boiled oil gives a body to the stain, so that
when the wood is well rubbed down a soft lustre can be had without any
further finish. The stain should be applied with a brush to the wood,
which may then be rubbed clean with cotton waste. Oil stains penetrate
hard woods better when the wood has first been fumed in ammonia. (See
below, p. 211). Or, the addition of a little ammonia to the stain just
before applying aids it in penetrating the wood.

The pigments most used for oil stains are: burnt and raw umber, burnt
and raw sienna, Vandyke brown, drop black, and medium chrome yellow.
These colors may be varied by mixing. For example, for a green stain,
take two parts of drop black and one part of medium chrome yellow, and
dissolve in turpentine or benzine. The addition of a little vermilion
gives a grayer green. The green may be made bluer by the addition of
Prussian blue, but the blue already contained in the black gives a
soft, pleasant green.

For antique oak, add a trifle of burnt umber and black to raw sienna
thinned to the right consistency.

For a reddish brown, thin burnt umber to the right consistency. This
may be grayed by the addition of a little green.

A walnut stain may be had by adding a little Venetian red to
asphaltum, thinned with turpentine or benzine.

_Aniline oil stains._ Advantages: the colors are clear and easily
obtainable. Disadvantages: the colors are likely to be crude and too
bright, and unless great care is taken the tones are metallic and not
soft enough to suit wood. It is necessary to purchase colors soluble
in oil. These can be had of William Zinnser and Company, 197 William
Street, New York. Four colors are necessary to get the desired shades,
Bismarck brown, dark yellow, dark blue, and black. Bismarck brown
comes in powdered form at $2.40 per lb., dark yellow comes in powdered
form at $2.40 per lb., dark blue comes in lumps at $3.20 per lb.,
black comes in lumps at $2.40 per lb. These may be dissolved in three
ounces of turpentine to one ounce of boiled oil, to one teaspoonful
of color, a process that will take place much faster if the mixture
is heated. Great care must be taken, however, not to set fire to the
turpentine. When cool, thin with turpentine to the proper consistency,
apply to the wood with a brush and rub clean with cotton waste.

(2) _Water Stains._ Advantages: they are cheap and clear and do not
obscure the grain as oil stains are likely to do, and they penetrate
d