ge; it is also more in
character with the work of the Middle Ages. Another advantage is the
facility of obtaining a new polish (after being once done) should the
first one get tarnished, as the finishing process can be performed
without difficulty by any one, and a new polish obtained each time.
On receiving a job which is required to be done in this style, it should
be "filled-in" in the usual manner, and afterwards bodied with white
polish to a good extent; it is then left for a sinking period (say
twelve hours). The work is then carefully rubbed down with powdered
pumice-stone and a felt-covered block or rubber, and after well dusting
it is ready for finishing. The preparation used for this process is
mainly composed of bees'-wax and turpentine (see Wax Polish, page 87),
well rubbed in with a piece of felt or a woollen rag, and finished off
by rubbing briskly with a very soft cloth or an old handkerchief to
produce a gloss.
=Dull or Egg-shell Polish.=--This is another style of finishing for
mediaeval work; the process is very simple. In commencing a job to be
finished in this style, the process of "filling-in" and "embodying" are
first gone through, then a sinking period is allowed, after which it is
embodied again, till the work is ready for finishing. All the parts
should be carefully examined to see if there is a good coating of polish
upon them. This is important, for if the work should be only thinly
coated it is liable to be spoiled by rubbing through in the last
process. After allowing a few hours for the surface to harden, a pounce
bag of powdered pumice-stone should be applied to the work, and a
felt-covered rubber used, rubbing down in the direction of the grain
until the work is of the desired dulness.
For the cheaper kind of work done in this style, the first process, of
course, is the filling-in; then a rubber of wadding is taken and used
without a cover, made rather sappy with polish and a few drops of oil
added; and after bodying-in with this sufficiently, the work should be
stood aside for twelve hours, then rubbed down with some fine worn
glass-paper. The embodying is then again commenced, a proper rubber and
cover being used; and when sufficient is put on, and while the surface
is still soft, the pounce above mentioned should be applied, and rubbed
down with a piece of wadding slightly moistened with linseed-oil until
the desired dulness appears. This is becoming the fashionable finish for
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