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House Cleaning: Paint

CLEANING PAINT To Clean Paint.-To clean paint and varnish, whiting, fuller's earth, cold tea, wood ashes, kerosene, soda, ammonia, turpentine, and bran water are all recommended. Do not use much soap or washing powders containing free alkali to clean paint, nor any soap at all to clean varnish.

Soap tends to streak or to remove paint. Keep the water warm, but not hot, and change frequently. Use a flannel cloth or chamois, as cotton and similar goods leave lint, which sticks to the paint.

Or use outing flannel or flannelette.

Old underwear makes good wash cloths for woodwork. Moisture is good for woodwork, and hence it should be wiped off once a week with a damp cloth, and will be improved by a thorough washing several times a year. If woodwork is too dry, it tends to shrink. Hence it is important to wash woodwork for the sake of moisture as well as for the sake of cleanliness. Beware of recipes which call for soft soap, lye, and strong soapsuds to clean paint.

They will remove the dirt, but in time will take the paint with it.

To Clean White Paint and Varnish. To clean white and other delicate colored paints and varnish, moisten chamois or flannel cloth with warm water, dip it in whiting or fuller's earth, and rub over the surface gently. This will remove the dirt and leave the paint as bright as new. Rinse with clear water and dry with a soft cloth.

Fuller's earth is an excellent substitute for soap.

HOUSE CLEANING Or, for white paint, moisten a cloth in milk, dip it in whiting or fuller's earth, and apply.

Or, to wash varnish or delicate paint, use cold tea, with or without whiting or fuller's earth. Apply with flannel and rub until clean.

Or boil a pound of bran in a gallon of water and with it wash the paint. This will thoroughly clean the most delicate surfaces without injuring them.

To Clean Coarse Paint.-First go over it with a cloth dipped in kerosene to loosen the smoke and grime. Then rinse with teacupful of kerosene in 1 gallon of water, and wipe dry with a soft cloth.

Or mix baking soda with water to form a thin paste. Smear the paint with this and wipe off with a cloth wrung out of clear warm water. Cover a small surface at a time and remove the soda before it dries.

Or wet a cloth in strong soda and water, wash the paint quickly, rinse with clear water, and dry at once.

This should not be used on varnish or delicate paint. The cloth should be damp rather than wet. warm of Or mix 1 tablespoonful of ammonia with 1 quart or more water for coarse or dirty woodwork. This saves labor and takes off the dirt, but should not be used on varnish or delicate painted surfaces.

Or dissolve 1 bar of hard white soap in 1 gallon of boiling water.

Add 1 tablespoonful each of sal soda and saltpeter and 2 tablespoonfuls of ammonia. Bottle and cork tightly for future use.

Or mix 1 quart of sweet oil with 1 pint of turpentine and apply.

To Polish Woodwork. -Mix equal parts of lard oil and turpentine, or 2 parts of sweet oil to 1 part of turpentine, and rub the woodwork lightly with a cloth saturated with the mixture. This may be used on any painted surface after washing.

To Remove Smoke Stains. - To remove smoke stains, wet a cloth, dip it into very fine sifted wood or coal ashes, and scour the paint clean.

To Remove Match Stains. - To remove the marks left by scratching matches on paint, rub gently with a slice of fresh lemon and rinse with clear water, using a soft cloth.

To Remove Paint. - Detergents recommended for removing paint from woodwork are turpentine, benzine, gasoline, chloroform, oxalic acid, ether, alcohol, caustic potash, sal soda, and quicklime. When paint begins to check, it indicates that its ingredients were impure, and it must be removed.

To soften the paint, apply with a paint brush wood alcohol, spirits of turpentine, benzine, or a strong solution of equal parts of oxalic acid and water. Any of these will soften the paint so that it can be wiped off with cloth scrubbed away. Repeat as often as necessary. a coarse or Or, if these do not soften the paint, apply chloroform, either alone or mixed with an equal quantity of spirits of ammonia. Moisten only a small surface, and scrape off the paint while moist before proceeding farther.

Or slake 3 pounds of quicklime, add 1 pound of potash, and dilute with water to the consistency of cream. Apply with a paint brush and let stand over night. Remove by washing the surface with a flannel cloth or mop dipped in a strong solution of sal soda and ammonia.

Or scrub with a stiff scrubbing brush.

Or dissolve a bar of hard yellow soap in twice its bulk of water.

When cool, add 1 tablespoonful of potash lye and ½ cupful of kerosene.

Before the mixture sets, apply to the woodwork with a paint brush.

After 24 hours apply a strong solution of sal soda with a scrubbing brush.

Or paint may be burned off by going over the surface with a flat flame produced by a regular lamp made for that purpose, called "paint burner."

Or apply a red-hot iron. Take care to remove the paint as soon as it is soft and before the wood is charred or burned.

To Remove Putty.-Go over the surface of the putty with a red-hot poker or other iron, taking care not to burn or char the woodwork. The putty can then be peeled off with a blunt knife blade.

Or with a brush apply a paste made of soap jelly containing caustic potash or soda. Or apply dilute sulphuric, nitric, or muriatic acid with a brush. But if any of these soaks into the woodwork, it tends to rot the frames. Hence burning is the better method.

To Destroy the Odor of Paint.- Fill a pail partly full of hay and pour over it boiling water. Let it stand in the room which has been painted.

WHITEWASHING Before applying whitewash, go over the wall or ceiling with a brush or dust cloth to remove dust, and wash with clear water. Fill all cracks and broken places with new plaster. Cut away the edges of broken places to make a square edge. Fill small cracks and breaks with plaster of Paris.

Do not apply whitewash until the surface is quite dry. Give two or more coats as needed.

To Prepare Whitewash.-The principal ingredients in various kinds of whitewash are slaked lime, whiting, Paris white or sulphate of baryta, oxide and sulphate of zinc, alum, sugar, rice and wheat flour, and glue mixed with milk or water. These ingredients are used in various combinations. The addition of a little bluing will make a clearer white, and a small amount of salt assists by making the whitewash stick better.

The following mixtures are recommended:

Dissolve 2 ounces of fresh slaked lime in a small amount of milk to the consistency of cream. Add sufficient milk to make 2 quarts and stir in slowly 5 pounds of whiting.

Mix the whole mass thoroughly by beating with a wooden spoon or an egg beater. For a clear white, add a little bluing. For a cream color, add a small amount of ocher, or tint with any other coloring matter as desired.