The common epidemics in varnish life are bloom (opalescence), blistering, spotting, cracking, sweating, powdering, livering, crawling (refusal to spread), flasking, deadening (loss of luster), pitting, silking (looks like enameled silk), seedy or specky, wrinkling, grain showing, crumbling, all due to imperfect preparation of surfaces and the presence of moisture, greases, poor varnishes, poor application of good varnishes, different brands of varnishes put together, increase or decrease of temperature in drying or storage or transportation, etc. There are hundreds of kinds of varnishes divided into: oil varnishes, spirit varnishes, japans, enamels and specialties. In house finishing, oil varnishes, enamels, painter’s Japans and sometimes spirit varnishes (shellac and dammar varnishes). Lacquers are highly transparent varnishes used on metals to produce a lustrous film. Japans (decorative) are dark varnishes applied to metals and wood. Japans (painter’s), are varnishes added to paints for luster and drying. EMPLOY AN EXPERT So it can readily be seen that the painting and varnishing of the kitchen should be, if nothing else, given over to experts. The painter should understand these requirements. “The priming coat,” says Heckel, “being the one on which the adhesion of the entire paint film depends, should be most carefully considered. It should be sufficiently liquid to penetrate every pore and irregularity of the surface, carrying with it particles of the pigment; but this fluidity must not be obtained at the cost of the future strength of the dried film. For the priming coat it is customary to add a quantity of oil and some turpentine or benzine or, in the case of cypress, yellow pine and resinous woods in general, some form of benzol. It is easy to overdo both. Only enough of the volatile thinner should be used to avoid a high gloss, to which subsequent coats will not readily adhere. Hard, unabsorbent woods require a thicker priming coat than spongy woods, such as poplar, soft pine, etc. Resinous woods, like yellow pine, again require special treatment--a preliminary varnishing of knots and resinous spots with shellac, and subsequent priming with a fluid priming coat containing a benzol product. “The second coat, which in many instances is also (improperly) the finishing coat, should be tempered accordingly. If there are to be three coats (as there should be), the paint should be lightly reduced with turpentine or benzine, so as to promote amalgamation with the priming coat, and to reduce the surface gloss. If it is to be the finishing coat, prepared paint of the average consistency can be used without reduction, but a very little turpentine is sometimes desirable to assist penetration and adhesion.