| Annatto | 1/4 ounce |
| Saffron | 1/4 ounce |
| Turmeric | 1 ounce |
| Seed lac in coarse powder | 3 ounces |
| Alcohol | 1 pint |
Digest the annatto, saffron, and turmeric in the alcohol for several days, then strain into a bottle containing the seed lac; cork and shake until dissolved.
II.—The following is equally suitable for boots and leather goods as for application on iron, stone, glass, paper, cloth, and other surfaces. The inexperienced should note before making this liquid that it does not give a yellowish bronze like gold paint, but a darkish iridescent one, and as it is a pleasing variation in aids to home decoration, it would doubtless sell well. Some pretty effects are obtained by using a little phloxine instead of part of the violet aniline, or phloxine alone will produce a rich reddish bronze, and a lustrous peacock green is obtained with brilliant aniline green crystals.
Quantities: Flexile methylated collodion, 1 gallon; pure violet aniline, 1 pound. Mix, stand away for a few days to allow the aniline to dissolve and stir frequently, taking care to bung down securely, as the collodion is a volatile liquid, then strain and bottle off. It is applied with a brush, dries rapidly, and does not rub off or peal.
Apply with a soft camel’s-hair brush; it is better to use too small a brush than too large. When complete, warm the articles for a few seconds before a clear fire; the hotter the better; if too hot, however, the colors will fade. This makes the lacquer adhere firmly, especially to metallic surfaces. Aniline green works very well.
I.—For Brassware.—A gold lacquer to improve the natural color of brassware is prepared from 16 parts gum lac, 4 parts dragon’s blood, and 1 part curcuma powder dissolved in 320 parts spirits of wine in the warmth and filtered well. The articles must be thoroughly cleaned by burning, grinding, or turning either dull or burnished, and then coated with a thin layer of the above mixture, applied with a soft hair brush or a pad of wadding. If the objects are colored the lacquer must be laid on by stippling. Should the color be too dark, it may be lightened by reduction with a little spirit until the correct shade is produced. The most suitable temperature for the metal during the work is about the warmth of the hand; if too hot or too cold, the lacquer may smear, and will then have to be taken off again with spirit or hot potash lye, the goods being dried in sawdust or recleaned as at first, before applying the lacquer again. Round articles may be fixed in the lathe and the lacquer laid on with a pad of wadding. In order to color brassware, a solution of 30 parts caustic soda; 10 parts cupric carbonate; 200 parts water (or 200 parts ammonia neutralized by acetic acid); 100 parts verdigris, and 60 parts sal ammoniac is employed, into which the warmed articles are dipped. After having dried they are coated with colorless shellac varnish.
II.—For Tin.—Transparent gold lacquer for tin (all colors) may be made as follows: Take 1/2 pint of alcohol, add 1 ounce gum shellac; 1/2 ounce turmeric; 1 1/4 ounce red sanders. Set the vessel in a warm place and shake frequently for half a day. Then strain off the liquor, rinse the bottle and return it, corking tightly for use. When this is used, it must be applied to the work freely and flowed on full, or if the work admits it, it may be dipped. One or more coats may be given as the color is required light or dark. For rose color substitute 1/4 ounce of finely ground lake in place of the turmeric. For blue, substitute Prussian blue. For purple, add a little of the blue to the turmeric.
For Bottle Caps, etc.—
| I.— | Gum gutta | 10 parts |
|---|---|---|
| Shellac | 100 parts | |
| Turpentine | 10 parts | |
| Alcohol | 450 parts | |
| II.— | Gum gutta | 40 parts |
| Dragon’s blood | 5 parts | |
| Alcoholic extract of sandalwood | 5 parts | |
| Sandarac | 75 parts | |
| Venice turpentine | 25 parts | |
| Alcohol, 95 per cent | 900 parts |
Mix and dissolve by the aid of a gentle heat.
II.—With base of lime: Dissolve 30 parts red lithol R or G in paste of 17 per cent, in 300 parts of hot water. Boil for a few minutes with an emulsion prepared by mixing 10 parts sulphate of alumina with 100 parts of water and 2.5 parts of slaked lime in 100 parts of water. Filter after cooling.
| I.— | Sticklac | 925 parts |
|---|---|---|
| Sandarac | 875 parts | |
| Larch turpentine | 270 parts | |
| Alcohol, 96 per cent | 3,500 parts |
The sticklac is broken up and mixed with the sandarac, put into a suitable container with a wide mouth, the spirit poured over it and set aside. After standing for a week in a warm place, frequently stirring in the meantime (best with a glass rod) and fully dissolving, stir in the turpentine. Let stand 2 or 3 days longer, then filter through glass wool. The sandarac dissolves completely in the spirit, but the stick leaves a slight residue which may be added to the next lot of lac made up and thus be treated to a fresh portion of spirit. The larch turpentine should be of the best quality. This lac is used by woodcarvers and turners and is very much prized by them.
