Page:Cyclopedia of Painting-Armstrong, George D (1908).djvu/41



After the body is completed by the wood-worker, the painter gives it a thorough dusting inside and out, and proceeds to prime it. Pouring from the can a small quantity of filler with an ordinary paint brush, perfectly clean, or one kept for the purpose, and not used for paint, he coats over a portion of the body, the back, or one side, taking no great pains to spread it evenly, he may daub it on, then immediately wipe over and rub in every part with rags. This rubbing with rags spreads the priming evenly, and forces it into the pores. Go on in this manner until the whole is done, over wood and iron alike, leaving no surface coat as of paint or varnish, the hand should scarcely be soiled or greased if passed over a finished portion of the work. The canvased parts inside, if any, may be painted with slush paint, for they would absorb a great amount of filler with no corresponding benefit. It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the mind of the painter desiring to make a successful use of the filler, that it must be put on sparingly and be well wiped or rubbed into all parts of the work, and that only one coat should be applied.

The body should now be set aside to dry, and forty-eight hours should be given, unless the weather is favorable, when the time may be shortened to 36, and even to 24 hours without detriment. There will be a thin film covering the hard parts of the wood, and the iron work, and the filler being-composed principally of oil and a gummy or filling substance will have entered the pores and sealed them against the entrance of dampness or the liquids from subsequent coats of paint.

Priming the Wheels and Under Parts. When the wheels, beds and bars are finished by the wheelwright, and before