Varnishing, we claim, can be over-done, despite some painters’ opinions to the contrary. We have heard of those who put 2½ gal. on the body of a 50-foot car at one application, and we have also listened to the declaration, made by a member of the craft, that he put 2 gal. on the body of a locomotive tank. Such things are perhaps possible, and may have been done; but if so, we know that the work never stood as well as it would if done with one-half the quantity to a coat. In varnishing a car, care should be taken to have the surface clean; water never injures paint where it is used for washing; and a proper attention to cleanliness in this respect, and in the care of brushes used for varnishing, will ensure a good-looking job. Perhaps your shop facilities for doing work are none of the best, but do the best you can with what you have. Select if possible, a still, dry day for varnishing, especially for the finishing coat. Keep your shop at an even temperature; avoid cold draughts on the car from doors and windows; wet the floor only just sufficient to lay the dust, for if too wet, the dampness arising will have a tendency to destroy the lustre of your varnish. Of course we cannot always do varnishing to our perfect satisfaction, especially where there are 25 or 30 men at work in an open shop, and 6 or 8 cars are being painted, when more or less dirt and dust are sure to get on the work. A suggestion might here be made to railroad managers, which is that no paint-shop is complete where the entire process of painting and finishing a car is to be done in one open shop. A paint-shop should be made to shut off in sections by sliding doors, one part of the shop being used exclusively for striping and varnishing. I know from experience that nine-tenths of the railroad paint-shops are deficient in this particular, and still we are expected to turn out a clean job, no matter what difficulties we are compelled to labour under. _Importance of Washing Cars._--In regard to the care of a car after it has left the shop, more attention should be given to this than is done on many roads. The car should not be allowed to run until it is past remedy, and the dirt and smoke become imbedded in the varnish, actually forming a part of the coating, so that when you undertake to clean the car you must use soda or soap strong enough to cut the varnish before you succeed in removing the dirt. Cars should be washed well with a brush and water at the end of every trip. This only will obviate the difficulty, and these repeated washings will harden the varnish as well as increase its lustre. We know that, in washing a car, where soap is required to remove the dirt and smoke, it is almost impossible to get the smoke washed off clean; and if it is not quite impossible, the hot sun and rain will act on the varnish and very soon destroy it.