| II.— | Mastic, select | 150 parts |
|---|---|---|
| Sandarac | 400 parts | |
| Camphor | 15 parts | |
| Alcohol, 96 per cent | 1,000 parts |
Prepare as directed in the first recipe.
| III.— | Shellac | 16 parts |
|---|---|---|
| Venice turpentine | 8 parts | |
| Sandarac | 4 parts | |
| Lampblack, Swedish | 2 parts | |
| Turpentine oil | 4 parts | |
| Alcohol, 96 per cent | 960 parts |
The alcohol and turpentine oil are mixed and warmed under constant stirring in the sand or water bath. The shellac and sandarac are now stirred in, the stirring being maintained until both are dissolved. Finally add the turpentine and dissolve. Stir the lampblack with a little vinegar and then add and stir in. Instead of lampblack 125 to 150 parts of nigrosin may be used. This lac should be well shaken before application.
LACQUERED WARE, TO CLEAN: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.
LAKES: See Dyes.
Production of Lampblack.—The last oil obtained in the distillation of coal tar, and freed from naphthalene as far as possible, viz., soot oil, is burned in a special furnace for the production of various grades of lampblack. In this furnace is an iron plate, which must always be kept glowing; upon this plate the soot oil trickles through a small tube fixed above it. It is decomposed and {442} the smoke (soot) rises into four chambers through small apertures. When the quantity of oil destined for decomposition has been used up, the furnace is allowed to stand undisturbed for a few days, and only after this time has elapsed are the chambers opened by windows provided for that purpose. In the fourth chamber is the very finest lampblack, which the lithographers use, and in the third the fine grade employed by manufacturers of printers’ ink, while the first and second contain the coarser soot, which, well sifted, is sold as flame lampblack.
From grade No. 1 the calcined lampblack for paper makers is also produced. For preparing this black capsules of iron plate with closing lid are filled, the stuff is stamped firmly into them and the cover smeared up with fine loam. The capsules are next placed in a well drawing stove and calcined, whereby the empyreumatic oils evaporate and the remaining lampblack becomes odorless. Allow the capsules to cool for a few days before opening them, as the soot dries very slowly, and easily ignites again as soon as air is admitted if the capsules are opened before. This is semi-calcined lampblack.
For the purpose of preparing completely calcined lampblack, the semi-calcined article is again jammed into fresh capsules, closing them up well and calcining thoroughly once more. After 2 days the capsules are opened containing the all-calcined lampblack in compact pieces.
For the manufacture of coal soot another furnace is employed. Asphalt or pitch is burned in it with exclusion of air as far as practicable. It is thrown in through the doors, and the smoke escapes through the chimney to the soot chambers, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, assorting itself there.
When the amount of asphalt pitch destined for combustion has burned up completely, the furnace is left alone for several days without opening it. After this time has elapsed the outside doors are slowly opened and some air is admitted. Later on they can be opened altogether after one is satisfied that the soot has cooled completely. Chamber 4 contains the finest soot black, destined for the manufacture of leather cloth and oil cloth. In the other chambers is fine and ordinary flame black, which is sifted and packed in suitable barrels. Calcined lampblack may also be produced from it, the operation being the same as for oil black.
LAMP BURNERS AND THEIR CARE: See Household Formulas.
For office desks, room lights, and in churches, it appears often desirable to modify the glaring yellowish rays of the incandescent light. A slight collodion film of a delicate bluish, greenish, or pink shade will do that.
For advertising purposes the bulbs are often colored in two or more colors. It is also easy with a little practice to paint words or pictures, etc., on the bulbs with colored collodion with a brush.
Another use of colored collodion in pharmacy is to color the show globes on their inside, thus avoiding freezing and the additional weight of the now used colored liquids. Pour a quantity of colored collodion into the clean, dry globe, close the mouth and quickly let the collodion cover all parts of the inside. Remove the balance of the collodion at once, and keep it to color electric bulbs for your trade.
LANOLINE CREAMS: See Cosmetics.
LANOLINE SOAP: See Soap.
LANTERN SLIDES: See Photography.
LATHE LUBRICANT: See Lubricants. {443}
LAUNDRY INKS: See Household Formulas.
This soluble blue is said to be potassium ferri-ferrocyanide, and is prepared by gradually adding to a boiling solution of potassium ferricyanide (red prussiate of potash) an equivalent quantity of hot solution of ferrous sulphate, boiling for 2 hours and washing the precipitate on a filter until the washings assume a dark-blue color; the moist precipitate can then at once be dissolved by the further addition of a sufficient quantity of water. About 64 parts of the iron salt are necessary to convert 100 parts of the potassium salt into the blue compound.
