Marble Floor Finish DEVOE We are the oldest and largest manufacturers in our line in the United States. Our Specialty is Fine Varnish. F.W. Devoe & C. T. Raynolds Co. MANUFACTURERS OF PAINTS, VARNISHES ARTISTS’ MATERIALS BRUSHES NEW YORK ^ CHICAGO U Devoe Marble Floor Finish Devoe Marble Floor Finish Devoe Marble Floor Finish We call it Marble Floor Finish, be¬ cause it makes a marble-like finish on a floor. It is a varnish, and is the best that can be made for the purpose. It will resist the wear and tear which it necessarily receives on a floor. It is pale and preserves the natural color of the wood. It will dry over night. One gallon will cover 300 square feet, two coats. It will last a year on an office floor. It will last a year on a school house floor. It will last two years on a public hall. It will last two years on a private hall. It will last three years on a church floor. It will last three years on a bathroom floor. It will last four years on a bedroom floor. It will last four years on a parlor floor. 3 Devoe Marble Floor Finish A VARNISH MAKER Devoe Marble Floor Finish How to Apply Devoe Marble Floor Finish ON NEW WOOD. The floor must be thoroughly clean. And it must also be thoroughly dry. Do not put any kind of oil, either crude oil or linseed oil, on a floor that is to be varnished. If the wood is open-grained, it should be first filled with Devoe Paste Wood Filler. (See page 22 of this pamphlet for a list of open¬ grained woods.) Our Paste Wood Filler has full directions for use on each can. There will be needed from 7 to 10 pounds of the Filler for a surface that would be finished by a gallon of the Marble Floor Finish.* *The use of a filler is to fill up the pores of the wood and to produce a smooth, hard surface on which to put the varnish. Otherwise the varnish would sink into the porous parts of the wood, producing an irregular and pitted surface. 5 Devoe Marble Floor Finish After using the Wood Filler, apply a coat of Devoe Marble Floor Finish. The most desirable kind of brush to use is a 3-inch Chisel Edge, Double Thick, Bristle Varnish Brush. We make them in our Brush Factory. This is a reduced picture of such a brush, taken from our brush catalog: (See page 20 on the care of brushes.) After this first coat has dried for about 12 hours, the surface should be lightly sandpapered with OO sand¬ paper. The best way to do this is to cut a sheet of the sandpaper into four equal parts. Bend one of the pieces around a block of wood about three inches by four inches and an inch thick. This will fit the hand and facilitate the sandpapering. This sandpapering is done in order to remove any inequalities on the 6 Devoe Marble Floor Finish surface, and also to produce a slightly roughened surface on which the next coat of varnish will cling properly. After sandpapering, clean off the dust very carefully. Next, apply a second coat of Devoe Marble Floor Finish, wait 24 hours, and then the floor may be used. For extra nice work, three coats of varnish may be used. If this is to be done then the second coat should be allowed to dry for 24 hours, then sandpaper lightly as before, then apply the third or finishing coat. Note: —Some people do not like the high natural gloss produced by a CUM MELTING. Devoe Marble Floor Finish varnish. They want a ‘‘Sleepy” or “Egg Shell Finish.” This is pro¬ duced as follows: After the last or finishing coat has dried for about 24 hours, it should be rubbed with pumice stone and water. Take a piece of Rubbing Felt, about four inches square (we sell it), dampen a part of it with water, dip this into OO Powdered Pumice Stone (we sell it), and with this rub the varnished sur¬ face, working with the grain of the wood. Wipe the pumice stone and water off the surface from time to time with a bunch of rags, or better, with a sponge and chamois, so as to see how the rubbing is progressing. When this rubbing is finished the sur¬ face should be very carefully cleaned off and allowed to dry very thor¬ oughly. Then the surface should be carefully rubbed over with Devoe Polishing Oil. (Directions for use on each package.) If the wood on the floor is close- 8 Devoe Marble Floor Finish grained, then it is unnecessary to use Wood Filler. (See page 22 of this pamphlet for a list of close-grained woods.) In this case use what may be termed a “sizing/’ made by mixing together 1 /3 Devoe Marble Floor Finish and 2/3 turpentine, then apply two or three coats of Devoe Marble Floor Fnish, as directed above. Hard Pine or Pitch Pine should be given a coat of Shellac Varnish, in order to bind the pitch and prevent it from working through into the var¬ nish. While Hard Pine and Pitch Pine are listed among open-grained woods, they are not sufficiently so to necessitate the use of Wood Filler. Therefore, after applying the Shellac, the Marble Floor Finish may be next applied, as above. OLD FLOORS. Paint, Varnish, Wax or Shellac may be removed from old floors by using Devoe Paint and Varnish Remover. 