No. 1:
Paraffin . . . . . . . . 1 pint.
Oleic acid . . . ½ pint
Solution No. 2:
Liquid ammonia . . . . eighth of a pint
Alcohol . . . . . . . . eighth of a pint
Stir solution No. 2 slowly into No.1 until a smooth mixture is obtained and suspend the affected brushes in this overnight. Next morning, wash out well with warm water. The setting of most (though not all) good makes of brushes will not be affected, but in any case, since a brush caked with - hard paint is useless, no great harm is done should the setting be attacked.

Part 2