Leaf bluing for laundry use may be prepared by coating thick sized paper with soluble blue formed into a paste with a mixture of dextrin mucilage and glycerine. Dissolve a given quantity of dextrine in water enough to make a solution about as dense as ordinary syrup, add about as much glycerine as there was dextrine, rub the blue smooth with a sufficient quantity of this vehicle and coat the sheets with the paint. The amount of blue to be used will depend of course on the intended cost of the product, and the amount of glycerine will require adjustment so as to give a mixture which will not “smear” after the water has dried out and yet remain readily soluble.
Ultramarine is now very generally used as a laundry blue where the insoluble or “bag blue” is desired. It is mixed with glucose, or glucose and dextrine, and pressed into balls or cakes. When glucose alone is used, the product has a tendency, it is said, to become soft on keeping, which tendency may be counteracted by a proper proportion of dextrin. Bicarbonate of sodium is added as a “filler” to cheapen the product, the quantity used and the quality of the ultramarine employed being both regulated by the price at which the product is to sell.
The coal-tar or aniline blues are not offered to the general public as laundry blues, but laundry proprietors have them frequently brought under their notice, chiefly in the form of solutions, usually 1 to 1 1/2 per cent strong. These dyes are strong bluing materials, and, being in the form of solution, are not liable to speck the clothes. Naturally their properties depend upon the particular dye used; some are fast to acids and alkalies, others are fast to one but not to another; some will not stand ironing, while others again are not affected by the operation; generally they are not fast to light, but this is only of minor importance. The soluble, or cotton, blues are those most favored; these are made in a great variety of tints, varying from a reddish blue to a pure blue in hue, distinguished by such brands as 3R, 6B, etc. Occasionally the methyl violets are used, especially the blue tints. Blackley blue is very largely used for this purpose, being rather faster than the soluble blues. It may be mentioned that a 1 per cent solution of this dye is usually strong enough. Unless care is taken in dissolving these dyes they are apt to produce specks. The heat to which the pure blues are exposed in ironing the clothes causes some kinds to assume a purple tinge.
The cheapest aniline blue costs about three times as much as soluble blue, yet the tinctorial power of the aniline colors is so great that possibly they might be cheapened.
After siphoning off the solution the precipitate is washed with warm water, placed on a filter and washed out on the latter by pouring on cold water until the water running off commences to assume a strong blue color. The precipitate is then squeezed out and dried at a moderate heat (104° F.). The Paris blue thus obtained dissolves readily in water and can be extensively employed in a similar manner as indigo carmine.
II.—Make ordinary Prussian blue (that which has been purified by acids, chlorine, or the hypochlorites) into a thick paste with distilled or rain water, and add a saturated solution of oxalic acid sufficient to dissolve. If time be of no consequence, by leaving this solution exposed to the atmosphere, in the course of 60 days the blue will be entirely precipitated in soluble form. Wash with weak alcohol and dry at about 100° F. The resultant mass dissolves in pure water and remains in solution indefinitely. It gives a deep, brilliant blue, and is not injurious to the clothing or the hands of the washwoman.
The same result may be obtained by precipitating the soluble blue from its oxide solution by the addition of alcohol of 95 per cent, or with a concentrated solution of sodium sulphate. Pour off the mother liquid and wash with very dilute alcohol; or throw on a filter and wash with water until the latter begins to come off colored a deep blue.
Instead of powdered Prussian blue, soluble Prussian blue may be used. This is made by dissolving solid Prussian blue in a solution of oxalic acid, but as the use of oxalic acid is to be deprecated for the use of laundresses, as it would set up blood poisoning should it get into any cuts in the flesh, it is best to prepare liquid blue by making a solution of yellow prussiate of potash (ferrocyanide of potassium) with water, and then by adding a sufficient quantity of chloride of iron to produce a blue, but not enough to be precipitated.
Below is a “filled” formula:
| Ultramarine | 6 ounces |
| Sodium carbonate | 4 ounces |
| Glucose | 1 ounce |
| Water, a sufficient quantity. |
Make a thick paste, roll into sheets, and cut into tablets. The balls in bulk can be obtained only in large packages of the manufacturers, say barrels of 200 pounds; but put up in 1-pound boxes they can be bought in cases as small as 28 pounds.
| Ultramarine | 6 ounces |
| Sodium carbonate | 4 ounces |
| Glucose | 1 ounce |
| Water, a sufficient quantity. |
Make a thick paste, roll into sheets, and cut into tablets.
II.—Dissolve white wax, 5.0 parts, in ether, 20.5 parts, and add spirit, 75.0 parts. Shake before use.
Heat until melted, in a pot, 1,000 parts {445} of wax and 1,000 parts of stearine, as well as a few drops of an essential oil. To the hot liquid add with careful stirring 250 parts of ammonia lye of 10 per cent, whereby a thick, soft mass results immediately. Upon further heating same turns thin again, whereupon it is diluted with 20,000 parts of boiling water, mixed with 100 parts of starch and poured into molds.