9 Devoe Marble Floor Finish It will remove all these substances and will not injure the wood. Full directions for use are on each can. One gallon of it will remove 250 square feet of surface. After using it, the floor may be finished with Devoe Marble Floor Finish, as above. Devoe Marble Floor Finish is also made in various colors so as to imitate the following woods: Light Oak, Dark Oak, Cherry, Mahogany, Antique Oak, Walnut, Flemish Oak, Malachite Green. AGING VARNISH. 10 Devoe Marble Floor Finish We also make an nndercoating to be used on floors which may be in bad condition. Then any of the colors may be applied on top of the undercoating. If our goods are to be used on new floors made of close-grained woods, apply the Devoe Marble Floor Finish Stains direct to the wood, using a suf¬ ficient number of coats to produce the desired color and gloss. If they are to be used on open¬ grained woods, first fill the wood with Devoe Paste Wood Filler, then use the stains as noted on page 10. If the floors are old but of good color, they can be treated the same way as new floors; but if the floors are dis¬ colored with dirt and somewhat worn in places, we would advise putting on first a coat of Devoe Ground Color. When this is dry, the Stains can be applied direct to this surface. 11 Devoe Marble Floor Finish The Care of Floors Finished with Devoe Marble Floor Finish It is very easy to take care of a floor of this kind. All that is neces¬ sary to clean it is to moisten a woolen cloth with Devoe Polishing oil, rub this well into the floor, and wipe dry with a bunch of clean cloth. This will remove every kind of dirt, except candy or sweets. Any spots of this kind should be removed with a cloth dampened with water. It is bad prac¬ tice to use soap and water, especially hot water, on any varnished floor, for the reason that each time it is done it destroys some of the gloss of the varnish. Devoe Marble Floor Finish Suggestions on Applying Varnish The three most important points are: 1st. Keep the temperature as near 70° Fahrenheit as possible. 2d. Keep all dampness away during varnishing and during drying. 3d. Be certain that each coat is thor¬ oughly dry before applying the next. DRYING. The drying of varnish is retarded by both cold weather and hot weather. THINNING THE VARNISH. 13 Devoe Marble Floor Finish For this reason varnish should be ap¬ plied at a temperature as near 70° Fahrenheit as possible. Damp, muggy weather also retards the drying of varnish. Plenty of cool, dry air is necessary to make a varnish dry properly. Therefore, after doing inside work, open the windows an inch or two, top and bottom, so as to give the room plenty of good ventilation and light. It is a mistake to shut a room up tight after it has been varnished. If varnishing is done in cold weather the building should be properly heated during the work. It is also important that the varnish itself should be as near 70° Fahrenheit as possible. A chilled varnish should never be used. A can of varnish is liable to become chilled in a cold shop, or in a cold room, or even in carrying it from the shop to the job in cold weather. In this case it should be warmed up near a stove before com¬ mencing to use it. If the varnish is warmed up too much it may become a little frothy. This does no harm, as 14 Devoe Marble Floor Finish the bubbles are easily worked out with the brush. UNDERCOATS. Always be very certain that the undercoat of varnish is thoroughly dry before applying the next coat. This is a very important point. Sometimes a varnish may seem to be dry when in reality it is only dry on the surface. If another coat be put on this partially dried varnish, the whole job will be very liable to turn out badly in the fol¬ lowing ways: It may crack, as the undercoat will continue to dry, and will pull the fin¬ ishing coat apart. STORING GUM. 15 Devoe Marble Floor Finish It may lose its gloss in places, due to the finishing coat sinking into the soft undercoat. It may form very minute wrinkles in