Page:Cyclopedia of Painting-Armstrong, George D (1908).djvu/316

308 to the objectionable practice of spreading a coat of size mixed with water and whiting over the new work.

This may serve for temporary purposes, but it will soon be seen that it should not be adopted in good work or where durability is expected. To a certain extent the size stops the absorbent powers of the wood or plaster, but it prevents the proper adhesion of the oil paint, which soon cracks or peels off. It may, however, be used with advantage in old work, where the grease would prevent the proper drying of the oil paint, but even in such cases it is best, when possible, to scrape the wood or plaster until a new surface is reached, on which the oil paint may be successfully applied.

When the priming is thoroughly dry, it is to be rubbed down with glass paper and this operation, although in itself simple, requires a certain amount of care so that the rubbing may be equally effective over the whole surface. In order that this result may be attained, the glass paper used should not be a mere scrap, rubbed carelessly about in various directions, by which means some parts will be passed over oftener than others, and the paint may be nearly rubbed off in one spot whilst it is left almost untouched on another. A piece of the paper should be wrapped round a flat piece of wood, say 4 inches long by 3 inches wide and 1 inch thick, forming a kind of brush, and this should be rubbed equally over the whole surface, which will thus be nicely smoothed, whilst its perfectly level character will not be injured. A piece of glass paper which has been used several times in this way should be saved for use in the later stages of the work, when great refinement is required. A strip of glass paper may be wrapped over the edge of a piece of wood shaped like a chisel for use in the edges of panels and similar situations, or round the finger or a piece of rag for the curved parts of mouldings, great care being taken that a stiff edge, such as is formed by a sudden bend in the glass paper, may not come in