Important: Safety Warning
This page describes practices involving highly flammable materials in ways that create a serious risk of fire or explosion.
This page describes trade processes that use dangerously toxic materials such as cyanide solutions, mercury amalgams, or strong acids. These processes require training, equipment, and precautions far beyond what the text describes.
This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon.
Home › Adhesives, Paints, and Varnishes › Adhesives, Paints, and Varnishes: Cork
Adhesives, Paints, and Varnishes: Cork
Or dissolve in pint of turpentine 6 ounces of white wax. Cork tightly and let stand in a warm place until dissolved, shaking frequently. Cover 1 ounce of castile soap with 2 gills of water, bring to a boil, and mix with the wax and turpentine. This is a standard commercial article.
Paste for Mahogany Furniture.- Moisten 2 ounces of beeswax shavings with turpentine, add ounce of rosin, melt to a paste with gentle heat, and color with Venetian red.
Or pour over ounce of alkanet root 1 pint of turpentine. Let stand 48 hours. Strain through muslin.
Add 4 ounces of beeswax shavings, cork tightly, and let stand, shaking occasionally until dissolved.
Or mix and dissolve 4 ounces of beeswax shavings, 1 ounce of rosin, and 2 ounces of turpentine. Color with Venetian red.
SOLDER AND SOLDERING To Mend Tinware. -Tin plate may be mended by covering small openings with melted solder (an alloy of tin with lead), or by soldering a suitable patch of sheet tin, tin plate, or zinc over larger openings. Before soldering, it is necessary to apply a ADHESIVES, PAINTS, AND VARNISHES solution of zinc in acid to the adjacent parts. This is known as soldering liquid. To Make Soldering Liquid.-Put in a strong glass bottle or other vessel 2 ounces of muriatic acid. Cut scraps of sheet zinc into narrow strips and feed them into the liquor as fast as they will dissolve. The acid at first will unite with the zinc and generate considerable heat, which may burst the bottle. Hence do this preferably out of doors, and take care that the acid does not get on anything of value.
Or dissolve the zinc in an open vessel, and afterwards bottle for use.
When the acid ceases to dissolve the zinc, add 1 ounce of sal ammoniac and boil 10 minutes in an earthenware or copper vessel, but do not use any other metal for this purpose.
Cork tightly. Apply this liquid with a feather to the parts to be soldered, or by wetting the cork of the bottle.
A few drops are sufficient. Do not let it fall on the hands or clothing.
This liquid causes the solder to flow freely and makes it adhere.