places, giving the appearance of the surface of a cross-cut file. A varnish applied in too heavy coats will crawl and wrinkle in drying. A quick change in temperature dur¬ ing the time that a varnish is drying is very liable to make it crinkle up in some places and check and crack in other spots. If moisture has gotten on to the undercoat during the time of drying, then the finishing coat will blister, especially when the direct rays of the sun strike upon the surface. Never use a cheap varnish for undercoat work—if you do so the whole job will probably crack. The reason is that the good varnish, with which you do the finishing, dries with great solidity and will pull the under¬ coat apart into cracks, and eventually the finishing coat will be affected by these underneath cracks. 16 Devoe Marble Floor Finish Thinning the Varnish It may be explained that in the mak¬ ing of varnish the gum is fused and melted in a large kettle over a fire. Then linseed oil is added and the mass is boiled for some time. This thick, hot mass is then thinned down with sufficient turpentine to bring the product to a consistency where it is practical to use it with a brush ; in fact, to make a varnish of it. After a varnish has been boiled, thinned, cooled, aged in tanks and put into cans, it should not be further thinned by the consumer. There is no reason why it should be thinned, as the varnish, when it leaves our hands, is in just the proper condi¬ tion to be used. Furthermore, there are very good reasons why it should not be thinned. If you add turpentine, it will destroy the gloss of the varnish. It will make the resulting coat of varnish so thin that it will not wear properly. It will also make the varnish lumpy and 17 Devoe Marble Floor Finish BOILING VARNISH. iS Devoe Marble Floor Finish specky, by reason of which it cannot be spread properly. Oil added to a varnish retards and even prevents it from drying. Oil and turpentine, in the proper amounts, are added to the varnish by the maker when the ingredients are boiling hot, and these ingredients be¬ come thoroughly amalgamated while the varnish is aging. But after the varnish has become cold, nothing can be added without materially hurting the qualities of the varnish, as noted above. The only possible occasion where turpentine may be added is where a can of varnish has been left open for some time and the contents have be¬ come too thick to spread easily. In this case you can add a little turpen¬ tine, stir very thoroughly, and lay aside in a warm room for 24 hours before using. This is only a makeshift, but it is the best that can be done with a thickened varnish. The resulting sur¬ face obtained from spreading this var¬ nish will not have as good a gloss as the original varnish. 19 Devoe Marble Floor Finish Care of Brushes After varnishing, the brush should be thoroughly washed out in turpen¬ tine ; next twirl the brush by rolling the handle between the hands, the bristles hanging down, so as to par¬ tially dry it. Then hang it in a mix¬ ture of 2/3 raw linseed oil and 1/3 turpentine in such a way that the bris¬ tles are all covered, but do not let them touch the bottom of the pot. Do not keep a brush in clear turpentine— it destroys the elasticity of the bristles. When you want to use the brush again, wash the oil out of it in tur¬ pentine, before using. Partially dry the brush as before. Work it well into the varnish before beginning the job. If you are going to use the same var¬ nish and the same brush to-morrow, you can leave the brush in the varnish 20 -Devoe Marble Floor Finish- over night. In fact, it will not injure the brush if it be left for a day or two in the varnish that you are using, pro¬ viding you are careful to keep the bris¬ tles covered with the varnish. A well made brush, properly used and properly cared for, will last many years. We make all of our own brushes, and therefore we guarantee them. STORAGE YARD. 21 Devoe Marble Floor Finish Open and Close Grain WOODS OPEN GRAIN. Hard or Pitch Pine Walnut Oak Ash Butternut Chestnut CLOSE GRAIN. White Pine Maple Cherry Birch Red Wood Mahogany White Mahogany or Prima Vera Rosewood White Wood Cypress Satinwood Sycamore Gum SHIPPING VARNISH. 22 Devoe Marble Floor Finish Devoe Brushes GOOD VARNISH Should be applied with GOOD BRUSHES Devoe Brushes are made in the Devoe Factory and are of the Devoe Quality We shall be pleased to send you our fully illustrated, 1 65 page Brush Catalogue. 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