Soft Wood Finishing

¶ Natural Finish: New Interior Soft Wood Trim, White Pine, Yellow Pine, Poplar and Cypress.

¶ Operation 1: Clean up the surface with a duster brush and putty knife. Sandpaper any rough places, remove grease, dirt, etc.

¶ Operation 2: Shellac. One thin coat of white shellac. Use about a three-pound cut, 3 pounds of shellac gum to 1 gallon of denatured alcohol.

¶ Operation 3: Putty. Fill holes, bruises and cracks: with putty mixed from white lead in oil, dry whiting and a little japan drier. Tint the putty to match the surface with dry colors. Let dry and sandpaper, then clean up thoroughly.

¶ Operation 4: Varnish. Apply two coats of first class interior varnish. Rub down the first coat with No. 00 sandpaper, rubbing just enough to remove the gloss and dirt nibs. Flow the second coat of varnish on a bit more freely than the first, but brush it enough to distribute the coating evenly and to avoid runs, sags and wrinkles. Rebrush, any defects with an empty brush before the varnish sets. Thin the first coat only of varnish with about 25 per cent of pure turpentine.

¶ Operation 5: Rub Dull. If a dull finish is wanted, rub the last coat lightly with grade FF pumice stone and oil or water as noted in Applying Varnish by Rubbing. Two coats of varnish will stand very little rubbing, and each coat must be bone dry.

¶ Operation 6: Color Tone. To change slightly the objectionable natural color of some woods, without staining, and to make a more uniform color over all, add to the first coat of varnish a touch of tinting color ground in japan. Such colors as raw and burnt sienna, raw and burnt umber are commonly used. Colors ground in oil and thinned with turpentine slightly can be used but the japan colors are better.

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