Most laundry starches now contain some polishing mixture for giving a high luster.
I.—Dissolve in a vessel of sufficient capacity, 42 parts of crystallized magnesium chloride in 30 parts of water. In another vessel stir 12 parts of starch in 20 parts of water to a smooth paste. Mix the two and heat under pressure until the starch is fluidified.
II.—Pour 250 parts, by weight, of water, over 5 parts, by weight, of powdered gum tragacanth until the powder swells uniformly; then add 750 parts, by weight, of boiling water, dissolve 50 parts, by weight, of borax in it, and stir 50 parts, by weight, of stearine and 50 parts, by weight, of talcum into the whole. Of this fluid add 250 parts to 1,000 parts of boiled starch, or else the ironing oil is applied by means of a sponge on the starched wash, which is then ironed.
| By weight | ||
|---|---|---|
| III.— | Starch | 1,044 parts |
| Borax | 9 parts | |
| Common salt | 1 part | |
| Gum arabic | 8 parts | |
| Stearine | 20 parts | |
| Water | 54 parts |
| Sodium hydrate | 38.21 parts |
| Sodium biborate | 6.61 parts |
| Sodium silicate | 1.70 parts |
| Water | 36.15 parts |
| Sodium hydrate | 40.22 parts |
| Sodium silicate | 23.14 parts |
| Water | 34.50 parts |
| Sodium hydrate | 25.33 parts |
| Soap | 39.40 parts |
| I.— | Sodium carbonate, partly effloresced | 2 parts |
|---|---|---|
| Soda ash | 1 part | |
| II.— | Sodium carbonate, partly effloresced | 6 parts |
| Soda ash | 3 parts | |
| Yellow soap | 1 part | |
| III.— | Sodium carbonate, partly effloresced | 3 parts |
| Soap bark | 1 part | |
| IV.— | Sodium carbonate, partly effloresced | 1 part |
| Borax | 1 part | |
| Yellow soap | 1 part |
V.—A good powder can be made from 100 parts of crystal soda, 25 parts of dark-yellow rosin-cured soap, and 5 parts of soft soap. The two latter are placed in a pan, along with one-half the soda (the curd soap being cut into small lumps), and slowly heated, with continual crutching, until they are thoroughly melted—without, however, beginning to boil. The fire is then drawn and the remaining soda crutched in until it, too, is melted, this being effected by the residual heat of the mass and the pan. The mass will be fairly thick by the time the soda is all absorbed. After leaving a little longer, with occasional stirring, the contents are spread out on several thin sheets of iron in a cool room, to be then turned over by the shovel at short intervals, in order to further cool and break down the mixture. The soap will then be in a friable condition, and can be rubbed through the sieve, the best results being obtained by passing through a coarse sieve first, and one of finer mesh afterwards. With these ingredients a fine yellow-colored powder will be obtained. White stock soap may also be used, and, if desired, colored with palm oil and the same colorings as are used for toilet soaps. The object of adding soft soap is to increase the solubility and softness of the powder, but the proportion used should not exceed one-third of the hard soap, or the powder will be smeary and handle moist. The quality of the foregoing product is good, the powder being stable and not liable to ball, even after prolonged storage; neither does it wet the paper in which it is packed, nor swell up, and therefore the packets retain their appearance. {446}
In making ammonia-turpentine soap powder the ammonia and oil of turpentine are crutched into the mass shortly before removing it from the pan, and if the powder is scented—for which purpose oil of mirbane is mostly used—the perfume is added at the same stage.
| a. | Copper chloride, crystals | 85 parts |
|---|---|---|
| Sodium chlorate | 106 parts | |
| Ammonium chloride | 53 parts | |
| Water, distilled | 600 parts | |
| b. | Glycerine | 100 parts |
| Mucilage gum arabic (gum, 1 part; water, 2 parts) | 200 parts | |
| Aniline hydrochlorate | 200 parts | |
| Distilled water | 300 parts |
Make solutions a and b and preserve in separate bottles. When wanted for use, mix 1 part of solution a with 4 parts of solution b.
II.—Washing curtains in coffee will give them an ecru color, but the simplest way to color curtains is with “Philadelphia yellow” (G. or R. of the Berlin Aktiengesellschaft’s scale).
LAUNDRY SOAP: See Soap.
LAVATORY DEODORANT: See Household Formulas.
LAXATIVES FOR CATTLE AND HORSES: See Veterinary Formulas.
See also Metals.
LEAD, TO TAKE BOILING, IN THE MOUTH: See Pyrotechnics.
LEAD ALLOYS: See Alloys.
LEAD PAPER: See Paper.
LEAD PLATE, TINNED: See Plating.
LEAKS, IN BOILERS, STOPPING: See Putties.
(See also Shoes.)