Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 91.djvu/473

 �Painting the Automobile

��Bv James M.Kano

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��THE enjoyment of that "did it myself" feeling, quite as much as economic reasons, impels the automobile owner to paint or refinish his own car. The time- saving, ready-mixed preparations — full di- rections on each package — now in the market, will aid him greatly. By purchas- ing advertised materials, put up by reliable manufacturers, he can, if he follows the directions carefully, look forward to a satisfactory termination of the work. A few coats of material carefully put on and allowed to dry out thoroughly will look better and give better wear than a dozen coatings carelessly applied.

If the car is in such bad shape that all the old coatings must be removed down to the wood or metal, procure a can of paint remover, and use as directed. After all the old coatings are removed, wash the car with gasoline to remove all traces of the paint remover, then smooth the surface with No. o sandpaper, and clean out all rust spots, cracks and depressions with emery or sandpaper. Dust off and apply the priming-coat and proceed as in re- finishing.

Presuming that the car is to be finished in black, which is the safest, and at the present time the most popular, purchase the following materials:

��I — I lb. can of coach black-ground in Japan

I — I lb. can of white lead

I can of (black) color and varnish, mixed

I tube of oil color for lettering and striping

I quart of turpentine

x /i pint linseed oil

Yi pint Japan drier

i quart rubbing varnish

I quart finishing varnish

Yz lb. ground pumice stone

I putty knife

I felt rubbing pad, made from old felt hat

I can patent crack filler

\i lb. whiting

Yz doz. sheets No. o sandpaper for rough work

Yz, doz. sheets No. 00 sandpaper for fine work

I — 2^-in. flat brush for color

��1 — % or H-in. flat brush for color

I — 2^-in. flat, chisel shape, varnish brush

I — % or M-in., chisel shape, varnish brush

I or 2 camel's hair stripers — fine

I camel's hair, or sable lettering brush, small

The large brushes are for the board surfaces, and the small brushes for the edges, moldings, etc.

The whiting and Japan drier will be necessary to make hard putty, but unless the depressions are deep, use the patent crack-filler exclusively.

Add enough black color to the putty so that it will match the gray color of the priming coat. Putty is made of whiting, raw linseed oil and Japan. A good putty can be made of dry white lead mixed in equal quantities of coach Japan and rubbing varnish, which is reduced with turpentine if necessary. Whiting is designated in the list of materials, but if the last mentioned recipe is used a small quantity of dry white lead can be used instead of whiting.

Tell your dealer what you want the materials for. He may be able to give you some valuable information regarding new preparations.

Painting Room

Select a clean, well lighted place in which to paint the car. A room that can be heated, if necessary, is best. Jack the car up on 4 strong boxes or trestles. Arrange them far enough away from the wheels to give you room to work on the inner sides of wheels. Do not remove the wheels as the bearings may drop out, and. they are hard to replace.

Wash off all the mud you can with a hose. Scrape off all greasy mud and grease, with a scraper or putty knife. Take a stiff brush, dip it in gasoline, and loosen up what remains in the crevices and on the surface. Clean out the brush and give a final scrubbing with clean gasoline to re- move all traces of grease and greasy mud.

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