AN ECONOMICAL FLOOR STAIN

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 89, 6 July 1927, Page 5

AN ECONOMICAL FLOOR STAIN

To stain a floor successfully is not difficult, yet few amateurs make a really good job of it. A few hints may help to avoid mistakes. Do not use stain and varnish mixed! This looks well at first, but the varnish soon peels off in places, leaving the floors patchy and untidy. Remove all old nails from the floor, sweep and scrub well with soap and soda water to remove dirt and grease. Open all the windows and ieave to dry thoroughly. Meanwhile, procure ingredients for making a good and lasting floor-stain. You will require 3oz. of Vandyke-brown from an oil and colour shop; loz. of carbonate of ammonium; loz. of bi-chromate of potassium; Joz. of common washing soda. Mix these ingredients thoroughly and add two pints of cold water; put all together into an old saucepan and boil for ten minutes or so, stirring well with a clean stick. Strain into a clean jar and apply while warm. Use a nice, soft brush and work evenly—with the grain of the wood, not across it. When finished, leave to dry thoroughly before polishing. POLISH AND POLISHERS Always sweep your floor free of dust before applying polish. Use a very little polish and plenty of elbow grease. A worn-out broom covered with pieces of felt makes a good polisher and saves kneeling, once you have got the floor to shine. A good polish may be made at home as follows: Take loz. of best beeswax, loz. of Castile soap, £ pint of turpentine. Shred the beeswax, put it into a jar and place it in a warm oven to melt with half of the turps. Take care the oven is only warm and keep away from the fire or light, for turps is spirit. When melted, take from the oven and add the rest of the turps. Shred the soap; boil it in £ pint of water and mix it with the beeswax preparation. Bottle when cool and shake well before using. ALMOND FRITTERS Stir together until creamy the yolks of two eggs and one ounce of castor sugar. Add two ounces of ground al- - monels, half an ounce of cornflour and the whites of the eggs stiffly whisked, with a few drops of vanilla essence. Have ready a pan of hot frying-fat (clarified butter and a little olive oil), drop in the mixture a teaspoonful and try to a pale brown colour. Serve very hot.